Hobøl is a municipality

Municipalities of Norway

Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...

 in Østfold

Østfold

is a county in southeastern Norway, bordering Akershus and southwestern Sweden , while Buskerud and Vestfold is on the other side of the bay. The seat of the county administration is Sarpsborg, and Fredrikstad is the largest city.Many manufacturing facilities are situated here. Moss and...

 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...

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Elvestad

Elvestad

Elvestad is a well-known traffic junction area and a village in the Hobøl municipality in the Østfold county, Norway. It is where the "Riksvei" Elvestad is a well-known traffic junction area and a village in the Hobøl municipality in the Østfold county, Norway. It is where the "Riksvei" Elvestad is...

. Hobøl is situated about 40 kilometres (25 mi) southeast of 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...

. The parish

Parish

A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

 of Haabøl was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt

Formannskapsdistrikt

Formannskapsdistrikt was the name for a Norwegian local self-government districts put into force in 1838. This system of municipality was created in a bill approved by the Storting and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January 1837...

).

The largest village in Hobøl is Tomter

Tomter

Tomter is a village in the municipality of Hobøl, Norway. Its population is 1,361. It is the largest village in Hobøl, Knapstad is the second largest.Tomter has a railway station on Østre Linje, a part of Østfoldbanen....

, whose train station

Train station

A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...

 is served by Indre Østfoldbanen. Other villages in the municipality are Knapstad

Knapstad

Knapstad is a village in the municipality of Hobøl, Norway. Its population is 1,133, of which 78 people live within the border of the neighboring municipality Spydeberg....

, Ringvoll

Ringvoll

Ringvoll is a village in the municipality of Hobøl, Norway. Its population is 473....

, and the middle part of the municipality which is called Hobøl.

Hobøl was suggested as the replacement site for a new airport

Airport

An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...

 to replace Fornebu

Fornebu

Fornebu is a peninsular area in the suburban municipality of Bærum in Norway, bordering western parts of Oslo.Oslo Airport, Fornebu served as the main airport for Oslo and the country since before WWII and until the evening of October 7, 1998, when it was closed down...

, and in 1972 the Norwegian parliament voted to build it there. The 1973 oil crisis postponed that plan, and the new airport was finally built at Gardermoen

Gardermoen

Gardermoen may refer to:* Gardermoen, Norway* Oslo Airport, Gardermoen* Gardermoen Air Station* Gardermoen Line* Gardermoen Station...

, north of Oslo.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Hobøl 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....

: Hóbœli), since the first church was built here. The first element is hór or hár meaning "high". The last element is bœli which means "farm

Farm

A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...

". Thus the name means "the farm lying on a high ground". Prior to 1889 the name was written "Haabøl".

Coat-of-arms

The Coat-of-arms is from modern times. It was granted on 30 August 1985; it shows the municipality as seen from above. The municipality is mainly formed by a large valley

Valley

In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...

, cut by the meander

Meander

A meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse. A meander is formed when the moving water in a stream erodes the outer banks and widens its valley. A stream of any volume may assume a meandering course, alternately eroding sediments from the outside of a bend and depositing them on the...

ing Hobølelva

Hobølelva

Hobølelva is a river rising in Sværsvann in Oslo, until joining Lake Vansjø in Østfold. Hobølelva is the largest of the four tributaries of Vansjø, and flows into Vansjø at an average of 5.4 m³/s....

 river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

.

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 Hobøl: - Rõngu

Rõngu Parish

-Settlements:Small boroughs:Käärdi - RõnguVillages:Kalme - Käo - Kirepi - Kõduküla - Koruste - Lapetukme - Lossimäe - Piigandi - Raigaste - Rannaküla - Tammiste - Teedla - Tilga - Uderna - Valguta-External links:...

, Tartu County

Tartu County

Tartu County , or Tartumaa , is one of 15 counties of Estonia.It is located in eastern Estonia bordering Põlva County, Valga County, Viljandi County and Jõgeva County....

, Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

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...