Kongsberg

Kongsberg lies on both banks of the Numedalslågen, where the river tumbles over a row of falls right in the middle of town. Nybrua crosses at the top of them, from Storgata, the shopping street on the east side, to the old quarters on the west bank, where the big brick church stands above the water. About 24.000 people live here, and the town lives from high technology. Kongsberg Gruppen, which makes defence systems and maritime electronics, has its head office here, and one job in twelve is in electronics and instruments, more than twenty times the national share.

Local knowledge: in the summer of 1623 two children herding animals found silver in the hills west of the river. Local farmers tried to work it on the quiet, but word got out, and by the autumn the state had taken over. King Christian IV came himself in the spring of 1624, founded a mining town and brought in German miners from Saxony and the Harz. The royal letter called it Konningsberg, after its founder. Kongsberg Sølvverk ran for 335 years. In 1769 the town had 8.000 people, more than any in Norway except Bergen, and a year later the works employed 4.075. The Royal Mint moved here from Christiania in 1686, and the town became a kjøpstad in 1802. When the last silver was smelted in 1958, the works had produced about 1.350 tonnes.

Born here: Morten Harket (born 1959) is the voice of a-ha, the first Norwegian band to top the American charts. Birger Ruud (1911–1998) was one of the best ski jumpers of all time and, with his brothers Sigmund and Asbjørn, won seven international titles.

Visiting: in summer the pin points to the tourist information on Kirketorget, open on weekdays, for tips on the mines and trails. Next to it stands Kongsberg Church, finished in 1761 and the largest Baroque church in Norway, with 2.400 seats. Outside it's plain red brick. Inside there are galleries on several floors, the Gloger organ from the 1760s, glass chandeliers from Nøstetangen and the most richly decorated royal box in Norway, facing the pulpit. Entry is free, and it's the rainy-day tip while the Norwegian Mining Museum by the river is closed for rebuilding, until summer 2027. The silver mines at Saggrenda are still open: in summer a mine train runs every day 2,3 kilometres into the King's Mine, 342 metres below the surface. Kongsberg Jazzfestival, one of the oldest in Norway, takes over the town every July, and in winter the ski slopes and trails start just west of town. Heddal Stave Church is a good stop if you carry on west into Telemark.

Fact sheet

• People: 23.912 in Kongsberg, 29.169 in Kongsberg municipality
• County: Buskerud
• Town since: 1624 (bergstad), kjøpstad 1802
• Typical industries: electronics and instruments, with Kongsberg Gruppen

Population on 1 January 2026, from Statistics Norway. Typical industries are the ones with a much bigger share of the jobs here than in Norway as a whole (Statistics Norway, 2025).