Drammen, Buskerud County, Norway

🇳🇴 Drammen is a city and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such as Konnerud, Svelvik, Mjøndalen and Skoger.

Geography: Location Drammen is located west of the Oslofjord and is situated approximately 44 km South-west of Oslo. The city is the regional capital. Drammen and the surrounding communities are growing more than ever before. The city makes good use of the river and inland waterway called Drammensfjord, both for recreation, activities and housing.

Name The Old Norse form of the city's name was Drafn, and this was originally the name of the inner part of Drammensfjord. The fjord is, however, probably named after the river Drammenselva (Norse Drǫfn), and this again is derived from drǫfn f 'wave'. The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 17 November 1960. The arms has a silver-colored column on top a silver-colored bedrock crossed with a silver-colored key and sword against a blue background. It is based upon the old seal dating from 1723 for Bragernes, one of the central parts of Drammen. The motto for Bragernes (in Latin) was In Fide Et Justitia Fortitudo (English: in faith and justice is strength), and the items in the seal are referring to this: key = faith, sword = justice, column on rocks = strength.

Governance On January 1, 2020, the municipalities of Svelvik, Nedre Eiker and Drammen merged to form «The New Drammen Municipality». The new municipality, which is now called Drammen, is located in Viken County and is Norway's seventh largest with over 100,000 residents. The main seat of the Greater Municipality is located in the city of Drammen. Drammen city had a population of 82.875 inhabitants in 2021, but serves as a regional centre for an area that had a population of 110.236 inhabitants in 2021. The city is the country's record champion in environment and urban development, 21 prices since 2003 with 16 national and 5 international.

Districts After the merger of the municipalities Drammen, Nedre Eiker and Svelvik in 2020, the municipality was then divided into ten municipal regions: • Mjøndalen • Krokstadelva • Åssiden • Gulskogen • Konnerud • Fjell • Strømsø • Bragernes • Åskollen • Svelvik.

History Rock carvings at Åskollen and Austad 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 (both on the southern side of the river). 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.

Its geographical location made the city favorable for seafaring, shipbuilding, log driving, timber trade. During the 19th century, paper and pulp industries were developed. 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. The Drammen Line (Drammenbanen) opened in 1872 providing rail service between Drammen and Oslo.

In 1909, Drammen got the first trolleybus system in Scandinavia, the Drammen trolleybus. The lines ran until 1967. For many years the centre of Drammen suffered from heavy traffic. In 1970, Drammen Bridge with two lanes on European route E18 was built (expanded to four lanes in 2006) and in 1999 the opening of the Bragernes tunnel (Bragernestunnelen) diverted additional traffic away from the centre of the city.

In recent years, the city centre has seen the introduction of new housing, shopping facilities, restaurants, cafes and bars, as well as a public pathway along the Drammenselva river.

In 2011, Drammen observed its 200th anniversary with many citywide jubilee celebrations. Drammen's district heating system was upgraded to use water-sourced heat pumps, drawing on local fjord water, to support population growth in the city.

Geography Drammen is one of the larger cities in Norway, and lies about 40 km (25 mi) from the capital of Norway, Oslo. The city centre lies at the end of a valley, on both sides of the Drammenselva river, and where the river meets the Drammensfjord. The Holmen island in Drammen is also the main harbor for car and fruit import in Norway.

The Drammen region is part of the metropolitan region around Oslo and the country's fifth largest urban area, it extends far beyond the municipal boundaries; into the municipalities of Lier, Asker, Øvre Eiker and Holmestrand. The total population of the settlement is 110,236 inhabitants as of 1 January 2021.

In 2008 Drammen won the prestigious prize for the best city development in Europe.

Demographics As of 2022, Immigrants and Norwegian-born with immigrant parents in Drammen is 29 per cent, of which 25 per cent are Norwegian-born with immigrant parents.

As of 2022, immigrants of non-Western origin and their children enumerated 20,507 and made up an estimated 22% of Drammen's population. Immigrants of Western origin and their children enumerated 9,333 and made up an estimated 9% of Drammen's population.

Aass Brewery Aass Brewery is the oldest surviving brewery in Norway, and has won acclaim for both its beer and its well-conserved building. Founded in 1834, the brewery's primary products are soft drinks, beer and aquavit.

Bridges • Øvre Sund Bridge (Øvre Sund bru) – crosses Drammenselva in the centre of Drammen • Drammen City Bridge (Drammensbrua bybro) – was a concrete bridge connecting the two centres of the city, built in 1936 and demolished in 2022. A new city bridge will open in the autumn of 2025 on the same site. A temporary pedestrian bridge crosses the river adjacent to the site of the new bridge under construction. • Drammen Bridge (Drammensbrua) – motorway box girder bridge on E18 that crosses Drammenselva, built 1971 • Ypsilon Bridge (Ypsilon bru) – cable-stayed pedestrian bridge over Drammenselva, built 2007 • Holmen bridges (Holmenbruene) – two railway bridges on the Drammen Line • Nedre Eiker Bridge – (Nedre Eiker bru) crosses Drammenselva up the river connecting the towns Krokstadelva og Mjøndalen. • Mjøndalsbrua – The old bridge between Mjøndalen and Krokstadelva, built for crossing of horse-drawn carriages in 1910.

Drammen Museum The Drammen Museum of Art and Cultural History includes Marienlyst, a manor house from ca. 1770, museum building from 1930 with the museum's administration, permanent exhibitions and collections, and Lyche pavilion from 1990 with the gallery, temporary exhibitions and museum café, Halling yard, with 5 old buildings, the oldest from 1760s. The museum also includes the two largest preserved like farms in Drammen, Gulskogen Manor and Austad farm.

Drammen Spiral The Drammen Spiral is a road tunnel that allows access to the Skansen Ridge, 180 m (591 ft) above the town. It opened in 1961 on the site of a former quarry.

Drammen Theater Drammen Theater in Bragernes was built in 1869 and was designed by architect Emil Victor Langlet. The theater was the first modern theater in the country. It was designed in a complex Renaissance style with symmetrical facades and round arched windows. After Drammen Theater suffered total destruction by fire in December 1993, a new theater was rebuilt on the model of the original house. It was finished during February 1997.

Drammensbadet Drammensbadet is a public swimming and training facility located in Marienlyst, Drammen. It was one of the largest in Norway when it opened 1 September 2008. They have five indoor and four outdoor pools.

Bragernes Torg (town square) Bragernes Torg is the largest town square in Norway and one of the largest in the Nordics.

Sport clubs • Strømsgodset IF and their elite football section Strømsgodset Toppfotball. Founded 10 February 1907. Five Norwegian Cups in football (1969, 1970, 1973, 1991, 2010). Winner of the Norwegian football league in 1970 and 2013. Won six Norwegian championships in bandy. • Drammen golfklubb. Founded in 1988. Golf club with 18-hole course situated in the southern part of Drammen, on the border to Sande in Vestfold. • Drammen HK Handball club competing in Men's European Champions League (07/08) • IF Hellas • IF Sturla • Konnerud IL Sport club most famous for its cross-country skiing facilities. • SBK Drafn Founded 15 September 1910, 21 Norwegian Championships in bandy, 1 lost cup final in football (1927). One World Champion ski jumper, Hans Bjørnstad 1950. Ole Olympic Gold medallist, Thorleif Haug 1924 (three gold, one bronze). • SBK Skiold • Drammen Bandy plays in the highest division. • Drammen FK. Founded 23 August 2008.