This article is about geographical Asker and the former municipality in Akershus. For the four times larger administrative municipality established in 2020, see Asker (municipality).
Asker (Norwegian: Asker), also called Asker proper (Askerbygda or gamle Asker in Norwegian), is a district and former municipality in Akershus, Norway, located approximately 20km southwest of Oslo. From 2020 it is part of the larger administrative municipality Asker (also known as Greater Asker[5]) together with the traditional Buskerud districts Røyken and Hurum; Asker constitutes the northern fourth and is part of the Greater Oslo Region. The administrative center was the town of Asker, which remains so for the new larger municipality. Asker was established as a parish in the Middle Ages and as a municipality on 1 January 1838.
History
Since the Middle Ages, the Asker parish consisted of the later municipalities Asker and Bærum. In the 19th century, Bærum became the Vestre Bærum and Østre Bærum parish and Asker and Bærum were also established as separate municipalities.
In 2020, Asker merged with Røyken and Hurum to form Asker Municipality, a larger administrative region than traditional/geographical Asker. The newly-formed Asker Municipality was made part of Viken County immediately following the 2020 merge. However, Viken dissolved on 1 January 2024, returning Asker (with the addition of Røyken and Hurum) to the county of Akershus.[6]
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Asker farm since the first church was built here. The name (Old Norse: Askar) is the plural form of ask which means "ash tree".
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 7 October 1975. The arms show a green background with three silver-colored tree trunks (Norwegian: askekaller) and are thus canting arms. The trees are ashes, which were cropped every year to provide food for the animals. The trees thus developed after many years a very typical shape, which was characteristic for the area.[7][8]
Place of the Millennium
In 1998, just before the millennium, the 'Askerbøringer' (the inhabitants of Asker) elected the beautiful area of Semsvannet including the mountain ridge Skaugumsåsen – to be their Place of the Millennium.
Geography
Its main parts are Asker, Gullhella, Vollen, Vettre, Blakstad, Bleiker, Borgen, Drengsrud, Dikemark, Vardåsen, Engelsrud, Holmen, Høn, Hvalstad, Billingstad, Nesøya, Nesbru, and Heggedal. Asker is a coastal place with many beaches, but also contains hills and woods. The district is known for many important businesses. It is also known for gardening. The Skaugum estate, where Crown Prince Haakon of Norway lives with his family, is situated here. The first IKEA store outside of Sweden opened at Slependen in Asker in 1963. There are many hiking/ sightseeing spots around Asker; such as Semsvannet lake[9] and Drengsrud cultural path[10] around the area.
Municipality reform
As part of the municipality reform process instigated by Minister of Local GovernmentJan Tore Sanner the municipalities of Asker, Hurum, and Røyken evaluated if they should merge into a new common municipality during the first half of 2016. A tentative agreement was reached and on 16 June 2016 the Municipal Council of Røyken approved the merger with Asker and Hurum with 24 votes for and 3 against.[11] On 14 June 2016 the Municipal Council of Asker also approved the merger with 42 votes for and 5 against.[12] A few days later the Municipal Council of Hurum followed suit and approved the merger. The proposed merger date was 1 January 2020 and the new name will be Asker.[11] Asker was merged with the municipalities of Røyken and Hurum as of 1 January 2020.
Minorities
Number of minorities (1st and 2nd generation) in Asker by country of origin in 2017[13]
Although Asker is principally a rural municipality, the expansion of Oslo has resulted in its becoming an affluent suburb. Thus numerous celebrities now reside in the area. According to SSB (Statistics Norway), Asker ranks as the 2nd wealthiest municipality in Norway based on median household income.
Sports
Asker is also the home of the sports club IF Frisk Asker; the club won the Norwegian Hockey championship in 1975, 1979, 2002, and 2019. Asker Skiklubb is the largest sports club in Norway. It has a long history dating back to 1889. Many of Asker's famous people have been successful individuals associated with the sports club.
The city is the home of Asker svømmeklubb. Asker women's football club has been home to many international players including four who played in the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup in China.
In 1916 (or 1917) the Arctic expedition ship Maud was built in nearby Vollen and launched into Oslofjord. The ship was designed and built especially for Roald Amundsen and sailed through the Northeast Passage between 1918 and 1924. Sold to the Hudson's Bay Company as the supply vessel Baymaud she sank at Cambridge Bay, Northwest Territories (now Nunavut), Canada in 1930. In 1990, the ship was sold by the Hudson's Bay Company to Asker town with the expectation that she would be returned there; however, the export permit expired due to the 230 million kroner () cost to repair and move the ship.[15][16][17] In 2011 a new project was commenced to salvage Maud and transport her to a new museum to be built at Vollen.[18]
On 31 July 2016 it was reported that the hull of Maud had been raised to the surface and placed on a barge in preparation for shipment to Norway.[19] In August 2017 Maud began the journey back to Norway; she was towed through the Northwest Passage. In September 2017 she arrived in Greenland to stay for the winter.[20][21]Maud arrived in Bergen on 6 August 2018, finally returning to Norway nearly a century after her departure with Amundsen. She was then towed along the Norwegian coast, and arrived at Vollen on 18 August.[22]
^Thorsnæs, Geir; Askheim, Svein; Kilhavn, Håvard (4 January 2024), Bolstad, Erik (ed.), "Asker", Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian), retrieved 9 January 2024.
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