Granholmen is a island located in the

Sandefjordsfjord The Sandefjordsfjord (), sometimes also called the Sandefjord (), is an approximately 9 km long fjord in the municipality of Sandefjord in Vestfold, Norway. It is located to the west of Vesterøya. The Sandefjordsfjord is the longest of the ...

Sandefjord, Norway Sandefjord () is a city and the most populous municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The municipality of Sandefjord was established on 1 January 1838. The municipality of Sandar was merged into Sandefjord on 1 January 1969. On 1 ...

. Situated around five kilometers south of the city center, the island is housing a campground, a cafe, kiosk, pub, soccer field, along with grassland and sandy beaches. It lies along county road 303 and is connected to the mainland by a bridge. A hotel was constructed on the island in 1902 when the island was purchased by Anton Johansen. He also established a restaurant at Granholmen. Ferries such as Fjeldvik, Huvik II, Laugen, Expedit, and Varden transferred visitors to the island. The island was home to a farm with cows until 1890, and later one of Norway’s largest wooden buildings with a restaurant and hotel. It also housed a school for Germans during World War II and was the location of the Norwegian championship in boxing in 1933 and chess in 1935. It was also previously a destination for damp ships carrying passengers. During the

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

of World War II, Granholmen Hotel was housing ''NS Ungdomsfylking'', the youth organization of the fascist party Nasjonal Samling. After the war, Stephan Trøber of

Sarpsborg Sarpsborg ( or ), historically Borg, is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg. Sarpsborg is part of the fifth largest urban area in Norway when paired with neigh ...

purchased the island and opened Granholmen Turisthotell. This hotel burnt down on September 4, 1950, and all ten hotel guests were brought to safety. The island was purchased by the municipality of Sandar the following year. The island was previously named Flatskjær but was given the name Granholmen in 1887 due to its many

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...

trees. Today, the island is used for a variety of outdoor activities, including sailing, kayaking, rowing, camping, hiking, swimming, boccia, soccer, and more. Granholmen is one of 124 islands within Sandefjord city limits. A new swimming rig and ramp were installed at Granholmen Campground in 2020. Granholmen’s sandy beaches are popular for swimming and one of few beaches on the western shores of the

History

After its expansion in 1931, the restaurant on Granholmen was considered the largest in the Oslo Fjord. A fire on the night before September 4, 1950, destroyed all buildings, and the 8-10 guests were brought to safety. The year after, the island was purchased by the city to use for recreational purposes. Granholmen was home to a hotel, restaurant, and in 1933, the first Norwegian Championship (NM) in boxing was held on the island. The island was also home to a sandy beach and a jumping tower, where visitors came to swim, sunbathe and use their boats.

Notable residents

*Henrik Dannstrøm, entrepreneur.Henriksen, Marianne (2014). ''Sandefjordsfolk''. Liv forlag. Page 161. .

References

Sandefjord Islands of Vestfold og Telemark {{VestfoldTelemark-geo-stub

History

Notable residents

See also

References