Flesberg is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Numedal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lampeland.

Flesberg Municipality
Flesberg kommune
Flesberg Council Offices at Lampeland
Flesberg Council Offices at Lampeland
Buskerud within Norway
Buskerud within Norway
Flesberg within Buskerud
Flesberg within Buskerud
Coordinates: 59°50′52″N 9°28′56″E / 59.84778°N 9.48222°E / 59.84778; 9.48222
CountryNorway
CountyBuskerud
DistrictNumedal
Administrative centreLampeland
Government
 • Mayor (2003)Egil Langgård (Ap)
Area
 • Total562 km2 (217 sq mi)
 • Land538 km2 (208 sq mi)
 • Rank#190 in Norway
Population
 (2004)
 • Total2,512
 • Rank#302 in Norway
 • Density5/km2 (10/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
Increase +0.2%
DemonymFlesberging[1]
Official language
 • Norwegian formBokmål
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-3334[3]
WebsiteOfficial website

The economy of Flesberg is dominated by forestry and agriculture, as well as the cluster of high-tech industries in neighbouring Kongsberg.

General information

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Etymology

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The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Flesberg farm (Old Norse: Flesberg), since the first church was built here. The first element is fles which means "rock" and the last element is berg which means "mountain".[4]

Coat-of-arms

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The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 10 March 1989. The arms show two tømmerklaver to represent forestry – and also the letter F.[5]

History

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Flesberg Stave Church

Flesberg Stave Church was built around the year 1250. After reconstruction in 1735, the church conformed with cruciform plan. The municipality of Flesberg was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The area of Jondalen was transferred from Flesberg to the neighboring municipality of Kongsberg on 1 January 1964.[6]

Geography

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The municipality is divided into the parishes Flesberg, Lyngdal, and Svene. Most of the population lives in the four villages of Svene, Lampeland, Flesberg, and Lyngdal. The municipal area is 560 square kilometres (220 sq mi). In the western part of Flesberg, the landscape rises steeply to the mountain area of Blefjell, a popular tourist destination.

Demographics

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Number of minorities (1st and 2nd generation) in Flesberg by country of origin in 2017[7]
Ancestry Number
  Lithuania 49
  Somalia 46
  Poland 35
  Eritrea 34
  Latvia 16

Notable people

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  • Finn Qvale (1873–1955) a military officer, cartographer and sports official
  • Jul Låg (1915-2000) a scientist and soil researcher
  • Hallvard Bakke (born 1943) a Norwegian politician

Sister cities

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The following cities are twinned with Flesberg:[8]

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. (26 January 2023). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget.
  4. ^ Haugen, Einar (1967) Norwegian-English Dictionary (University of Wisconsin Press) ISBN 978-0-299-03874-8
  5. ^ "Aktuelt" (in Norwegian). Flesberg kommune. Archived from the original on 1 May 2010. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
  6. ^ "Flesberg stavkirke". Kunsthistorie. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  7. ^ "Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents, by immigration category, country background and percentages of the population". ssb.no. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  8. ^ "Flesbergs vennskapskommuner" (in Norwegian). Flesberg kommune. Retrieved 6 January 2009.[permanent dead link]
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