Modum

Not to be confused with MODAM or Modem.
Modum kommune
Municipality

Coat of arms
Buskerud within
Norway

Modum within Buskerud
Coordinates: 59°57′27″N 9°58′58″E / 59.95750°N 9.98278°E / 59.95750; 9.98278Coordinates: 59°57′27″N 9°58′58″E / 59.95750°N 9.98278°E / 59.95750; 9.98278
Country Norway
County Buskerud
District Ringerike
Administrative centre Vikersund
Government
 • Mayor (2013) Terje Bråthen (Ap)
Area
 • Total 515 km2 (199 sq mi)
 • Land 463 km2 (179 sq mi)
Area rank 204 in Norway
Population (2004)
 • Total 12,594
 • Rank 87 in Norway
 • Density 27/km2 (70/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years) 3.2 %
Demonym(s) Moding[1]
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code NO-0623
Official language form Bokmål
Website www.modum.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Modum is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Vikersund. The municipality of Modum was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt).

The area has a long tradition of skiing with several famous skiers. Modum is home to one of the largest ski jumping hills in the world, Vikersundbakken. The hill record, established in 2011 is an amazing jump of 246.5 metres (809 ft).

General information

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Modum farm (Old Norse: Móðheimr), since the first church was built here. The first element is móða which means "river" (here the Drammenselva river) and the last element is heimr which means "home", "homestead", or "farm". The name of the farm was later changed to Buskerud.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 15 March 1985. The arms show three wavy silver lines “party per bend sinister” on a blue background. They represent the three main rivers in the municipality: Drammenselva, Snarumselva, and Simoa and the colour blue represents Blaafarveværket.[2]

Geography

The municipality is bordered in the north by Krødsherad and Ringerike, in the east by Hole and Lier, in the south by Øvre Eiker, and in the west by Sigdal.

The municipality has three main villages: Åmot, Geithus, and the municipality administrative center of Vikersund. Åmot is the starting point for the Kunstnerdal. Here is where the Blaafarveværket is located. That includes a cobalt museum, art institutions, and a children’s barn yard.

Notable people

Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Modum:[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
  2. ↑ Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". Retrieved 2009-01-10.
  3. ↑ "Nordiske vennskapskommuner" (in Norwegian). Modum kommune. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
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