Drammen, Buskerud (Norway)

Norwegian communities as a rule have flags that are banners of arms. There are very few exceptions, mostly for the cities having traditional coats of arms (i.e.. old and  non-heraldic, according to the modern Norwegian heraldic practice). Among others, such flags use Oslo, Trondheim and Bergen.

While browsing though Norske by- og adelsvaben [trt33a] I noticed an other such example - Drammen. Almost the same description is found in Norske kommunevapen [c2j87]. My translation:

On 9 July 1930 the city government adopted the city flag to be a way white stripe on a blue background.

This should represent the river Drammens-elven.

The Coat of Arms is based on the 1811 seal showing a column rising from a stony base and over it in saltire a sword and a key. In 1933 book this is shown golden on blue background, but the 1987 version shows the charges silver on blue, I guess inspired from the colours of the flag (this version of arms being adopted on 17 November 1960 after the drawing of M.W. Hauerback, per [c2j87]).
Zeljko Heimer, 5 July 2006

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Actually the sword and key also appeared in silver earlier, for instance in Haavin's Norske Byers Vaaben from 1898 [haa98], so the flag is unlikely to be the source of the colouring. Traetteberg probably reduced the number of colours to make the arms more heraldically correct. He was of the opinion that arms should only have two tinctures, though many of the arms shown in the 1933 book did not conform to his strict rules, but then his reform of Norwegian civic heraldry had at that point not been carried through.
Jan Oskar Engene, 6 July 2006