Drammen

Drammen is a city and municipality in the county of Buskerud, Norway. It is one of the larger cities in Norway, and lies about 40 km from the capital of Norway, Oslo. The city centre lies at the end of a valley, on both sides of the river Drammenselva, and where the river meets the Drammensfjord. Drammen is also the main harbor for car and fruit import in Norway.

As of January 1 2006 the population of the urban area of Drammen is 159,704. Drammen is the sixth largest urban area of Norway and occupies territory in no less than five municipalities: Drammen (with about 61% of the population), Nedre Eiker (23%), Øvre Eiker (8%), Lier (5%) and Røyken (3%). ^[1] The total population in Drammen municipality is 57,759. ^[2]

1 History
2 Geography
3 Famous people from Drammen
4 Sport clubs
5 References
6 External links
- 6.1 Media
- 6.2 Culture

[edit] History

The Norse form of the name was Drafn, and this was originally the name of the inner part of Drammensfjord. The fjord is, however, probably named after the river Dramselva (Norse Drofn), and this name is probably derived from the old word drofn, which meant 'wave'.

Rock carving

Rock carvings at Åskollen and Skogerveien are 6000 to 7000 years old, and are the first signs of human activity in the area. The largest rock carving at Åskollen depicts a moose.

Drammen originally consisted of three small seaports: Bragernes on the northern side of the Drammenselva river and Strømsø and Tangen on the southern side. For trade purposes, small seaports were placed under market towns. Despite their geographical proximity, Bragernes was placed under Christiania and Strømsø under Tønsberg. For this reason, cooperation between the adjacent seaport towns was almost impossible. In 1662 a merger was proposed to unite Strømsø and Bragernes to form a market town with the name Frederiksstrøm. The proposal was rejected by Frederick III of Denmark. Bragernes received limited market town rights in 1715, and merged with Strømsø to gain status as a single city on 19 June 1811. ^[3]

Its unique geographical location made the city a centre for seafaring, ship building, log driving, timber trade and - from the 19th century - paper and pulp industries. During the 1960s most of the pulp and paper factories along the Drammenselva were closed down.

Large parts of the city were ruined in the great fire of 12-13 July 1866, which led to the reconstruction of the city centre, including the characteristic town square and Bragernes church. ^[4]

In 1909, Drammen got the first trolleybus system in Scandinavia. The lines ran until 1967. For many years the centre of Drammen suffered from heavy traffic, but in 1999 the opening of the Bragernes tunnel diverted much of the traffic away from the centre of the city. In recent years, the city centre has seen significant regeneration, with the introduction of new housing, shopping facilities, restaurants, cafes and bars, as well as a public pathway along the Drammenselva river.

[edit] Geography

The boroughs of Drammen are Austad/Fjell, Bragernes, Gulskogen, Konnerud, Skoger, Strømsø/Danvik, Tangen/Åskollen and Åssiden. ^[5]

The Øvre Sund area, situated along Drammenselva, will be regulated by the municipality in order to restore this area's character. The buildings there are from the 18th and 19th century, and contribute, as well as the river and the brewery, to give the city a special identity. ^[6]

[edit] Famous people from Drammen

Kim Christiansen, born May 8, 1976. 2001 Snowboarding World Championships at Madonna di Campiglio, Italy (Jan. 21-28), Christiansen won the halfpipe.
Hans Peter Faye, 1859-1928, sugar plantation pioneer on Kauai, Hawaii.
Johan Halvorsen, 1864-1935, composer, conductor and musician
Johann Olav Koss. Between 1990-94 he managed no less than 10 world records for speed skating on the distances 1500, 3000, 5000 and 10000 meters.
Charles Mathiesen, born February 12, 1911. World record 10000 meters speed skating, 1940.
Martinus Rørbye, 1803-1848, painter
Sten Einar Stensen, born December 18, 1947. World record 10000 meters speed skating, 1976.
Marcus Thrane, started the first labour union in Norway, in 1848.
Ole Hermann Borgan, Assistant Referee. World famous as "Barca Borgan" after posing in a FC Barcelona shirt a few days before the UEFA Champions League final in 2006.
Betzy Kjelsberg, the first female factory inspector in Norway who did much to improve working conditions a the time. Vice-chairman of the International Council of Women from 1920.

[edit] Sport clubs

Ski og ballklubben Drafn
Drammen golfklubb. Founded 1989. Golfclub with 18 hole course situated in the southern part of Drammen, on the border to Sande in Vestfold
IF Hellas
Skiold
Strømsgodset IF. Founded February 10th 1907. Four Norwegian championships in football (1969, 1979, 1973, 1993). Winner of the Norwegian football league 1970. 10 Norwegian championships in bandy.
Sturla IF

[edit] References

^ Statistics Norway (2006). "Urban settlements. Population and area, by municipality. 1 January 2006".
^ Statistics Norway. SSB: Tall om Drammen kommune (Norwegian). Regional statistikk. Retrieved on 2006-12-07.
^ Søbstad, Per Ivar. Kort oversikt over Drammens historie (Norwegian). History of Drammen. Retrieved on 2006-12-07.
^ Søbstad, Per Ivar. Bybranner (Norwegian). History of Drammen. Retrieved on 2006-12-07.
^ Søbstad, Per Ivar. Bydeler i Drammen (Norwegian). History of Drammen. Retrieved on 2006-12-07.
^ About the preservation of the Øvre Sund area

[edit] External links

[edit] Media

[edit] Culture

Municipalities of Buskerud
Drammen \| Flesberg \| Flå \| Gol \| Hemsedal \| Hol \| Hole \| Hurum \| Kongsberg \| Krødsherad \| Lier \| Modum \| Nedre Eiker \| Nes \| Nore og Uvdal \| Ringerike \| Rollag \| Røyken \| Sigdal \| Øvre Eiker \| Ål