Aurskog-Høland
Encyclopedia
Aurskog-Høland is a municipality
Municipalities of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...

 in Akershus
Akershus
- 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...

 county
Counties of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 430 municipalities...

, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. It is part of the Romerike
Romerike
Romerike is a traditional district located north-east of Oslo, in what is today south-eastern Norway. It consists of the Akershus municipalities Fet, Lørenskog, Nittedal, Rælingen, Skedsmo, Sørum and Aurskog-Høland in the southern end , and Ullensaker, Gjerdrum, Nannestad, Nes, Eidsvoll and Hurdal...

 traditional region
Districts of Norway
The country Norway is historically divided into a number of districts. Many districts have deep historical roots, and only partially coincide with today's administrative units of counties and municipalities. The districts are defined by geographical features, often valleys, mountain ranges, fjords,...

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bjørkelangen
Bjørkelangen
Bjørkelangen is the administrative centre of Aurskog-Høland municipality, Norway. Its population is 2,438.Bjørkelangen became the administrative centre of the Aurskog-Høland municipality in 1966. It is located in the north end of the lake named Bjørkelangsjøen.There is an elementary school, a...

.

Name

The new municipality of Aurskog-Høland was created on 1 January 1966 after the merger of the four old municipalities of Aurskog
Aurskog
Aurskog is a former municipality in Akershus county, Norway. The administrative centre was Aursmoen.Aurskog was the location of the Battle of Toverud. The parish of Urskog was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 . On 1 July 1919 the district of Blaker was separated to form a municipality...

, Nordre Høland
Nordre Høland
Nordre Høland is a former municipality in Akershus county, Norway.It was created when Høland municipality was split in two on 1 July 1924. At that time Nordre Høland had a population of 3.188....

, Søndre Høland
Søndre Høland
Søndre Høland is a former municipality in Akershus county, Norway.It was created when Høland municipality was split in two on 1 July 1924. At that time Søndre Høland had a population of 2.106....

, and Setskog
Setskog
Setskog is a former municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It bordered Østfold county to the south, Hedmark county to the north and Sweden to the east.It was created by a split from Høland municipality on 1 January 1905...

.

The name Aurskog comes from the old Ør farm (Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

: Aurr which means "gravel
Gravel
Gravel is composed of unconsolidated rock fragments that have a general particle size range and include size classes from granule- to boulder-sized fragments. Gravel can be sub-categorized into granule and cobble...

"). The last element is skog (Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

: skógr which means "wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...

" therefore the meaning of the full name is "the woods around the farm Aurr". Prior to 1918, the name was written "Urskog".

The name Høland is an old district name. The first element is høy which means "hay
Hay
Hay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...

" and the last element is land which means "land".

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

 is from modern times. They were granted on 4 February 1983. The arms show a black European crayfish
Crayfish
Crayfish, crawfish, or crawdads – members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea – are freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters, to which they are related...

 (Astacus astacus
Astacus astacus
Astacus astacus, the European crayfish, noble crayfish or broad-fingered crayfish, is the most common species of crayfish in Europe, and a traditional foodstuff. Like other crayfish, Astacus astacus is restricted to fresh water, living only in unpolluted streams, rivers and lakes...

) on a gold background. It was derived from an older logo of the municipality. The logo showed a typical landscape of the area, a lake surrounded by woods and a crayfish in the lake. To place the whole composition in a shield to create the arms was not allowed according to Norwegian heraldic rules, so the crayfish was chosen as a symbol.

Geography

It is the biggest municipality in Akershus, covering 967 square kilometre. Main villages are Aurskog
Aurskog
Aurskog is a former municipality in Akershus county, Norway. The administrative centre was Aursmoen.Aurskog was the location of the Battle of Toverud. The parish of Urskog was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 . On 1 July 1919 the district of Blaker was separated to form a municipality...

 and Bjørkelangen
Bjørkelangen
Bjørkelangen is the administrative centre of Aurskog-Høland municipality, Norway. Its population is 2,438.Bjørkelangen became the administrative centre of the Aurskog-Høland municipality in 1966. It is located in the north end of the lake named Bjørkelangsjøen.There is an elementary school, a...

, of which the latter one is the administrative center. Forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

s cover much of the area, but there is very good farmland as well. The rivers of Haldenvassdraget and Hølandselva run through the district.

Economy

An important printing office, PDC Tangen AS and a crushing mill are situated here. Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

 is less than one hour's drive to the west.

The Think
Think Nordic
Think Global is an electric car company located in Oslo, Norway, which manufactures cars under the TH!NK brand. Production of the Th!nk City was stopped in March 2011 and the company filed for bankruptcy on June 22, 2011, for the fourth time in 20 years; but the company was bought soon after by...

 electric car
Electric car
An electric car is an automobile which is propelled by electric motor, using electrical energy stored in batteries or another energy storage device. Electric cars were popular in the late-19th century and early 20th century, until advances in internal combustion engine technology and mass...

 was manufactured in Aurskog.

Sister cities

The following cities are twinned
Town twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...

 with Aurskog-Høland: - Frederikssund, Region Hovedstaden
Region Hovedstaden
The Capital Region of Denmark is an administrative region of Denmark established on January 1, 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which replaced the traditional counties with five larger regions. At the same time, smaller municipalities were merged into larger units, cutting the...

, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 - Kumla
Kumla Municipality
Kumla Municipality is a municipality in Örebro County in central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Kumla.The present municipality was formed during the latest nation-wide local government reform in Sweden, with the amalgamations taking place in 1966 and 1971.With 207 km² it is the...

, Örebro County
Örebro County
Örebro County is a county or län in central Sweden. It borders the counties of Västra Götaland, Värmland, Dalarna, Västmanland, Södermanland and Östergötland.- Province :...

, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 - Sipoo
Sipoo
Sipoo is a municipality of Finland. Its seat is in Nikkilä/Nickby.It is the eastern neighbour of Helsinki and is located in the Uusimaa region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water...

, Etelä-Suomi
Southern Finland
Southern Finland was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2010. It bordered the provinces of Western Finland and Eastern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Finland and Russia.- History :...

, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...


External links

  • Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
    Statistics Norway
    Statistics Norway is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876.Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every year on its web site. All releases are published both in Norwegian and English...

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