Akershus

This article is about the county of Norway. For other uses, see Akershus (disambiguation).
Akershus fylke
County

Coat of arms

Akershus within Norway
Country Norway
County Akershus
Region Østlandet
County ID NO-02
Administrative centre Oslo
Government
 • County mayor Nils Aage Jegstad
  Høyre
  (2007–present)
Area
 • Total 4,918 km2 (1,899 sq mi)
 • Land 4,579 km2 (1,768 sq mi)
Area rank #16 in Norway, 1.50% of Norway's land area
Population (2014)
 • Total 573,326
 • Rank 2 (10.67% of country)
 • Density 107/km2 (280/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years) 13.7 %
Time zone CET (UTC+01)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+02)
Official language form Bokmål
Income (per capita) 182,400 NOK
GDP (per capita) 228,868 NOK (2001)
GDP national rank 3 (7.12% of country)
Website www.akershus.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Akershus [ˈɑːkəʂˈhʉːs]  ( listen) is a county in Norway, bordering Hedmark, Oppland, Buskerud, Oslo, and Østfold; it also has a short border with Sweden (Värmland). Akershus, with more than half a million inhabitants, is the second-largest county by population after Oslo. The county is named after Akershus Fortress. The county administration is in Oslo, which is not part of the county per se.

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1951183,116—    
1961234,323+28.0%
1971324,390+38.4%
1981369,193+13.8%
1991418,114+13.3%
2001471,988+12.9%
2011545,653+15.6%
Source: Statistics Norway.[1]
Religion in Akershus[2][3]
religion percent
Christianity
  
 81.48%
Islam
  
 1.93%
Buddhism
  
 0.35%
Other
  
 16.24%

Geography

The county is conventionally divided into the traditional districts Follo and Romerike, which fill the vast part of the county, as well as the small exclave west of Oslo that consists of Asker and Bærum. This resulted after the transfer of the great municipality of Aker (surrounding Oslo) from Akershus County to Oslo in 1948.

Embracing numerous suburbs of Oslo, notably Bærum, Akershus is one of the most densely populated areas in the country. The main national railway lines into Oslo run through Akershus with many junctions and stations such as Asker, Sandvika, Ski, and Lillestrøm. Akershus includes some of the lake Mjøsa and some of the river Glomma.

The county also includes the historical place Eidsvoll, 48 km north of Oslo, in which the national assembly ratified the Norwegian constitution in 1814. South of Eidsvoll is the international airport of Oslo Airport at Gardermoen. Oslo's previous international airport, Fornebu, is also located in Akershus. The estate of the crown prince is located in Asker (the royal palace is in Oslo).

Infrastructure

The county has two major hospitals, Akershus University Hospital and Sykehuset Asker og Bærum.

The main road from continental Europe, E6, enters Akershus in the south, and runs through eastern Oslo, further to Gardermoen, and into Hedmark County on the eastern shores of lake Mjøsa.

E18 enters Akershus in the south-east, merges for a short stretch with E6 at Vinterbro in Ås, before running under central Oslo. E18 then turns south-west through Bærum and Asker before entering Buskerud County north of Drammen.

E16 runs from the intersection with E18 in Sandvika into Buskerud County west of Sollihøgda.

All main railways out of Oslo run through Akershus:

History

Akershus became a fief in the 16th century, and then also included the current counties of Hedmark, Oppland, Buskerud, and Oslo, as well as the municipalities of Askim, Eidsberg, and Trøgstad in the county of Østfold. In 1662, Akershus became an Amt, and in 1685, Buskerud was separated from Akershus and became an Amt of its own. In 1768, Hedmark and Oppland were also separated from Akershus to become Oplandenes Amt (and Askim, Eidsberg, and Trøgstad were transferred to Østfold). In 1842, the city of Christiania (Oslo) was made a separate Amt, as well. In 1919, the term Amt was changed to Fylke. In 1948, Aker, the greatest and the most populous municipality of Akershus, was transferred to the county of Oslo.

Name

The county is named after Akershus Fortress. The fortress was built in 1299, and the meaning of the name is "the (fortified) house of (the district) Aker". The name is somewhat misleading now, since the fortress is now outside Akershus (it is in Oslo County since 1842). In fact, the administration of Akershus sits outside the county, as well, in the centre of Oslo.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1987). It shows a gable from Akershus Fortress.

Municipalities

Municipalities of Akershus

Akershus has a total of 22 municipalities:

References

External links

Coordinates: 60°00′N 11°00′E / 60.000°N 11.000°E / 60.000; 11.000

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