Dr�bak and Frogn was a established as a parish on its own through a royal decree Sept. 8, 1823. It had been a part of �s parish.
Dr�bak was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). It was merged with Frogn January 1, 1962.
Traditionally,
Dr�bak was the winter harbour of Norway's capital, Oslo, since in
severe winters the fjord will freeze from outside Dr�bak all the way up
to Oslo. It had a city status between 1842 and 1962, upon which point
the municipality was merged into the rural municipality Frogn and lost
its city status. The city status was regained by the municipality
council on 13 February 2006. It was also decided that adjacent villages
such as Heer would be included within the city.
A notable event in
Dr�bak's history is the World War II sinking of the German cruiser
Bl�cher in the Dr�bak narrows (only 1 mile (1.5 km) wide), on the early
morning of 9 April 1940. The cruiser was transporting German soldiers
and bureaucrats for the planned swift occupation of Oslo, but the
sinking by the Oscarsborg fortress delayed this, and thus allowed for
the evacuation of the Norwegian Royal Family, parliament, and cabinet,
and for the nation's gold reserves to be denied the occupiers.
Early
Dr�bak had ferries that crossed the fjord, in modern times they have
largely been replaced by an underwater tunnel. However, some of the old
ferries are still used as "floating restaurants" during the summer.
In
summertime, cruise ships visit Oslo almost every day. Often, as many as
four or five cruise ships visit each day, in addition to all the
regular traffic, it has made Dr�bak a popular sea-side tourist spot.
However, the numerous restaurants, art galleries and mild summers is
probably more important factors for visiting tourists.
Dr�bak is also
known for its many art galleries. The town has Christmas shop called
Julehuset (the Christmas house), and
