The village between Bergstaden and the lumber town

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Kongsberg, Bragernes and Strømsø

In the west, Eiker bordered Kongsberg, which in the latter half of the 18th century was the country's second largest city - only Bergen was bigger. At the opposite end were Bragernes and Strømsø. Both were formally subject to Christiania, but still had full market town privileges and were one of the country's most important export ports, especially for timber.

The proximity of these two large cities characterized the farming community at Eiker.

• Kongsberg

• Brager's

• Strømsø

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Kongevei and waterway

"Sølvveien" is a new name for the important road that was built between Kongsberg and Drammen in the 1620s. It has had many different names, but the most common was probably "Kongeveien". Transport along this route, especially to Kongsberg Sølvverk's warehouse, was an important industry for many at Eiker. Much of this transport was also provided by "røerts", which transported goods on the Storelva and Vestfosselva. All this traffic, both by land and by water, gave rise to shuttle stations, inns and inns.

• The magazine run

• Inns and guesthouses

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Quarry at Eiker

 

Large parts of the village lay within the circumference of Kongsberg Sølvverk, which operated sharpening and had several mining areas at Eiker. The most important were the Skarra mines, which were workplaces for between 60 and 100 miners. In addition, there was a significant ironworks at Skotselv - the Hasselverket - and at the other end of Eikeren was Eidsfo's ironworks.

• Sølvverket's mines at Eiker

• Hassel and Eidsfos Jernverk