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Topics in Eikerhistorie 2025-2027 "Eikerhistorie 2025-2027" is a project under the auspices of the association EIKERHISTORIE, which is an umbrella organization in which other voluntary organizations in Eiker can be members. The members as of today are Eiker Historielag, Eiker Arkiv/Sameia Kulturminnedag, Nøstetangensenteret, Hellefossen Elveeierlag and Østsiden Jeger- og Fiskerforening. It may be appropriate to invite more participants during the project period. Samfunnet under Hellefossen This is your Team Member description. Use this space to write a brief description of this person's role and responsibilities, or add a short bio. Nøstetangen - Norway's first glassworks This is your Team Member description. Use this space to write a brief description of this person's role and responsibilities, or add a short bio. War years at Eiker This is your Team Member description. Use this space to write a brief description of this person's role and responsibilities, or add a short bio. Setre og boplasser på Eiker This is your Team Member description. Use this space to write a brief description of this person's role and responsibilities, or add a short bio. Eikers skihistorie - topp og bredde This is your Team Member description. Use this space to write a brief description of this person's role and responsibilities, or add a short bio. Vestfos Cellulosefabrik This is your Team Member description. Use this space to write a brief description of this person's role and responsibilities, or add a short bio.

Milestein School circa 1920 Class picture at Milestein School circa 1920. The teacher is Anders Martinius Knudsen, who started at the school as a substitute in 1920, shortly after he had retired. In 1923 he celebrated his 60th anniversary as a teacher, aged 76 - see: Buskerud and Vestfold, Tuesday 27 November 1923 . The picture was submitted by Kari Næss, daughter of Knut Arne Næss, born 1910, standing farthest to the right in the third row (second from the back).

Diverse industrial development in the 18th century – machine mills, silk saws and factories Much of what happened in the 18th century was a further development of older technology. Alongside the small and simple stream saws came large grist and sifting mills – also called “Dutch mills” or “machine mills”. The first grist mill was established by Peder Tyrholm, who bought the Borge farm in Nedre Eiker and renamed it Møllenhof. He received a royal privilege to operate a grist mill in 1737, and in 1756 this was expanded to operate a sifting mill, which was based on grinding imported wheat. Later, Møllenhof was taken over by the famous mill builder Godberg Poulsen from Flensburg. Both grist and sifting mills became increasingly common during the 18th century. There were machine mills at Mjøndalen, on the Fossesholmsgrunn near Vestfossen and Hærebro near Skotselv. At the same time, important improvements were made at the sawmills. This was particularly linked to the invention of the "silk saw", which meant that one had several saw blades in the same frame. Instead of cutting one board at a time, one could then cut many boards at once. However, it was not simply allowed to increase production. In 1688, quantity regulations had been introduced, which set a ceiling on how much could be cut each year at the individual sawmill. Some sawmill owners then began to buy up smaller sawmills and transfer the quantity from there to the larger sawmills. Vestfossen and Skotselv consolidated their position as the largest sawmill locations, but sawmills also grew rapidly in Mjøndalen, by the Hoenselva and at Vendelborg during the 18th century. Other forms of industry also emerged during the 18th century. At Møllenhof, the production of linseed oil and green soap was started in addition to the groat and sifting mills. The term "silk saw" is used for a gang saw with several blades. The oldest water saws had only one blade, and the same log had to be cut many times. It could take many hours, even days, to cut a large log into planks and tables. With silk saws, the entire log could be cut in one operation. Of all the important technological innovations of the 18th century, the silk saw was perhaps the one that had the greatest impact on Eiker. At Hoenselva there were both wadmelstampers, which stamped wool into wadmels, and feldbereder tampers, which stamped hides to be used in the tanneries. Nail hammers appeared in many places, including at Skotselv and in Vestfossen. A small nail hammer in Dørja was moved to Krokstadelva, where it was expanded into a large enterprise under the name Krogstad Spiiger Fabrique. It was in operation for more than 100 years, and eventually also produced other iron products. Even more advanced was supposedly the hardware factory Friderichsminde, which was established at Stensrudfossen in Bingselva at the end of the 18th century. It was actually located in Modum, but was run by Frantz Neumann, who was the owner of Hassel Jernverk. Farm grinders and stream saws Mills and mills are documented in Eiker in written sources from the late 13th century, but have probably existed since the Viking Age. From Hoenselva we know the name Kverne, close to the place where Eiker Mølle is located today. The place name "Mjøndalen" comes from "Mylnardalen" – Mill Valley. At Vestfossen the noble estates Berg and Foss had their mills, and there were also large mills at Krokstadelva and Solbergelva, where the owners most likely ground the grain for many of the farms nearby. This was also industry, in the sense that water power was used to perform the work instead of muscle power. But the difference was of course great between the small mills by streams and rivers and the factories of the industrial age. The first water saws were not particularly large or complicated structures either. We estimate that the first up-and-over saws at Eiker were built around 1500, and when the Eikværings were required to pay taxes to Akershus Castle in 1528-29, many of the farmers paid in the form of sawmills. Within a few decades, more than 100 large and small water saws were built around Eiker, and sawmilling and lumber trade became an important industry for the Eiker farmers.

Rafting in the Drammen River Timber rafting had been taking place in the river since the High Middle Ages, and more and more of the timber had to be transported from the upper parts of the district, where there were still large forests. This applied to both sawn timber and beams that were cut with an axe. The authorities adopted regulations for the rafting and provisions on how large quantities could be cut and sawn on the various saws, but the rafting itself was organized by the lumber merchants in cooperation with each other, but where the largest sawmill owners had the decisive say. The most important timber hinge on Eiker was at Kverk below Skotselv, where the timber was held back and released in quantities no larger than it was possible to sort them when they arrived at the mills. The largest of these sorting hinges was the "Great Hinge" at Nøstetangen, where the timber going to the sawmills in Vestfossen was stopped. Another important hinge was Stenberg, where the beam timber was sorted. There were permanent crews at these hinges, while there was only seasonal work at the smaller hinges and at the quarrying in the tributaries. From Nøstetangen, the timber was pulled up the Vestfosselva river by horses walking along the riverbank. This work was carried out by "timber carriers". In addition, the sawmills in Vestfossen received a good deal of timber from the area around Eikeren. These logs were tied together in rafts and transported across the lake with sails. After the logs had been turned into planks and boards at the sawmills, they were chained together in large "mushrooms", often with several thousand boards, and floated down to the board plots at Bragernes. This plank floating was carried out by special workers called "nersetters".

What did it cost back then in the 18th century? In the Danish-Norwegian coinage system, the rigsdaler species was the main coin from 1544 to 1813, and in Norway it was usually called daler or species. In 1625, 1 rigsdaler = 4 ort = 6 marks = 96 shillings Skilling was a unit of currency used in Norway between 1505 and 1875. Converted to today's exchange rate, one skilling was worth approximately 1.50 NOK. Courant or kurant means small coin. 10 kroner for us was equivalent to 3,655 kroner in 1701. This corresponds to a price increase from 1701 to 2012 of 36,450%. The krone was introduced in 1875 in both Norway and Denmark. Salaries A servant who worked for a farmer earned 10-12 rigsdaler a year, but also had room and board. A maid had half the salary, 5-6 rigsdaler. In a year, a miner could earn 50 rigsdaler. In Norway, glass workers became a high-wage group. Cabin manager Christian Fillion at the crown glass cabin (window glass) in Hurdal 288 rigsdaler a year Blows away 192 rigsdaler a year in the same place Starts at the same place 120 rigsdaler a year In addition, various bonus schemes came in the amount of 3 - 6 riksdaler per month. Schoolmaster in the same place in 1776 28 rigsdaler a year Unskilled Norwegian workers 36-72 rigsdaler a year Salaries compared to Kongsberg Sølvverk The salaries are based on the Silver Works' accounts during the years the Skarra mines were in operation (1770-1798). 1st class miners: Exceeds 120 rigsdaler a year Sharpens 120 rigsdaler a year Prices Beef, 14-15 kilos: 1 rdl Clipfish, 8-20 kilos: 1 rdl Herring, 1 barrel: 3 rdl Sugar, 1 kilo: 1 tbsp Butter, 4-5 kilos: 1 tbsp Tobacco, 3 kilos: 1 rdl Barley flour, 1 barrel (139 liters): 3 rdl Spirits, simple, 1 pot (1 liter): 16 shillings/1 mark (1/6 daler) Wild boar, large: 1 1/2 rdl Young sheep: 1 place Goose, 3 pieces: 1 rdl Cow, 1 pc: 2-5 rdl Horse, old: 5-6 rdl Bricks, 144 pieces: 1 rdl Brass kettle: 1/2 rdl Silver bowl, large: 30 rdl Plate, 2 shillings Coffin, painted and well-studded: 1 rdl Chest with carvings: 15 rdl Duvet cover and duvet cover, used: 3 rdl per piece Sheet, fine canvas with "knippel", used: 1 3/4 rdl Sheets, striped, used: 1st place Bible, large: 8 pages Hat, "high-polled", black: 1/2 rdl Shoes or boots, one pair: 1 1/2 ort Hose, one pair: 12 shillings Paddy flour, gray, a cubit: 12 shillings Skirt, purchased (used): 2-3 1/2 rdl Cemetery space: 2 rdl Wax candles that burned on the altar during a funeral: 4-6 rdl For a blood donor to open a vein for bloodletting: 8 shillings

The Church and the Parish Priests Since the Reformation in 1537, the church in Denmark-Norway had been part of the state, with the King as head, and the priests were royal officials. The church service and the church acts – baptisms, weddings and funerals – were an important part of people’s daily lives. But during the 18th century, the church also gained an expanded social mission, with the introduction of confirmation in 1736 and a community school three years later. It also played an important role in the development of a poor system, and royal laws and decrees were announced on the church grounds after the services. Thus, the parish priest became a cornerstone of the absolute monarchy’s civil service. The main church and rectory at Eiker were geographically centrally located, close to the sound site of Haugsund. There were several homesteads here, and the "Egerske Company" had a practice area at the church. In 1741, the Nøstetangen glassworks was also built on the rectory grounds. Between 1741 and 1776 there were four parish priests at Eiker. Peder Anchersen had held the office since 1720, and previously he had been ship's chaplain for Peter Wessel Tordenskjold. He is described as He was parish priest until 1749, when he was succeeded by Christian Grave He was a poet and antique collector, very interested in history and was appointed Peder Jespersen NyropLorentz Schnitler The tombstones of Nyrop and Schnitler can still be seen in the cemetery at Haug Church, where they are among the oldest tombstones.

Magazine drive on "Sölvveien" The transportation of goods between Bragernes and Kongsberg is often called "warehouse transportation". In reality, this transportation took place both on land and by water. The actual transportation was carried out by "reeders" in rowboats and drivers with horses and carts. Along the river and the road there were transport stations, guesthouses and inns where both the transport workers and other travelers could quench their thirst and get food and shelter. This is where goods were probably also bought and sold to the local population, at a time when there were no country stores. All the traffic also provided work for craftsmen such as boat builders, blacksmiths, wheelwrights and shoemakers. In the latter half of the 18th century, the mining town of Kongsberg had around 8,000 inhabitants and was Norway’s second largest city – smaller than Bergen, but larger than Christiania. The local agriculture could not feed such a large population, and the miners and their families were completely dependent on a regular supply of grain and other foodstuffs. This gave great power to a small group of “suppliers”, who had the exclusive right to run this profitable business. Together with the top management at the Silver Works, they constituted the upper class in Kongsberg. The grain and other imported goods destined for Kongsberg came to Drammen - which actually consisted of two separate trading posts - Bragernes and Strømsø. The large warehouse of the silver works was located at Øvre Sund in Bragernes until 1786, when a new and larger warehouse was built on Strømsø. From here the goods were to be transported to the warehouse in Kongsberg - today known as "Magasinparken". This was the origin of the term "Magasinkjørsel", and the transport went through Eiker. Although a road had been built all the way to Bragernes as early as the 1620s, much of the traffic was carried out on the river, especially the transport of heavier goods. The "Røyertene" were a separate professional group, who rowed "big boats" up the river to Haugsund. Some goods were transferred to horses and carts at the Langebru transport station near Haug Church, but much was also transported by boat to Vestfossen and sometimes all the way to Rudstøa in Fiskum. However, the last leg through Kongsbergskogen had to be covered by horse and cart. This was by far one of the country's most important transport arteries. "The Silver Road" is a name that this road has been given in recent times. Originally, it was often called "The King's Road", but also "The Post Road", since there was a fixed postal route here with important correspondence between the management of the Silver Works and the central administration in Copenhagen. Today, several new and larger roads have been built between Drammen and Kongsberg, but at the end of the 18th century, the route was largely the same as when the road was built in the 1620s. Maintenance and improvements were carried out, however. One of the most important was the construction of stone arch bridges, which probably replaced older wooden bridges. The largest and most important was Smedbrua, which was built in 1767 by stonemasons from the Silver Works, where the road crosses the Fiskumelva River. Smaller bridges of the same type were built at Skogen and at Brekke on Nedre Eiker. Today, these bridges are protected as cultural monuments.

Movies about the war The Gunhildrud Tragedy is a 2024 film that tells the story of the dramatic events that took place on April 24, 1945 in the area around Gunhildrudsetra on the west side of Eikeren. The film is produced by the Well-being and Coping Center in Øvre Eiker municipality, and Anders Fossesholm and Bjørn Rørdam Bergersen are responsible for the script and direction. Duration: 1 hour 20 minutes. Watch a short clip from the film here: The entire film can be downloaded from Eiker Archive/Eikerhistorie: The Gunhildrudtragedien 6.7 GB - download time approx. 10 minutes

Inns and Guesthouses Many of those living along the main travel routes were likely able to host travelers, serve food and drink, and offer lodging for a small fee. However, if such activity was to be conducted on a somewhat larger scale, a royal license was required. These licenses were issued by the Rentekammer (Treasury Chamber) in Copenhagen, likely based on recommendations from local officials. At the same time, the innkeepers and guesthouse operators were required to pay an annual fee, which the bailiff was responsible for collecting. Therefore, the archive of the County Governor in Buskerud contains considerable information about who was engaged in such activity. From the Rentekammer’s order, dated 3 November 1759, to the bailiff Egger Madsen Fisker: Since it has graciously pleased His Royal Majesty to grant the following Royal Licenses for the operation of inns and guesthouses within the jurisdictions of Hurum, Røyken, Eiker, Lier, and Buskerud, entrusted to him, subject to payment of an annual fee in addition to what has previously been ordered or may be ordered henceforth, namely: Eiker Parish 16. Nils Sutterud from the settlement of Sutterud –                     1 rigsdaler 17. The widow of the late citizen Augustinus – from Lille Steenset –            48 skilling 18. Peder Augustinusen – from the settlement Sanden under Temte –        18 skilling 19. The resident of the holding Frognes under Haug Vicarage –              48 skilling 20. Lars Thosen from the settlement Bacherud near Vestfossen –           24 skilling 21. Tore Clausen, innkeeping on the Fossesholm side –                    1 rigsdaler 22. Rasmus Schiestad on the Semb side –                           1 rigsdaler 48 skilling 23. Peder Augustinussen – likewise –                                   1 rigsdaler 24. Ingeborg Sperren – likewise –                                    1 rigsdaler By Hokksund on the eastern side of the river 25. Richardt Gram –                                            1 rigsdaler 26. The widow of Peder Andersen –                                1 rigsdaler

The Plank nobility In the 16th and 17th centuries, the lumber trade and sawmill operations were dominated by lords, county governors and other central officials - both nobles and commoners - who operated on behalf of the King, but who also had private interests in this profitable trade. By the 18th century, the Crown had withdrawn from this industry entirely, and the role of the civil servants had been taken over by merchants, who were largely bourgeois on Bragernes or Strømsø. This was the new upper class, known as the "merchant patriciate" or "plankeadel". In the mid-18th century, the sawmill industry was completely dominated by a handful of families, who had largely intermarried with each other – Cudrio, Smith, Stranger, Wiel, Arbo, Cappelen and Hofgaard. The latter two had particular connections to Eiker – Cappelen as owner of Fossesholmgodset and Hofgaard as owner of the sawmills at Hoen and in Mjøndalen. But the others also owned and leased sawmills both in Eiker and in other villages. Several of them were also involved in the timber trade, but there were also several smaller players involved. With a luxurious lifestyle and high luxury consumption, this upper class also led the way in cultural developments, from clothing fashions to ornamental objects made of silver and glass or exotic consumer goods such as tobacco, sugar, coffee, tea, wine and spirits. These became consumer goods that the wider population also tried to acquire to the best of their ability – and which led parish priest Hans Strøm to chastise the Eikværingen for their excessive penchant for luxury in his "Physical-Oeconomistic Description of Eger Præstegield".

Photo registration 2025 During 2025, we will arrange a number of photo evenings in Nøstetangen Café at Sorenskrivergården. Here the public can help with information about the images, but everyone is welcome, whether they can contribute information or not. Thursday 27/3 at 7:00 PM Thursday 24/4 at 7:00 PM Thursday 25/9 at 7:00 PM Thursday 23/10 at 7:00 PM Thursday 20/11 at 7:00 PM

County magistrate, bailiff, magistrate and sheriff Throughout most of the 17th century, Eiker was a separate fief, but with its own lord and bailiff. From 1679, however, it was part of the newly established Buskerud county, and in 1708 Sigdal, Modum, Eiker, Lier, Røyken and Hurum were merged into one bailiff's office. Both the county governor and bailiff resided in or near Drammen, and they often sent deputies to the local assemblies. They were high-ranking officials, with whom the common people of Eiker only rarely came into contact. During the years that the Nøstetangen glassworks was in operation, Buskerud had only two county governors - Just Must, who held office from 1719 to 1760, and Andreas Fjeldsted, who was county governor from 1760 to 1788. The county governor's immediate subordinate was the bailiff, who was both a public prosecutor and responsible for collecting taxes and fees. Throughout most of this period - from 1749 to 1765 - Eggert Madsen Fischer was bailiff in the lower part of Buskerud. The bailiff was divided into two magistrates' offices, and the northernmost half includes Eiker, Modum and Sigdal. The magistrate did not live in Eiker either in the latter half of the 18th century. Both Giert Falch, who was magistrate from 1730 to 1753, and his successor Otto Laurentii Darjes, who held the office until 1780, both resided on the Mælum farm in Modum. However, when there was a court session at Eiker, they usually appeared there, unless they had a valid reason to do so. Such sessions were held three times a year, but "Extra-court sessions" could also be scheduled outside of this. The court sessions were held in Haugsund, but their own courtroom did not get its own location until around 1840. In the 18th century, the court was held in privately owned houses - Lieutenant Winther's house and later Madame Braun's house are constantly mentioned as "Eger's arranged courtroom". Alongside the parish priest, the sheriff was the public official who was present in the local community on a daily basis. Ever since the Middle Ages, the "farmer sheriff" had been the extended arm of the sheriff and bailiff at the local level – but at the same time the common people's spokesman towards the authorities. In the 18th century, the sheriff probably still had some of this role, but formally he was the county governor's subordinate, but responsible for maintaining law and order, collecting fines and a number of other tasks. The sheriff was no longer one of the village's large farmers, but an immigrant with roots in the bourgeoisie. In 1741, the same year that the glassworks at Nøstetangen were built, Eiker got a new sheriff - Peder Eliasen Søboholm. However, he died the following year. Then Søren Hiermind was sheriff from 1743 to 1751, Ole Høyland (hardly a relative of the famous master thief of the same name) from to 1761 and Stephanus Bagge until 1771. None of these four were born in Eiker, but all lived in Haugsund and were homeowners there. Between 1769 and 1775, Anders Høyland is also mentioned as sheriff at Eiker. He was a native of Eikværing and the son of the previous sheriff, Ole Høyland.