Asker municipality is a municipality in Viken county and Akershus
constituency, established on 1 January 2020. The municipality
consists of the settlements Asker, Røyken and Hurum, which until
2020 were independent municipalities. The entire merged municipality
is located within the Oslo region. The joint political committee
that led the merger referred to the new municipality «New Asker
municipality». The merged municipality has also been referred to as
"Stor-Asker".
Before 2020, Asker was located in Akershus
county and makes up the northern quarter of the new municipality,
while Røyken and Hurum were located in Buskerud and make up the
southern three quarters. The southern part of Asker municipality
consists of the peninsula and the landscape Hurumlandet. The entire
merged municipality lies within what until 1919 was Akershus
diocese. Asker municipality is located in the diocese of Oslo, Oslo
team parish and Oslo police district.
Landscape
In Asker, the landscape consists largely of forest,
at the same time as the closer coast towards the Inner Oslo Fjord in
the northeast and towards the Drammensfjord in the southwest turns
into a plain landscape and areas with cultivated land in the valley
stretches. The geology of the landscape is also varied and bears
clear traces of the ice ages.
Farthest northwest in the
municipality is Vestmarka, which is located on a plateau at 300-400
masl. On the southern edge of this plateau is a ridge with a number
of peaks, with Bergsåsen (459 meters above sea level) and Furuåsen
(approx. 458 meters above sea level) being Asker's highest points.
In the extension of this ridge, to the northeast, lies Skaugumsåsen
(349 meters above sea level).
On the opposite side of Asker
center from Skaugumsåsen is Vardåsen, which is quite exactly the
same height. These two peaks tower over the lower landscape along
the west side of the Inner Oslo Fjord. South of Vardåsen is
Askerbørskogen, which is an east-going hanging valley that empties
into the hillside above Heggedal. Between Askerbørskogen and Røyken
is Kjekstadmarka, with Brennåsen (361 meters above sea level) as the
highest point. South of Røyken is Villingstadmarka, with
Villingstadåsen (357 meters above sea level) as the highest point.
Hurumlandet is the southern part of the municipality. The east
side of Hurumlandet has a large higher-lying outfield area,
Hurummarka, which is located at around 200-300 masl. Hurumlandet's
highest point is Stikkvannskollen (361 meters above sea level). In
the southwestern part of Hurumlandet are lower-lying agricultural
areas, with hills in between. The southernmost of these hills is
Haraldsfjellet (208 meters above sea level).
Coastline
Asker's coastline is 196.8 km, of which 124.3 km runs along the
mainland and 72.5 km along islands. The coastline along the mainland
is divided into three approximately equal parts towards the Inner
Oslofjord, the Outer Oslofjord and the Drammensfjord. It starts at
the border with Bærum in the northeast, and extends around
Hurumlandet to the border with Lier. Most of the islands are located
in the Inner Oslo Fjord, several of which are inhabited: