Ås is a municipality in the county of Akershus, Norway. Ås is one of the fastest growing municipalities in Akershus, with a population growth of 343 in 2006. Ås is the largest agricultural municipality of Akershus, and home to the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and the amusement park Tusenfryd.

History

The parish of Aas was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The parish was named after the old farm Ås (Norse Áss), since the first church was built there. The name is identical with the word áss m 'mountain ridge'. The spelling Aas was in use til 1921.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from 1982. The rhombus is meant to represent a Nøstvet ax (a type of stone axe from the Old Stone Age, found in the municipality). The number three is meant to represent the three parishes of the municipality; Ås, Kroer and Nordby.

A 240 metre span bridge, which is a smaller scale recreation of a bridge that Leonardo da Vinci proposed in 1502 for the crossing of the Golden Horn is located in the municipality. It was created by Norwegian painter and artist Vebjørn Sand as part of his Da Vinci project. The bridge serves as a pedestrian crossing over European route E18.

Population

As of January 1, 2005, Ås municipality covers 103 km² and has 14,472 inhabitants. In 2007, the Ås urban area had a population of 8095. The municipality also contains one additional urban area, Togrenda, with a population of 2783. 1566 of the inhabitants live in the Ski urban area.

Ås is best known for the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and the amusement park Tusenfryd. Two of Norway's largest highways, European route E6 and European route E18, run through the municipality, and many of the inhabitants commute to Oslo. The most important source of income is agriculture; Ås is the largest agricultural municipality of Akershus, providing the region with corn, vegetables, and dairy products, 80% of the land being cultivated.

Famous residents

• Solveig Kringlebotn
• Christian Magnus Falsen
• Simen Agdestein
• Knut Hjeltnes

References