Aurskog-Høland is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bjørkelangen. The municipality of Rømskog, in Østfold county was merged into Aurskog-Høland on 1 January 2020.

Aurskog-Høland Municipality
Aurskog-Høland kommune
Akershus within Norway
Akershus within Norway
Aurskog-Høland within Akershus
Aurskog-Høland within Akershus
Coordinates: 59°50′24″N 11°34′6″E / 59.84000°N 11.56833°E / 59.84000; 11.56833
CountryNorway
CountyAkershus
DistrictRomerike
Administrative centreBjørkelangen
Government
 • Mayor (2019)Gudbrand Kvaal (Sp)
Area
 • Total962 km2 (371 sq mi)
 • Land894 km2 (345 sq mi)
 • Rank#111 in Norway
Population
 (2004)
 • Total13,199
 • Rank#79 in Norway
 • Density15/km2 (40/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
Increase +7.3%
DemonymsAurskoging/Urskæving
Hølending[1]
Official language
 • Norwegian formBokmål
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-3226[3]
WebsiteOfficial website

General information

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Name

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The new municipality of Aurskog-Høland was created on 1 January 1966 after the merger of the four old municipalities of Aurskog, Nordre Høland, Søndre Høland, and Setskog.

The name Aurskog comes from the old Ør farm (Old Norse: Aurr which means "gravel"). The last element is skog (Old Norse: skógr which means "wood" therefore the meaning of the full name is "the woods around the farm Aurr". Prior to 1918, the name was written "Urskog".[4]

The name Høland is an old district name. The first element is høy which means "hay" and the last element is land which means "land".[4]

Coat-of-arms

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The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 4 February 1983. The arms show a black European crayfish (Astacus astacus) 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.[5][6]

Demographics

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Number of minorities (1st and 2nd generation) in Aurskog-Høland by country of origin in 2021[7]
Country background Number
  Poland 736
  Lithuania 259
  Sweden 148
  Germany 107
  Syria 107
  Thailand 91
  Eritrea 88
  Philippines 86
  Romania 82
  Pakistan 79
  Denmark 64
  Russia 55
  Netherlands 54

Geography

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It is the biggest municipality in Akershus, covering 967 square kilometres (373.4 sq mi). Main villages are Aurskog and Bjørkelangen, of which the latter one is the administrative center. Forests cover much of the area, but there is very good farmland as well. The rivers of Haldenvassdraget and Hølandselva run through the district.

Economy

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An important printing office, PDC Tangen AS and a crushing mill are situated here. Oslo is less than one hour's drive to the west.

The Think electric car was manufactured in Aurskog.

Notable people

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Christian Christensen Kollerud, 1814

Sister cities

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The following cities are twinned with Aurskog-Høland:[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
  2. ^ "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
  3. ^ Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (2023-01-26). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget.
  4. ^ a b "Historie om Aurskog-Høland" (in Norwegian). Aurskog-Høland kommune. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
  5. ^ Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". Retrieved 2008-12-17.
  6. ^ "Om Aurskog-Høland" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on July 9, 2009. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
  7. ^ "09817: Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents, by immigration category, country background and percentages of the population (M) 2010 - 2021". PX-Web SSB. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  8. ^ IMDb Database retrieved 14 November 2020
  9. ^ "Vennskaps kommuner" (in Norwegian). Aurskog-Høland kommune. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
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