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Vestby

Vestby kommune
Municipality
Coat of arms of Vestby kommune
Coat of arms
Official logo of Vestby kommune
Akershus within
Norway
Vestby within Akershus
Vestby within Akershus
Coordinates: 59°34′30″N 10°43′55″E / 59.57500°N 10.73194°E / 59.57500; 10.73194Coordinates: 59°34′30″N 10°43′55″E / 59.57500°N 10.73194°E / 59.57500; 10.73194
Country Norway
County Akershus
District Follo
Administrative centre Vestby
Government
 • Mayor (2015) Tom Anders Ludvigsen (Ap)
Area
 • Total 134 km2 (52 sq mi)
 • Land 134 km2 (52 sq mi)
Area rank 367 in Norway
Population (2006)
 • Total 13,159
 • Rank 84 in Norway
 • Density 96/km2 (250/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years) 13.9 %
Demonym(s) Vestbysokning
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code NO-0211
Official language form Bokmål
Website www.vestby.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Vestby is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the Follo traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vestby.

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Vestby farm (Old Norse: Vestbýr), since the first church was built here. The first element is vestr which means "west" and the last element is býr meaning "farm". The neighbouring farms have the names Østby ("eastern farm"), Sunnby ("southern farm"), and Nordby ("northern farm"); and they must all four be the parts of a bigger and older farm, whose name is now unknown.

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 18 June 1982 and designed by Bjørn Linnestad. The arms show three gold bottony crosses on a red background, two over one. They represent the three original parishes in the municipality: Vestby, Garder, and Såner. At the same time they also represent the three natural harbors in the area: Emmerstad, Kjøvangen, and Sonskilen.

Archaeological research in Hølen has confirmed that the area has been populated since about 2400 BC. There are various archeological finds in the area, such as the ones from the Bronze Age.

Many Norwegian emigrants went to America during the 1840s and later settled in the area of the present city of Westby, Wisconsin (named after general store owner and American Civil War Union soldier Ole T. Westby); a city which still has a mostly Norwegian American population.


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