| Øvre Eiker | |
| Idnumber: | 3314 |
| County: | Buskerud |
| District: | Eiker, Lower Buskerud |
| Capital: | Hokksund |
| Demonym: | Eikværing |
| Language: | Bokmål |
| Coatofarms: | Øvre_Eiker_komm.svg |
| Munwebpage: | www.ovre-eiker.kommune.no |
| Mayor: | Adrian Tollefsen |
| Mayor Party: | Conservative Party |
| Mayor As Of: | 2023 |
| Area Rank: | 223 |
| Area Total Km2: | 457 |
| Area Land Km2: | 418 |
| Area Water Percent: | 0.14 |
| Population As Of: | 2022 |
| Population Rank: | 62 |
| Population Total: | 20250 |
| Populationpercent: | 0.34 |
| Population Density Km2: | 37 |
| Population Increase: | 4.3 |
| Coordinates: | 59.7719°N 9.8361°W |
| Utm Zone: | 32V |
| Utm Northing: | 6626318 |
| Utm Easting: | 0546963 |
| Geo Cat: | adm2nd |
Øvre Eiker is 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 Hokksund. The old municipality of Eiker was divided into Øvre Eiker (upper Eiker) and Nedre Eiker (lower) on 1 July 1885.
As of 2015, more employees worked for the [municipal] government and in the service sector, than in any other field of employment; even fewer—16 %—are employed in construction or in [electrical] power companies and water companies; [13%] work in the manufacturing sector.[1]
The Old Norse form of the name was Eikjar. The name is the plural form of eiki which means "oak wood". The meaning of Øvre Eiker is "(the) upper (part of) Eiker". (The municipality of Eiker was divided in 1885.)
See also: Nedre Eiker.
The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 24 October 1981. The arms show three silver oak leaves and two acorns on a blue background. The oak is a canting element, since Eik means oak in the Norwegian language.[2]
(See also coat-of-arms of Eigersund, Nedre Eiker, Songdalen and Tingvoll)
| Ancestry | Number | |
|---|---|---|
 Poland | 611 | |
 Lithuania | 267 | |
 Afghanistan | 110 | |
 Germany | 101 | |
 Iceland | 96 | |
 Denmark | 87 | |
 Thailand | 84 | |
 Eritrea | 75 | |
 Iraq | 70 | |
 Turkey | 67 |
Øvre Eiker is a lush valley along Drammenselva with Modum to the north and Drammen to the east. To the south flows Eikeren watercourse, which is dominated by the contiguous Lakes Eikeren and Fiskumvannet. Eikeren is 156 Meters deep and is partly located in Holmestrand municipality in the south. The municipality's highest point, Myrehogget, 707 meters above sea level.[4] is located west, between Øvre Eiker and Flesberg municipality.[5]
About half of the municipality's inhabitants live in the municipal center Hokksund, which in 2021 had 9,514 inhabitants, the rest live mainly in the settlements Vestfossen, Skotselv, Ormåsen, and Darbu.[6] [7]
The municipality is part of the Drammen region and Buskerudbyen,[8] which is a collaboration within transport, environment and health.[7]
Hakavik Power Station, startpoint of 55 kV single phase AC grid for traction current.
Hellefoss Power Station, was put into operation in 1952.
Skotselv Power Station started production in 1992.
See main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Norway.
The following cities are twinned with Øvre Eiker:
Lempäälä, Western Finland, Finland[10]
Ulricehamn, Västra Götaland County, Sweden[11]