- Eidsvoll
Infobox_Kommune
name=Eidsvoll
idnumber=0237
county=Akershus
landscape=Romerike
capital=Sundet
governor=Arild Sandahl (Ap)
governor_as_of=2005
arearank=222
area=457
arealand=385
areapercent=0.14
population_as_of=2004
populationrank=52
population=18,338
populationpercent=0.40
populationdensity=48
populationincrease=9.4
demonym=Eidsvolling
language=Bokmål
lat_deg=60| lat_min=20| lat_sec=51| lon_deg=11| lon_min=15| lon_sec=3
utm_zone=32V| utm_northing=6692261 |utm_easting=0624219| geo_cat=adm2nd
munwebpage=www.eidsvoll.kommune.no
:"For the town in Australia, seeEidsvold, Queensland "Audio|Eidsvold.ogg|Eidsvoll is a municipality in the county of Akershus,Norway .The parish of "Eidsvold" was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see
formannskapsdistrikt ). The municipality ofFeiring was merged with Eidsvoll January 1, 1964.In addition to being a
commuter town forOslo , it also has agriculture and forestry industries. The main population and commercial centers are Sundet and Råholt.Location
Eidsvoll municipality is bordered on the north by
Østre Toten on the west side ofMjøsa andStange on the east side of the lake, in the east byNord-Odal , in Hedmark county. In the adjacent county ofAkershus to the southeast lies Nes, to the south liesUllensaker , and to the west lieNannestad andHurdal .History
Eidsvoll is mentioned in Old Norse manuscripts. In the 11th century it became the site of court and assembly ("ting") for eastern parts of Norway, replacing Vang, now a part of
Hamar inHedmark . Because of its access to the riverVorma and the lakeMjøsa has long provided a thoroughfare to northern parts of inland Norway. Eastern parts of Eidsvoll were for a short time the site of a minor gold rush when gold was found in 1758, and these areas are still known as "Gullverket", (the Gold works)."Eidsvoll Verk" was opened to smelt iron ore by
Christian IV of Denmark in 1624, relying on the excellent water power from theAndelva river. In 1688 it was owned by the director of theKongsberg silver mine , Schlanbusch, and remained in his family until 1781.Carsten Anker came into possession of works in 1794, at which time it was in decay since many of the surrounding forests required for charcoal had been depleted. He restored it and set up the production of stoves and similar iron goods. He also took residence in Eidsvoll in 1811, rebuilding the house which is now the "Eidsvollbygningen".Until recently, the main industry of Eidsvoll was agriculture, though the soil is rich in clay.
Eidsvoll was the site where the constitutional assembly met to draft and sign the
Norwegian Constitution onMay 17 1814 . The building ("Eidsvollbygningen") in which the meetings were held is today a famous museum.In
1854 , Eidsvoll became the end point for the first train line in Norway fromOslo . This became the transit point for travel with the steamshipSkibladner toHamar ,Gjøvik , andLillehammer .Henrik Wergeland was the eldest son of ProfessorNikolai Wergeland (1780 –1848 ), who had been a member of the constitutional assembly and was pastor of Eidsvoll. Although not born there, the poet and his sisterCamilla Collett were brought up in the rectory there.The name
The first element is the genitive case of the word "eid" (Norse "eiđ"), the last element is "voll" (Norse "völlr") 'meadow, field'. The meaning of the word "eid" is here 'road passing around a waterfall'. People from the districts around the lake
Mjøsa sailing down the riverVorma , and people fromRomerike sailing up the same river, both had to enter land here to pass the waterfallSundfossen . Because of this, the site became an important meeting place long before the introduction of Christianity.Until 1918 the name was written "Eidsvold". The town of Eidsvold in
Queensland ,Australia still uses this spelling.Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is modern dating to 1987 and shows a
weighing scale - to represent justice.Notable residents
*
Dagma Lahlum - resistance worker in World War II and fiancée ofEddie Chapman was born here.
*Ola Skjåk Bræk - politician and minister of industryExternal links
* [http://eidsvoll1814.museum.no/english/index.html Eidsvollbygningen museum]
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