Where to stay in Vik
Most beds in Vik gather in and around the centre of Hole, where the few guest rooms and small lodgings sit within reach of Hole kirke and the roads up to the royal viewpoints on the ridge. The centre is the natural base. It suits visitors who want the lookouts of Dronningens utsikt and Kongens utsikt on the doorstep and a short drive to the rest of Buskerud.
Rooms here are limited. Up toward Kronprinsens utsikt and the higher ground, holiday cabins and rural rooms stand scattered among the farms, a quieter choice for walkers heading to the viewpoints above the village. Stock thins fast away from the centre.
Out by Bønsnes kirke and the older parishes of Hole, farm stays and holiday houses spread across the countryside, handy for travellers touring this part of south-eastern Norway by car. Reserve well ahead in the warm months, when the viewpoints and the long northern daylight draw walkers to the heights above Vik.
About Vik
What is Vik known for?
Vik serves as the administrative seat of Hole, a municipality in Buskerud. The royal viewpoints draw the visitors. Dronningens utsikt, Kongens utsikt and Kronprinsens utsikt look out over the country around the village from the ridge above, and the lookouts have long given Hole its name among walkers.
In the centre stands Hole kirke, while the memorial to the victims of the terror attack of 22 July 2011 ties this corner of south-eastern Norway to a day the whole country remembers.
What are the main landmarks in Vik?
The royal viewpoints crown the ridge. Dronningens utsikt, Kongens utsikt and Kronprinsens utsikt each look out over the lowland of Hole from above Vik, the chief draw for walkers who climb the heights. Down in the village Hole kirke marks the centre, and Bønsnes kirke stands among the older parishes of the municipality, a protected church on the heritage list.
The memorial to the victims of the terror attack of 22 July 2011 gives the district a sombre place of remembrance, while at Onsaker an archaeological site of discovery records the deep past of this ground in Buskerud.
What is the history of Vik?
Vik grew as the gathering point of Hole, the old parish on the lowland of Buskerud. The find at Onsaker, a recorded site of discovery, shows that people settled and worked this ground in the deep past, long before the present village took shape around its churches. Settlement came early here.
Bønsnes kirke and Hole kirke rose to serve the parishes of the district, and the two churches anchored the scattered farms that spread across the countryside of Hole. The ridge above the village gave the place its lasting fame. Dronningens utsikt, Kongens utsikt and Kronprinsens utsikt carry the names of royal visits to the lookouts, and the viewpoints drew walkers to the heights over the generations that followed.
In a later age sorrow marked the district too. The memorial to the victims of the terror attack of 22 July 2011 was raised here, binding this quiet corner of south-eastern Norway to one of the gravest days in the country's recent history, and Vik kept its place as the centre of Hole through it all.
Where is Vik?
Vik lies in the south-eastern part of Buskerud, in south-eastern Norway (Østlandet). The village sits on the lowland of Hole below a ridge that rises to the royal viewpoints of Dronningens utsikt and Kongens utsikt, the high ground looking out over the parish from above. Farm and forest frame the centre.
Hole municipality reaches across the surrounding countryside, taking in the older parishes around Bønsnes kirke and the scattered farms whose fields run out from the village toward the wooded heights of this part of Buskerud.
What is the climate of Vik?
Vik has the cool, changeable inland climate of the Buskerud lowland. Winters bring frost and snow to the ground of Hole, the cold settling under the ridge of Dronningens utsikt through the dark months while the lowland holds its white cover well into the early year. Summers are short and green.
The long northern daylight warms the parish and draws walkers up to the royal viewpoints above the village, though cloud and rain off the western highlands of south-eastern Norway can reach this corner of Buskerud in any season.
How do you get to Vik?
Most travellers reach Vik by road. The main roads through Hole carry the traffic from the rest of Buskerud to the village, and the drive ends a short way below the ridge that climbs to Kongens utsikt and the other royal viewpoints. The journey is an easy one.
Buses serve the centre of Hole on the routes across the district, while drivers bound for Bønsnes kirke and the outlying farms follow the country lanes that thread the parish, the usual way of reaching this corner of south-eastern Norway from the towns around.