Lier, Norway

Lier kommune
Municipality
City Hall in Lierbyen

Coat of arms
Buskerud within
Norway

Lier within Buskerud
Coordinates: 59°47′38″N 10°15′58″E / 59.7937863°N 10.2660000°E / 59.7937863; 10.2660000Coordinates: 59°47′38″N 10°15′58″E / 59.7937863°N 10.2660000°E / 59.7937863; 10.2660000
Country Norway
County Buskerud
District Lower Buskerud
Administrative centre Lierbyen
Government
 • Mayor (2011) Helene Justad (H)
Area
 • Total 301 km2 (116 sq mi)
 • Land 281 km2 (108 sq mi)
Area rank #277 in Norway
Population (24971)
 • Total 21,594
 • Rank #40 in Norway
 • Density 77/km2 (200/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years) 9.8%
Demonym(s) Liung[1]
Time zone UTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code NO-0626
Official language form Bokmål
Website www.lier.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Lier is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lierbyen. The municipality of Lier was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The area Åssiden was transferred from Lier to the neighboring municipality of Drammen on 1 July 1951.

Norway's longest indoor shopping center, Liertoppen, is located in Lierskogen. The newspaper Lierposten is published in Lier.[2]

General information

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was Líðir. The name is the plural form of líð which means "hillside".

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times and was designed by Hallvard Trætteberg. They were granted on 14 August 1970. The arms show five silver-colored apple blossoms on a red background. The area is well known for the production of various types of fruit, berries, vegetables, and flowers, so this was chosen as a symbol of the area's lush scenery and agriculture.[3][4]

Number of minorities (1st and 2nd generation) in Lier by country of origin in 2017[5]
Ancestry Number
 Poland1,199
 Lithuania343
 Somalia310
 India301
 Pakistan245
 Iraq197
 Vietnam186
 Germany166
 Sweden162
 Kosovo153

Geography

Lier borders to the municipalities of Asker and Bærum (in Akershus county) and Drammen, Modum, Nedre Eiker, Røyken and Hole (in Buskerud county). It includes the villages of Lierbyen, Sylling, Sjåstad, Nøste, Gullaug, Lierskogen, and Tranby.

Lier is thought of as a "green lung" for Norway's capital, Oslo, with its vast number of fields and apple trees. It is also famous for its agricultural products as strawberries and vegetables.

The Gilhusodden Nature Preserve is home of many different bird species. The area is also used for recreation, especially swimming and sunbathing, with its long, shallow beach.

Notable residents

Attractions

Frogner Kirke
Frogner parsonage
  • Bygdeborgen – village stronghold from the Middle Ages on Fosskollen
  • Frogner Kirke – romanesque parish church built in 1650
  • Gilhusodden – Nature Preserve
  • Gjellebekk skanse – defence bulwark during the Great Northern War which prevented a Swedish invasion of Norway in 1716
  • Lier Bygdetun – Rural Museum including a 40-acre (160,000 m2) farm
  • Hans Christian Heg statue - at Haugestad in the community of Lierbyen
  • St. Hallvard's minne – memorial of St. Hallvard, patron saint of Oslo
  • Sylling cemetery – Ten British RAF Airmen are buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Plot

Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Lier:[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
  2. ↑ Store norske leksikon: Lierposten.
  3. ↑ Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". Retrieved 2009-01-10.
  4. ↑ "Liers kommunevåpen" (in Norwegian). Lier kommune. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
  5. ↑ "Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents". ssb.no. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  6. ↑ "Vennskapskommuner" (in Norwegian). Lier kommune. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
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