Akershus

Akershus
Akershus
Population (2014)	573.326

Akershus [ˈɑːkəʂˈhʉːs] ^ⓘ is a county in Norway, bordering Hedmark, Oppland, Buskerud, Oslo and Østfold; it also has a short border with Sweden (Värmland). Akershus, with more than half a million inhabitants, is the second largest county by population after Oslo. The county is named after Akershus Fortress. The county administration is in Oslo, which is not part of the county per se.

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1951	183,116	—
1961	234,323	+28.0%
1971	324,390	+38.4%
1981	369,193	+13.8%
1991	418,114	+13.3%
2001	471,988	+12.9%
2011	545,653	+15.6%
Source: Statistics Norway.^[1]

Religion in Akershus^[2]^[3]
religion			percent
Christianity			81.48%
Islam			1.93%
Buddhism			0.35%
Other			16.24%

Geography

The county is conventionally divided into the traditional districts Follo and Romerike, which fill the vast part of the county, as well as the small exclave west of Oslo that consists of Asker and Bærum. This resulted after the transfer of the great municipality of Aker (surrounding Oslo) from Akershus county to Oslo in 1948.

Embracing numerous suburbs of Oslo, notably Bærum, Akershus is one of the most densely populated areas in the country. The main national railway lines into Oslo run through Akershus with many junctions and stations such as Asker, Sandvika, Ski and Lillestrøm. Akershus includes some of the lake Mjøsa and some of the river Glomma.

The county also includes the historical place Eidsvoll, 48 km north of Oslo, in which the National assembly ratified the Norwegian constitution in 1814. ^{[citation needed]} South of Eidsvoll is the international airport of Oslo Airport at Gardermoen. Oslo's previous international airport, Fornebu, is also located in Akershus. The estate of the crown prince is located in Asker (the royal palace is in Oslo).

Infrastructure

The county has a major international airport, the Oslo Airport, Gardermoen. It also has two major hospitals, Akershus University Hospital and Sykehuset Asker og Bærum.

The main road from continental Europe, E6 enters Akershus in the south, and runs through eastern Oslo, further to Gardermoen and into Hedmark county on the eastern shores of lake Mjøsa.

E18 enters Akershus in the south-east, merges for a short stretch with E6 at Vinterbro in Ås, before running under central Oslo. E18 then turns south-west through Bærum and Asker before entering Buskerud county north of Drammen.

E16 runs from the intersection with E18 in Sandvika into Buskerud county west of Sollihøgda.

All main railways out of Oslo runs through Akershus:

South-west: Drammensbanen
South-east: Østfoldbanen as two separate railways
North: Gjøvikbanen
North-east: Hovedbanen, Gardermobanen and Dovrebanen
East: Kongsvingerbanen

History

Akershus became a fief in the 16th century, and then also included the current counties of Hedmark, Oppland, Buskerud and Oslo, as well as the municipalities of Askim, Eidsberg and Trøgstad in the county of Østfold. In 1662 Akershus became an Amt, and in 1685 Buskerud was separated from Akershus and became an Amt of its own. In 1768 Hedmark and Oppland were also separated from Akershus to become Oplandenes Amt (and Askim, Eidsberg and Trøgstad were transferred to Østfold). In 1842 the city of Christiania (Oslo) was made a separate Amt as well. In 1919 the term Amt was changed to Fylke. In 1948 Aker, the greatest and the most populous municipality of Akershus, was transferred to county of Oslo.

Name

The county is named after Akershus Fortress. The fortress was built in 1299, and the meaning of the name is "the (fortified) house of (the district) Aker". The name is somewhat misleading now since the fortress is now outside Akershus (it is in Oslo county since 1842). In fact, the administration of Akershus sits outside the county as well, in the centre of Oslo.