Hans Heyerdahl-Landeveien, Åsgårdstrand 1890

Åsgårdstrand is a small port town in Horten municipality,

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered th ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. It is also the name of a former independent municipality and a center of trade. The town is situated 10 km south of Horten, 10 km north of

Tønsberg Tønsberg , historically Tunsberg, is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, eastern Norway, located around south-southwest of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near its mouth onto the Skagerrak. The administrative ce ...

and 100 km south of

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

by the west coast of the

Oslofjord The Oslofjord (, ; en, Oslo Fjord) is an inlet in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the and lighthouses and down to in the south to Oslo in the north. It is part of the Skagerrak strait, connecting the Nor ...

. On 1 January 1965 Åsgårdstrand and Borre municipalities, plus a part of Sem were merged into the new municipality of Borre. By the time of the merger Åsgårdstrand had 488 inhabitants and was the smallest municipality in Norway. Åsgårdsstrand is a summer resort destination with a number of restored old homes. It is home to various cafés, galleries, and a beach.

Edvard Munch Edvard Munch ( , ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter. His best known work, ''The Scream'' (1893), has become one of Western art's most iconic images. His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the dr ...

’s former home is now owned by the municipality and open to the public. It is also home to Borre Kystled, a hiking trail which leads to Borre National Park.

The name

The meaning of the name is the ''strand'' (beach, waterside) belonging to the farm ''Åsgård'' ( Norse - ''Ásgarðr''). The first element in the farm's name is´''ás'' meaning 'mountain ridge' (the usage here referring to its position on Raet), the last element is ''garðr'' meaning 'farm'.

History

Edvard Munch - Nuit d’été à Aagaardstrand

Åsgårdstrand was ladested (center of trade) from 1650 under

, from 1660 under Holmestrand. In 1752 the center of trade was given the rights of doing business with national goods. From the beginning of the 19th century, Åsgårdstrand, was a lively export harbor for lumber, of which most was exported to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. By the end of the sail ship era, the trade stagnated. The municipality was founded as Åsgårdstrand

formannskapsdistrikt () is the name for Norwegian local self-government districts that were legally enacted on 1 January 1838. This system of municipalities was created in a bill approved by the Parliament of Norway and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January ...

in 1837. Merchant and ship owner Anders Riddervold was elected as the first mayor. Dating from the 1880s, the town had been increasingly known as an important center for artists and painters. A number of internationally noted painters has either visited or lived in the town including

, Christian Krogh and

Hans Heyerdahl Hans Olaf Halvor Heyerdahl (8 July 1857 – 10 October 1913) was a Norwegian Realist painter. His work was characterized by naturalism and focused largely on portraits and landscape paintings. Biography Heyerdahl was born in Smedjebacken, Swede ...

. In 1898 Edvard Munch bought a house in Åsgårdstrand where he spent the first of many summers. The house is now operated as a small museum which is associated with the Vestfold Museum (''Vestfoldmuseene''). Since the 1920s Åsgårdstrand has been a popular vacation and recreational spot. Visitors come to the small town each summer and spend their holidays in one of the four hotels. From 2007, the town has had the classification of a Tourist Town, which gives the shop owners in the oldest part closest to the sea the right to keep open every day of the week. In order to become a Tourist Town the number of visitors needs to greatly exceed the number of residents throughout the year. In June every year, Åsgårdstrand celebrates Midsummer - the longest day of the year - with a large fire on the shore.

Notable people from Åsgårdstrand

* Hans Anton Apeness (1842–1930), lumber merchant born in Åsgårdstrand. A street in

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

has been named after him. * Einar Thorstein Diesen (1894–1962), broadcaster from Åsgårdstrand * Jahn Ekenæs (1847–1920), art painter, lived in Åsgårdstrand * Øivin Holst Grimsgaard (1900–1989),

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

born in Åsgårdstrand *

(1857–1913), art painter, lived in Åsgårdstrand * Jens Kristensen (1975–),

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

born in Åsgårdstrand * Per Lasson Krohg (1889–1965), art painter born in Åsgårdstrand, son of Oda and

Christian Krohg Christian Krohg (13 August 1852 – 16 October 1925) was a Norwegian naturalist painter, illustrator, author and journalist. Krohg was inspired by the realism art movement and often chose motifs from everyday life. He was the director and s ...

* Ingerid Paulsen Kuiters (1939–), illustrator lives in Åsgårdstrand * Svein Døvle Larssen (1928–), former editor of ''

Tønsbergs Blad ''Tønsbergs Blad'' is a local newspaper published in Tønsberg, Norway. The newspaper was founded by printer Hans Jørgen Magnus Hansen on 3 August 1870, with an initial circulation of 210 copies. By the turn of the century the circulation had g ...

'' bosatt i Åsgårdstrand *

(1863–1944), art painter with summer house in Åsgårdstrand * Ola Abrahamsson (1883–1980), art painter with summer house in Åsgårdstrand. A street in Åsgårdstrand has been named after him. * Nils Johan Semb (1959–), Norwegian national soccer team head coach, 1998–2003, living in Åsgårdstrand *Marthin Hamlet (1992-),

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sport ...

and

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

raised in Åsgårdstrand

References

External links

Map and aerial photo of Åsgårdstrand

Horten kommune about ÅsgårdstrandPhotos from Åsgårdstrand on FlickrScenicNorway, photos from Åsgårdstrand Åsgårdstrand Portal (only in Norwegian)Åsgårdstrand Velforening (only in Norwegian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aasgaardstrand Former cities in Norway Former municipalities of Norway Villages in Vestfold og Telemark Artist colonies Norwegian artists groups and collectives