Ås is a municipality in Follo which from 2020 is part of Viken
county. The municipality borders Vestby, Frogn and Nordre Follo
(formerly Oppegård and Ski) which was in Akershus) and Indre Østfold
(formerly Hobøl which was in Østfold).
The administration
center for the municipality is on Ås. The towns of Nordby, Vinterbro
and Kroer are also part of the municipality. Most of the inhabitants
of Ås live in the center of Ås, Vinterbro and Nordby. A resident of
Ås historically belongs to Ås parish and is often called åsokning.
Local newspapers and Ås municipality like to use Åsborger about the
inhabitants.
Ås is a clay settlement with relatively large
farms and considerable grain cultivation. The municipality has
relatively little industry, and jobs are otherwise dominated by the
Norwegian University of Life Sciences, formerly the Norwegian
University of Agricultural Sciences (NLH). The municipality also has
one of Norway's most famous amusement parks, Tusenfryd. Large parts
of Ås are cultivated land and forest.
From the Middle Ages, there have been various
geographical and administrative divisions that have led to Ås being
part of Akershus County, Akershus diocese, Akershus county and
Akershus county, until the county reform that came into force on 1
January 2020 led to the municipality becoming a part of Viken
county.
Geography and climate
Ås center
The
municipality's town hall is located in the center of Ås. Next to the
town hall is the culture house with cinema and library. Ås Kino was
closed down in 2004, but in 2008 Ås Filmklubb was founded and has
since arranged film screenings in the old cinema hall. Rådhusplassen
in Ås has a large pool that is in use in the summer. There is also a
music pavilion on the grass area that is used for various cultural
events. There are also grocery stores, a bank, a doctor's office and
hairdressing salons in the center of Ås. It has been built approx.
800 new homes in the center of Ås in recent years.
The town
of Nordby
Nordby is the northernmost parish in Ås municipality.
It lives approx. 5000 people in and around the place. Nordby has
three schools at the lower and middle levels (Sjøskogen school,
Solberg school and Nordby school) and one school at the lower
secondary level (Nordbytun ungdomsskole).
The village
Vinterbro
Vinterbro is a town north of Ås municipality. The
amusement park Tusenfryd is located on Vinterbro. The municipality's
only shopping center is Steen & Strøm Vinterbro Handelspark with 82
stores. Bus routes 500 (Drøbak / Bekkevold – Oslo) and 520 (Ytre
Enebakk / Ski station – Vinterbro connect Vinterbro with Oslo and
Ski. On both routes, buses run every 15 minutes most of the
operating day (05-01).
The town of Kroer
Kroer is a parish
southeast of Ås municipality. Kroer church and local school Kroer
school is located in Kroer. Bus line 535 runs between Ås via Kroer
to Garder church, with nine departures a day (every hour morning and
afternoon), and only on weekdays. There is also a separate line for
commuters between Kroer and Oslo which has two departures in the
afternoon.
Lake Årungen
Årungen is a lake outside the
center of Ås. The lake is 33 meters above sea level, and is on
average 8.1 meters deep. The water in Årungen has been very polluted
for a number of years, for various reasons. Previously, 107 farms -
including 23 farms with livestock - escaped silo juice straight into
the sea. In the early 1980s, sewage from Ski and the then
agricultural college (now NMBU) were dumped in the lake. In
addition, a local potato chip factory dumped its potato peel into
the lake in 1989. Such types of discharges no longer occur, but
Årungen is still polluted.
Årungen is used today as a rowing
stadium and was the place for the NM in rowing in 2005. Årungen is
Norway's national rowing stadium.