Buskerud

The administrative centre of the county is Drammen. Buskerud was one of the three counties merged into Viken on 1 January 2020. On 23 February 2022, the Viken County Council voted 49–38 to submit an application to the Norwegian government for a demerger of itself. Due to this, Buskerud (except the area forming the defunct municipalities of Røyken and Hurum) was re-established in 2024. The county was named after the old manor Buskerud (Old Norse: Biskupsruð) (Biskopsrøysa) located on the west side of the Drammen River in Åmot, Modum municipality. The first element is the genitive case of biskup, 'bishop' (referring to the Bishop of Hamar), the last element is ruð n 'clearing, farm'. The farm was one of the largest in Buskerud, and the original name of the farm (before it became a benefice) was probably Modum. At the time of the Reformation (c. 1536–39) the farm became property of the Crown at which time the farm then served as the residence of the king's bailiffs until 1668.