Eidsvoll

This article is about the municipality in Akershus, Norway. For the town in Australia, see Eidsvold, Queensland.

Eidsvoll kommune
Municipality
Sundet, the municipal center, with the old bridge
Coat of arms Akershus within Norway
Eidsvoll within Akershus
Coordinates:
Country	Norway
County	Akershus
District	Romerike
Administrative centre	Sundet
Government
• Mayor (2009)	Terje Teslo (Senterpartiet)
Area
• Total	457 km2 (176 sq mi)
• Land	385 km2 (149 sq mi)
Area rank	222 in Norway
Population (2004)
• Total	18,338
• Rank	52 in Norway
• Density	48/km2 (120/sq mi)
• Change (10 years)	9.4 %
Demonym(s)	Eidsvolling
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code	NO-0237
Official language form	Bokmål
Website	www.eidsvoll.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

<phonos file="Eidsvold.ogg">Eidsvoll</phonos> is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sundet.

General information

Name

The first element is the genitive case of the word eid (Old Norse: eið) and the last element is voll (Old Norse: vǫllr) which means "meadow" or "field". The meaning of the word eid in this case is "a road passing around a waterfall". People from the districts around the lake (Mjøsa) who were sailing down the river Vorma, and people from Romerike sailing up the same river, both had to enter this area by passing the Sundfossen waterfall. Because of this, the site became an important meeting place long before the introduction of Christianity.

Prior to 1918, the name was spelled "Eidsvold". The town of Eidsvold in Queensland, Australia and Eidsvold Township, Lyon County, Minnesota, USA still use this old spelling.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 20 November 1987. The arms show a balance as a symbol of justice. In the early Middle Ages a local court was established in Eidsvoll.

Number of minorities (1st and 2nd generation) in Eidsvoll by country of origin in 2015

Ancestry	Number
Poland	489
Lithuania	227
Sweden	164
Pakistan	153
Philippines	124
Thailand	120
Denmark	106
Iraq	98

History

The parish of Eidsvold was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The municipality of Feiring was merged with Eidsvoll on 1 January 1964.

Eidsvoll is mentioned in Old Norse manuscripts. In the 11th century, it became the site of court and assembly (ting) for eastern parts of Norway, replacing Vang, now a part of Hamar in Hedmark. Because of its access to the river Vorma and the lake Mjøsa has long provided a thoroughfare to northern parts of inland Norway. Eastern parts of Eidsvoll were for a short time the site of a minor gold rush when gold was found in 1758, and these areas are still known as Gullverket, (the Gold works).

Eidsvoll Verk was opened to smelt iron ore by King Christian IV of Denmark in 1624, relying on the excellent water power from the Andelva river. In 1688, it was owned by the director of the Kongsberg Silver Mines, Schlanbusch, and remained in his family until 1781. Carsten Anker came into possession of works in 1794, at which time it was in decay since many of the surrounding forests required for charcoal had been depleted. He restored it and set up the production of stoves and similar iron goods. He also took residence in Eidsvoll in 1811, rebuilding the house which is now the Eidsvollsbygningen. Eidsvollsbygningen is the building where the Norwegian Constitution was signed in 1814.

Until recently, the main industry of Eidsvoll was agriculture, though the soil is rich in clay.

Eidsvoll was the site where the constitutional assembly met to draft and sign the Constitution of Norway on 17 May 1814. The building (Eidsvollbygningen) in which the meetings were held is today a famous museum.

In 1854, Eidsvoll became the end point for the first railroad line in Norway from Oslo. This became the transit point for travel with the steamship Skibladner to Hamar, Gjøvik, and Lillehammer.

Eidsvoll gallery

• 

  Eidsvollsbygningen at Eidsvoll Verk, where the constitutional assembly took place 17.May 1814

• 

  Memorial statue to the constitutional assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814

• 

  An old photograph of the steamer Skibladner, Dampskibsbryggen and Eidsvold Hotel

• 

  Winter at Bøn in Eidsvoll

Geography

Eidsvoll municipality is bordered on the north by Østre Toten (in Oppland county on the west side of Mjøsa) and by Stange (on the east side of the lake) and to the east by Nord-Odal (both in Hedmark county). In the county of Akershus to the southeast lies Nes, to the south lies Ullensaker, and to the west lies Nannestad and Hurdal.

In addition to being a commuter town for Oslo, it also has agriculture and forestry industries. The main population and commercial centres are Sundet and Råholt.

Notable residents

• Dagmar Lahlum - resistance worker in World War II and fiancée of Eddie Chapman was born here
• Ola Skjåk Bræk - Minister of Industry was born and raised in Eidsvoll
• Henrik Wergeland, a poet, was the eldest son of Professor Nicolai Wergeland (1780–1848), who had been a member of the constitutional assembly in Eidsvoll, was pastor of Eidsvoll. Although not born there, the poet and his sister, Camilla Collett, were brought up in the rectory in Eidsvoll
• Arne Ekeland - artist, lived and worked in Bøn his entire life
• Åsmund Lønning Strømnes, professor of education.

Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Eidsvoll:

• - Egilsstaðir, Iceland
• - Skara, Västra Götaland County, Sweden
• - Sorø, Region Sjælland, Denmark
• - Suolahti, Länsi-Suomi, Finland

External links

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
• Akershus travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Eidsvollbygningen museum