May 20th 2011- City of Drammen bicentenary

The city has evolved from its natural surroundings, and the Drammen River is the town’s trademark. Once used for floating timber, this river collects water from some of Eastern Norway’s most important watercourses, which originate in the forests and mountains of Hallingdal and Valdres. Timber became the main industry for a whole district. The city’s location at the junction of trade routes to the east, west, north and south also provided favourable conditions for extensive trading.

As time went by, timber activities dwindled and finally came to an end in the middle of the 20th century. Other types of industry grew up in the wake of the wood-processing industry, most importantly engineering and later electrotechnical industry. The city’s business sector had survived post-war reconstruction and after going through several restructuring processes made a clear transition from manufacturing to service industries. The Port of Drammen bears witness to this. At one time the world’s largest port for the export of pulp and cellulose, its quays have now been taken over by car importers with their warehouses and pre-delivery workshops. Today, Drammen is the main port of entry for cars in Norway.

The Drammen River will always be the life nerve and trademark of the city. This once badly polluted river has been cleaned up over the past decades. There are parks and paths along its banks and a new road system carries through-traffic away from the city centre. This, in addition to considerable urban renewal, has brought new life to downtown Drammen and led to positive developments for the business sector.

NK: 1788
Motif: Drammen, the river city
Design: Kristin Granli
Photo: © Torbjørn Tandberg
Value: NOK 9.00
Number: Sheet with 50 stamps
Print: Offset from Joh. Enschedé Security Print, The Netherlands