Ringerike, Buskerud Co., Norway
District and Municipality
District and Municipality
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Ringerike District, Buskerud
Ringerike is a traditional district in Norway, commonly consisting of the municipalities Hole and Ringerike in Buskerud county. In older times, Ringerike had a larger range which went westward to the municipalities Krødsherad, Modum, and Sigdal, also in Buskerud.
Ringerike has a rich history that is connected with one of the most notable kings in the history of Norway, the father of King Harald Fairhair Halfdan the Black, who subdued Gandalf, King of Alfheim and half of Vingulmork, and the Dagling clan. |
Tyrifjorden lake
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Gandalf was possibly the last king of Ringerike, whose name is given to the eponymous King Hring, son of Raum the Old (cf. Romerike), son of Nór (the eponymous ancestor of Norwegians), according to the Sagas of the ancient Northernlands, better known as the Orkneyinga saga. It is possible that this, as the name suggests, was the legendary heartland of the House of Sigurd Hring and Ivar the Wide-Fathoming. There are also many archaeological remains in the area, dating to the medieval period and earlier.
Ringerike was founded by its eponymous ruler Hring, who was the son of Raum the Old. One of the more significant historic people who have lived in Ringerike, was the king Halfdan the Black, father of Harald Fairhair, who united Norway into a single kingdom. In the early Viking Era before Harald Fairhair became the first king of Norway, Ringerike was a petty kingdom. Dagling was a legendary clan of Ringerike.
In the Ynglinga saga, Snorri Sturluson writes that the clan was descended from Dag the Great whose daughter Dageid married the Swedish king Alaric and was the mother of Yngvi and Alf, both legendary Swedish kings of the House of Yngling. One of the sons of Dag the Great was Óli, who was the father of Dag, Óleif, Hring (the old king Ring of Frithiof's Saga), Olaf, Helgi, and Sigurd Hjört, who was a petty king of Ringerike.
Sigurd Hjört was the father of Ragnhild Sigurdsdotter, the mother of Harald Fairhair. Following Harald's consolidation of Norway in the late 9th century, the kingdom appears to have been ruled by a series of local jarls and client kings. A later sub-king of Ringerike, Sigurd Syr, was the father of Harald Hardråde and the stepfather of Olav King Haraldson, the saint, both kings of Norway. When King Olaf Tryggvason came to Ringerike to spread the novel Roman Catholic religion of the new feudal empire of Charlemagne, Sigurd Syr and his wife allowed themselves to be baptized. Forced conversion to Christendom was a novelty, put into legal code by Charlemagne.
Ringerike was, in its beginnings, the southwesternmost district of the historical Uplands.In c. 1320, it was together with Hadeland, Land and Toten, a part of the county (or syssel) Haðafylki.Ringerike was in c. 1640 grouped with Hallingdal in the district Buskerud og Hallingdal Fogderi. In 1866, the district was divided into the Buskerud district, which included Krødsherad, Modum, and Sigdal, along with Lower Buskerud, excluding Kongsberg. The rest of Ringerike remained the same as it commonly is today.
Ringerike was founded by its eponymous ruler Hring, who was the son of Raum the Old. One of the more significant historic people who have lived in Ringerike, was the king Halfdan the Black, father of Harald Fairhair, who united Norway into a single kingdom. In the early Viking Era before Harald Fairhair became the first king of Norway, Ringerike was a petty kingdom. Dagling was a legendary clan of Ringerike.
In the Ynglinga saga, Snorri Sturluson writes that the clan was descended from Dag the Great whose daughter Dageid married the Swedish king Alaric and was the mother of Yngvi and Alf, both legendary Swedish kings of the House of Yngling. One of the sons of Dag the Great was Óli, who was the father of Dag, Óleif, Hring (the old king Ring of Frithiof's Saga), Olaf, Helgi, and Sigurd Hjört, who was a petty king of Ringerike.
Sigurd Hjört was the father of Ragnhild Sigurdsdotter, the mother of Harald Fairhair. Following Harald's consolidation of Norway in the late 9th century, the kingdom appears to have been ruled by a series of local jarls and client kings. A later sub-king of Ringerike, Sigurd Syr, was the father of Harald Hardråde and the stepfather of Olav King Haraldson, the saint, both kings of Norway. When King Olaf Tryggvason came to Ringerike to spread the novel Roman Catholic religion of the new feudal empire of Charlemagne, Sigurd Syr and his wife allowed themselves to be baptized. Forced conversion to Christendom was a novelty, put into legal code by Charlemagne.
Ringerike was, in its beginnings, the southwesternmost district of the historical Uplands.In c. 1320, it was together with Hadeland, Land and Toten, a part of the county (or syssel) Haðafylki.Ringerike was in c. 1640 grouped with Hallingdal in the district Buskerud og Hallingdal Fogderi. In 1866, the district was divided into the Buskerud district, which included Krødsherad, Modum, and Sigdal, along with Lower Buskerud, excluding Kongsberg. The rest of Ringerike remained the same as it commonly is today.
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Ringerike Municipality, Buskerud, Viken
Ringerike is a municipality in the traditional and electoral district Buskerud in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Ringerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Hønefoss.
The municipality of Ringerike was created on 1 January 1964 after the merger of the town of Hønefoss and the rural municipalities of Hole, Norderhov, Tyristrand, and Ådal. |
Town of Hønefoss
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However, the area of Hole was removed from the municipality of Ringerike on 1 January 1977 to become a separate municipality once again. The historic area of Ringerike included not just the modern municipality of Ringerike but also Hole and Krødsherad, Modum and Sigdal.
