Ringerike

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Ringerike kommune

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County Buskerud
District Ringerike
Municipality
Administrative centre Hønefoss
Mayor (2003) Kolbjørn Kværum (Ap)
Official language form Bokmål
Area
- Total
- Land
- Percentage 1,552 Square kilometre>km²
1,423 km²
0.48 %
Population
- Total (as of 2004>2004)
- Percentage
- Change (10 years)
- Density Ranked 26
28,060
0.61 %
2.4 %
20/km²
Coordinates
[www.ringerike.kommune.no]
[Data from Statistics Norway]
Coordinates: Ringerike is a municipality in the county of Buskerud, Norway. The town of Hønefoss is the administrative center. Ringerike is bordered on the north by Sør-Aurdal and Søndre Land, on the east by Gran, Jevnaker, Lunner and Oslo, in the south by Bærum, Hole and Modum, and in the west by Krødsherad and Flå.

The traditional district of Ringerike

The name Ringerike is also used to mean the whole traditional district of Ringerike. Historic Ringerike includes not just the modern municipality of Ringerike but also Hole and (sometimes) Jevnaker.

There are many archaeological remains in the area, dating from the earliest times as well as from the medieval period. Ringerike has been mentioned in Norwegian history since the earliest times.

In the early Viking Age, before Harald Fairhair, the landscape was a petty kingdom, the Norwegian word rike meaning "kingdom".

History

Ringerike was, according to Norse tradition, named for the Hringari tribe. It was located to the north of modern Oslo. Sigurd Hjort Helgasson, a king of Ringerike, was the father of Ragnhild, the mother of Harald Harfargr, unifier of Norway. Following Harald's consolodation of Norway in the late 800's, the kingdom appears to have been ruled by a series of local jarls and client kings. One, Harald's son Halfdan Haleg, met his end in Orkney at the hands of Jarl Turf-Einar, who reputedly performed the blood-eagle on him. A later subking of Ringerike, Sigurd Syr, was the father of Harald Hardrada.

Born in Ringerike

Lars Berger, Norwegian biathlete
Frode Andresen, Norwegian biathlete
Erik Hagen, Norwegian soccer player

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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