Hønefoss, Buskerud, Norway: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2026, Week 35 Theme: "A Spot on the Map"

One of my major goals on a recent trip to Norway was to visit the location my Grandma Louise Nelson Bardahl's family had come from. Grandma's parents were Carl Johan Nelson and Karen Nilsdatter; both had been born, baptised, confirmed, raised and married in the area of Hønefoss, Buskerud, Norway. As this was to be our first trip to Norway, I was pleased to learn that the town of Hønefoss, located just 63 kilometres northwest of Oslo, is easily accessed by road and rail. It proved to be so much more than a mere"spot on the map".

Norderhov Kirke, Buskerud, Norway photo by author 14 May 2026

Over the years of researching my Norwegian ancestors, I had developed a strong sense of the importance of the Lutheran Church in their lives. As the state church in Norway from 1537-2016, it was tasked with being the official record keeper for Norway's vital statistics; these were recorded in the kirkebøker (church books) available freely online at digitalarikvet.no.

Not being fluent in Norwegian meant that my word recognition was limited to the words around births, baptisms, marriages, deaths and burials. Much of the nuance escaped me and I continue to discover more when I revisit records found some time ago. Part of the overlooking results from the organization of the parishes in Norway where the church records for parishes (sokn) under one main pastor might be grouped together in the name of his prestegjeld.

Entries relating to the Haug church are a good example of my failure to appreciate what I was overlooking. During the time of my  Hønefoss ancestors, the relevant prestegjeld was the Norderhov prestegjeld. It's easy to read the Norderhov church books and jump to the conclusion that any baptisms,  marriages or burials listed there would have occurred at the Norderhov kirke. In fact, the Norderhov kirkebøker include records for Haug, Hønefoss, Lunder, Viker as well as Norderhov churches. Sometimes records clearly indicate the relevant church -- and sometimes they don't.

Norderhov church book marriages 1795 - marriage of Torger Hanson and Sonev Nielsdatter

For example, the marriage of my grandmother's grandparents did actually occur at Norderhov Church ("Nordrehaug") on 7 April 1795 as shown in their marriage record (above). 

Norderhov Kirke, Buskerud, Norway - photo by author 14 May 2026

Grandma had visited Norway in 1967 and proudly shared the following photograph of the church associated with her parents and identified it on the back as shown. An examination of the steeples will show that her picture was not of Norderhov Kirke.

Grandma had identified it as being at Lucken (Løken farm associated with her family). It took just a bit of digging to determine that Grandma's picture is of Haug Kirke. 

Haug Kirke photo 14 May 2026 by author

Haug Kirke photo 14 May 2026 by B Graham Barnard

Upon our return home,  I revisited some of the old records I had found years ago to see if I could find more clues about certain events having actually occurred in this or any other specific church in the Norderhov prestegjeld. Here are the birth/baptism records for Carl and Karen, and, sure enough, a careful look under the baptism date shows "Haug". (And, yes, I do understand that Carl's record shows him to have been born to unmarried parents.)

birth and baptism Carl Johan Nelson (above) and Karen Marie Nilsdatter (below)

Other examples of records from the Norderhov kirkebøker indicate events from other of the local parishes in the group. For example, Carl's mother Guri Larsdatter's records indicate that she was associated with Viker (Wiger) Kirke.

Baptism record for Guri Larsdatter 31 May 1807 at Viker ("Wiger") Church

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Viker Kirke photo by author 15 May 2026

Viker is definitely farther afield from Hønefoss than Norderhov and Haug, as can be shown on the following map. For this reason, Viker became affiliated with Adaal rather than Norderhov from 1832. 

Map showing  Hønefoss town and area; Norderhov, Haug and Viker Churches - Google Earth

Because our time was so limited and the churches were of greater interest to me, we did not spend any time wandering around the town of Hønefoss. 

Hønefoss viewed from the train 29 May 2026

A couple of weeks later, on a train journey from Myrdal to Oslo we did pass through the area again and I snapped a few images from the train window. No longer just a spot on the map, I now have much better sense for the lay of the land and the interrelated nature of the local churches of the Hønefoss area.

Hønefoss area landscape from train window 29 May 2026 -Tyrifjorden