Nedre Eiker

Nedre Eiker was a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Eiker. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Mjøndalen. The old municipality of Eiker was divided into Nedre Eiker (lower Eiker) and Øvre Eiker (upper) on 1 July 1885.

Nedre Eiker Municipality Nedre Eiker kommune
Former municipality
Flag Coat of arms
Buskerud within Norway
Nedre Eiker within Buskerud
Coordinates: 59°45′53″N 10°2′0″E
Country	Norway
County	Buskerud
District	Eiker, Lower Buskerud
Administrative centre	Mjøndalen
Government
• Mayor (2018)	Bent Inge Bye (Ap)
Area  (upon dissolution)
• Total	122 km2 (47 sq mi)
• Land	114 km2 (44 sq mi)
• Rank	#369 in Norway
Population  (2003)
• Total	21,377
• Rank	#42 in Norway
• Density	187/km2 (480/sq mi)
• Change (10 years)	+11.5%
Demonym	Eikværing[1]
Official language [2]
• Norwegian form	Bokmål
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	NO-0625[3]
Website	Official website
Data from Statistics Norway

General information

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was Eikjar. The name is the plural form of eiki which means "oak wood". The meaning of Nedre Eiker is "(the) lower (part of) Eiker". (The municipality of Eiker was divided in 1885.)

See also: Øvre Eiker

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms was granted on 26 June 1970. The arms show three gold-colored oak leaves on a red background. The arms are canting because the meaning of the name (Eik) comes from the word for oak.^[4]

See also: Coats of arms of Eigersund, Songdalen, Tingvoll, and Øvre Eiker

Number of minorities (1st and 2nd generation) in Nedre Eiker by country of origin in 2017^[5]

Ancestry	Number
Poland	768
Turkey	488
Vietnam	410
Lithuania	290
Afghanistan	239
Iraq	230
India	198
Iran	170
Kosovo	143
Sweden	136

Geography

Drammenselva river

Nedre Eiker bridge

Nedre Eiker Church

The municipality is located in the southern part of Buskerud county. It borders the municipalities of Lier, Drammen, Hof, and Øvre Eiker. The majority of the residents live in the villages of Mjøndalen, Krokstadelva, Solbergelva, and Steinberg.

The Drammenselva River flows through the municipality of Nedre Eiker. It is one of the largest rivers in Norway, with a course running from Tyrifjorden in the north to Drammensfjord in the south.

Churches in Nedre Eiker

• Mjøndalen Church^{[citation needed]}
• Nedre Eiker Church^[6]
• Solberg Chapel^[7]
• Tabor Chapel^[8]

Notable residents

• Lars Korvald, former Prime Minister of Norway
• Herman Wildenvey (1886–1959), poet and author
• Svein Johannessen (1937–2007), international master of chess
• Jørn Hurum (b. 1967), paleontologist
• Ragnar Christiansen (born 1922), former Minister and Member of Parliament

Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Nedre Eiker:^[9]

• Enköping, Uppsala County, Sweden