Grimstad () is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It belongs to the geographical region of

Sørlandet Southern Norway ( no, Sørlandet; lit. "The Southland") is the geographical List of regions of Norway, region (''landsdel'') along the Skagerrak coast of southern Norway. The region is an informal description since it does not have any govern ...

. The administrative center of the municipality is the town of Grimstad. Some of the villages in Grimstad include Eide, Espenes, Fevik,

Fjære Fjære is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1846 until 1971. It was located to the north of the town of Grimstad. The name is still used to refer to that area, which is now a part of Gr ...

Håbbestad Håbbestad is a village in Grimstad municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located about half way between the villages of Rykene and Fevik on the north shore of the lake ''Temse''. References Villages in Agder Grimstad< ...

, Hesnes, Homborsund,

Jortveit Jortveit is a village in Grimstad municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located in the Homborsund area in Eide in southern Grimstad. The village of Homborsund lies just south of Jortveit and the Eide Church lies about west of th ...

, Kroken, Landvik,

Nygrenda Nygrenda is a village in Grimstad municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located in the far western, rural part of the municipality, about west of the village of Reddal. References

Villages in Agder Grimstad {{Agder-geo- ...

Prestegårdskogen Prestegårdskogen ( en, Woods on the Priest's farm) is a village area located in the municipality of Grimstad in Agder county, Norway. It sits about south of the village of Roresand and about east of the Landvik Church. The village is entirely m ...

Reddal Reddal is a village in the municipality of Grimstad in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the western part of the municipality in the Landvik area, about west of the town of Grimstad and about southeast of the small village of Nygrenda. Th ...

, Roresand, Rønnes, Skiftenes,

Tjore Tjore is a village in Grimstad municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located on the southern shore of the Landvikvannet lake, just north of the European route E18 highway. The village lies about to the west of the village of Øst ...

, Vik, and

Østerhus Østerhus is a village in Grimstad municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located near the Skaggerak The Skagerrak (, , ) is a strait running between the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, the southeast coast of Norway and the west c ...

. The municipality is centered around the little maritime town of Grimstad which is surrounded by many small islands (''

Skjærgård A skerry is a small rocky island, or islet, usually too small for human habitation. It may simply be a rocky reef. A skerry can also be called a low sea stack. A skerry may have vegetative life such as moss and small, hardy grasses. They a ...

''). There is a harbor, a main street, a small

market square The market square (or sometimes, the market place) is a Town square, square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world.Grimstad Church Grimstad Church ( no, Grimstad kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Grimstad Municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the town of Grimstad. It is the church for the Grimstad parish which is part of the Vest-Nedenes p ...

, and a museum dedicated to the early life of

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

, who served as an apprentice to Grimstad's local

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...

Reimann, from 1844 to 1847, before leaving Grimstad in 1850. Ibsen's intimate knowledge of the local people and surroundings can be seen in his poem ''

Terje Vigen ''Terje Vigen'' is a poem written by Henrik Ibsen, published in 1862. Much of the story and setting is from the area around the town of Grimstad in southern Norway where Ibsen lived for a few years in his youth. It describes the dramatic saga o ...

''. The majority of the inhabitants live in and around the town, while the rest of the municipality is rural and heavily forested. The municipality is the 264th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Grimstad is the 51st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 24,017. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 12.8% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The town of Grimstad was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see

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 ...

law). On 1 January 1878, part of the neighboring municipality of

(population: 948) was transferred to Grimstad. Again, on 1 January 1960, another part of Fjære (pop: 344) was transferred to Grimstad. On 1 January 1971, the rural municipalities of Fjære (pop: 6,189) and Landvik (pop: 2,781) were merged with the town of Grimstad (pop: 2,794) to form a significantly larger municipality of Grimstad with a total population of 11,764 at the time of the merger.

Name

The city's name was originally Grømstad, when Norway belonged to the Danish kingdom. The name was misunderstood and became Grimstad during the registration of Norwegian cities and small places. The site of the town was originally the port ( non, stoð) of the old ''Grøm'' farm. The exact meaning of the name ''Grøm'' is uncertain, but it is derived from a river name ''Gró'' or ''Gróa'' which means "the growing one".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted in 1899 and was based upon a seal of the city dating back to 1847. The blue and yellow arms show a

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

as a symbol for the importance of fishing and shipping to the city.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...

has four parishes () within the municipality of Grimstad. It is part of the

Vest-Nedenes prosti This list of churches in Agder og Telemark is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark in Agder and Vestfold og Telemark counties in southern Norway. The diocese is based at the Kristiansand Cathedral in the cit ...

(

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

) in the

Diocese of Agder og Telemark The Diocese of Agder og Telemark ( no, Agder og Telemark bispedømme) is a diocese of the Church of Norway, covering all of Agder county and most of Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. The cathedral city is Kristiansand, Norway's fifth larges ...

History

Grimstad lies within the boundaries of the ancient parish of

. It is reportedly first mentioned as a harbor in the 16th century. Eight years after he was deposed, Christian II of

Denmark–Norway Denmark–Norway (Danish and Norwegian: ) was an early modern multi-national and multi-lingual real unionFeldbæk 1998:11 consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (including the then Norwegian overseas possessions: the Faroe I ...

(1513–1523) attempted to recover his kingdoms. A tempest scattered his fleet off the Norwegian coast, and on 24 October 1531, they took refuge at Grimstad. On 1 July 1532, he surrendered to his rival, King Frederick I of Denmark, in exchange for a promise of safe conduct. King Frederick failed to honor his promise and imprisoned Christian until he died. An inn is recorded at Grimstad as early as 1607. In 1622, Grimstad became a recognized harbor under the town of

Arendal Arendal () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the Districts of Norway, region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the munici ...

. By 1747, Grimstad was identified as a sailing community and a recognized haunt of smugglers. During the Napoleonic Wars, England blockaded Norway. In 1811, an English brig entered the harbor to capture

blockade runner A blockade runner is a merchant vessel used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait. It is usually light and fast, using stealth and speed rather than confronting the blockaders in order to break the blockade. Blockade runners usuall ...

s, but was vigorously repulsed and did not return. John Frederik Classen, who owned the Frolands Værk (an

ironworks An ironworks or iron works is an industrial plant where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the singular of ''ironworks'' is ''ironworks''. Ironworks succeeded bloomeri ...

), obtained concessions to export and import through Grimstad and bypass Arendal with its

customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

dues. Grimstad was awarded market town status in 1816. The

Nørholm Nørholm, also called Nørholmen, is a manor house and agricultural property on in the municipality of Grimstad in Agder county, Norway. The estate best known because one of its owners was Nobel Prize-winning author Knut Hamsun. History Nørho ...

farm in Grimstad was the home of Knut Hamsun in the early 20th century.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Grimstad, are responsible for

primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wiktionary:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physical and menta ...

, senior citizen services, unemployment and other

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor. The municipality falls under the

Agder District Court Agder District Court ( no, Agder tingrett) is a district court located in Agder county, Norway. This court is based at three different courthouses which are located in Farsund, Kristiansand, and Arendal. The court serves most of Agder county and ...

and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council () of Grimstad is made up of 35 representatives that are elected to four year terms. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows:

Education

Grimstad is home to ''Drottningborg'', a private Lutheran boarding preparatory school. It is also the location of the '' Bibelskolen in Grimstad (BiG)'', a private Lutheran bible school. The University of Agder has its faculty of engineering seated here. A student dorm called "Grøm" is also in Grimstad.

Geography

Grimstad is a coastal municipality in Agder county bordering on the Skagerrak. The municipality is bordered by

in the east, Froland and

Birkenes Birkenes is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Birkeland, where about half the municipal population lives. Other villa ...

in the north, and Lillesand in the west. The lakes Syndle and Rore are found in the northern part of the municipality. Landviksvannet and Reddalsvannet lakes are found in the southern part of the municipality, near

. The rivers

Nidelva Nidelva is a river in Trondheim Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The name of the long river translates to "the River Nid" since the suffix ''elva'' or ''elven'' is the Norwegian language, Norwegian word for "the river". Location The N ...

and Tovdalselva run through parts of the municipality. The

Rivingen Lighthouse Rivingen Lighthouse ( no, Rivingen fyrstasjon) is a coastal lighthouse in the municipality of Grimstad in Agder county, Norway. The lighthouse was first established in 1886 on a small island at the southern approach to the harbour of the town of ...

and

Homborsund Lighthouse Homborsund Lighthouse ( no, Homborsund fyr) is a coastal lighthouse located on the island Store Grønningen in the municipality of Grimstad in Agder county, Norway. It sits about southeast of the village of Homborsund in the Eide area. It was es ...

both sit on small islands just off the coast. Panoramic of Grimstad taken from the harbour

Grimstad panoramic taken as the sun sets from Binabben

Climate

Grimstad has a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb, marine west coast), with autumn and early winter as the wettest season and Apil - July as the driest season. The all-time high temperature was 11 August 1975; the all-time low is recorded 8 February 1966. The March record high recorded 27 March 2012 was new national heat record for March. Most of the record lows are old; 8 of 12 record lows from before 1970 (November 2021). In February and March 1970 a snow depth of was recorded at Landvik. In recent times, snow usually melts fast along the coast, but the right weather setup can sometimes give large snowfalls. The weather station in Landvik, inland from the town of Grimstad, has been recording since 1957.

Attractions

The Maritime Museum, the comprehensive City Museum and the Norwegian Horticultural Museum, are all popular among tourists, as are the wealth of exhibitions and concerts that the town hosts. The town is also a popular destination for summer vacationers, and supports a robust shopping milieu during the Christmas season. During summer, Grimstad plays host to the Norwegian Short Film Festival, which attracts film enthusiasts from far and near. Another popular attraction is the Agder Teater at

Fjæreheia Fjæreheia is a former quarry in Norway where a characteristic red granite was mined. Since 1993 Fjæreheia has been a theatre for both the plays of Ibsen and modern rock musicals. Agder Theatre bought the quarry in 1995, and in summer 1999 buil ...

, an open-air stage located in a disused stone quarry. Shopping is also available in Oddensenteret along the harbour. (The view from Oddensenteret is seen in the panorama photo above.) The

Homborsund lighthouse Homborsund Lighthouse ( no, Homborsund fyr) is a coastal lighthouse located on the island Store Grønningen in the municipality of Grimstad in Agder county, Norway. It sits about southeast of the village of Homborsund in the Eide area. It was es ...

is located within the municipality. Grimstad is also home to the Nøgne Ø brewery.

Sports

The

1997 World Orienteering Championships The 1997 World Orienteering Championships, the 17th World Orienteering Championships, were held in Grimstad Grimstad () is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It belongs to the geographical region of Sørlandet. The administrative center ...

were held in Grimstad. The FK Jerv is the most important football club, and plays for first time at the top division in 2022.

Notable residents

The Arts

(1828–1906), playwright, wrote his first drama, ''

Catalina Catalina may refer to: Arts and media * ''The Catalina'', a 2012 American reality television show * ''Catalina'' (novel), a 1948 novel by W. Somerset Maugham * Catalina (''My Name Is Earl''), character from the NBC sitcom ''My Name Is Earl'' ...

'' in Grimstad in 1848/49 * Andreas Isachsen (1829-1903) a Norwegian actor and playwright * Knut Hamsun (1859–1952) Nobel lauriate author, lived in Norholm from 1918 *

Clara Thue Ebbell Clara Thue Ebbell (22 February 1880 – 1971) was a Norwegian author. She was born in Grimstad. She is known for her works of young adult fiction; titles include ''Hun som skrev Onkel Toms hytte'' (1916), ''Da Mayflower drog'' (1920), ''Fire p ...

(1880–1971) a Norwegian author of young adult fiction *

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...

(1916–1990), author, visited his grandparents and summered at the Strand Hotel in Fevik in Grimstad *

Lillian Müller Lillian Müller (born 19 August 1951) is a Norwegian model and an actress in motion pictures and television. She was born in Grimstad, Norway. Career A " Page Three Girl" five times, her first appearance was in January 1974. Müller achieved h ...

(born 1951) a Norwegian model and actress * Even Benestad (born 1974) a Norwegian documentary film director * Kjetil Mørland (born 1980), singer, songwriter, competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015

Public service & public thinking

* Bent Salvesen (1787-1820) ship's captain, lieutenant in the Royal Danish Navy and privateer *

Elisabeth Helmer Elisabeth Helmer (1854 – after 1912) was an early Norwegian professional female photographer who had a studio in Grimstad. She was also one of the town's most important women's rights activists. Biography Born on 24 October 1854 in Grimstad, He ...

(1854–after 1912) a professional photographer and women's rights activist *

Sverre Hassel Sverre Helge Hassel (30 July 1876 – 6 June 1928) was a Norwegian polar explorer and one of the first five people to reach the South Pole. Biography Sverre Hassel was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. As soon as he was old enough, ...

(1876–1928), polar explorer, accompanied Roald Amundsen to the South Pole *

Marius Nygaard Smith-Petersen Marius Nygaard Smith-Petersen ( November 14, 1886 – May 1953) was a Norwegian-United States, American physician and orthopaedic surgeon. Background Smith-Petersen was among the most prominent and innovative of orthopaedic surgeons of the ...

(1886–1953) an American physician and orthopaedic surgeon * Tryggve Gran (1889–1980),

polar explorer This list is for recognised pioneering explorers of the polar regions. It does not include subsequent travelers and expeditions. Polar explorers * Jameson Adams * Stian Aker * Valerian Albanov * Roald Amundsen * Salomon August Andrée * Piotr F ...

, flight pioneer and author *

Christopher Grigson Christopher William Baisely "Grig" Grigson (1 December 1926 – 19 February 2001) was a British naval architect and electronic engineering, electronics engineer who is credited with the invention of scanning electron diffraction. Early life and ed ...

(1926-2001) developer of the scanning electron microscope *

Thor Tjøntveit Thor Kristen Tjøntveit (28 July 1936 – 3 March 2017) was a Norwegian-American aviator. Tjøntveit grew up at Hesthagen in Grimstad, Norway. After taking his pilot's license, he moved to the United States in 1961; he became an American citizen in ...

(1936–2017) a Norwegian-American aviator and convicted fraudster * Esben Esther Pirelli Benestad (born 1949) a physician, sexologist and prominent trans person *

Gunhild Vehusheia Gunhild Vehusheia (born 1975 in Grimstad) is a Norwegian lawyer and women's rights leader. She served as President of the Norwegian Women's Lobby, an umbrella organisation for the Norwegian women's movement with ten nationwide member organisation ...

(born 1975) a Norwegian lawyer and women's rights leader

Sport

* Jacob Gundersen (1875–1968) a Norwegian-American freestyle wrestler, silver medallist (for Norway) at the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

* Dag Otto Lauritzen (born 1956), road bicycle racer, bronze medallist at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

and the first Norwegian to win a stage in the Tour de France in 1987 * Thor Hushovd (born 1978),

road bicycle racer Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

; 2010 World Road Race Champion; the first Norwegian to wear the yellow jersey and win the green jersey in the Tour de France

Twin towns – sister cities

Grimstad is twinned with: * Asikkala, Finland * Billund, Denmark * Köping, Sweden

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every yea ...

*
Visit Grimstad (Tourist Information)

Agder Theatre at Fjæreheia

Norway's Short Film Festival
{{use dmy dates, date=December 2020 Municipalities of Agder 1838 establishments in Norway