Lahelle is a neighborhood and statistical area (''grunnkrets'') in
Sandefjord
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 ...
municipality,
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 the innermost part of the 5 km
Lahellefjord
Lahellefjord is a minor fjord-arm in the Tønsbergfjord in Sandefjord, Norway. It stretches from Natholmen Island to its base at Lahelle. The Lahellefjord is 5 kilometers long, and is one of four fjords
In physical geography, a fjord or fiord ...
. It was formerly spelled ''Ladhella'', which includes the word ''lada'', translating to loading or unloading vessels. The last section, -''hella'', most likely referred to the flat mountains. Boats were previously constructed at Lahelle, including Verven in Søndre- and Nordre Lahelle. The oldest remaining house at Lahelle is dated to 1853. A
shipyard
A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...
was previously located here and was utilized for repair and construction of
sailing ship
A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing square-rigged or fore-and-aft sails. Some ships c ...
s. The area is now made up of a mixture of homes and vacation homes. There are several piers here along with sandy beaches.
The statistical area Lahelle, which also can include the peripheral parts of the village as well as the surrounding countryside, has a population of 208.
Lahelle is located on the northern
Østerøya
Østerøya (East Island) is one of two peninsulas outside Sandefjord, Norway. It borders in west to the Mefjord and east to the Tønsbergfjord. Tønsberg Barrel is located on the southern end of the peninsula. Tønsberg Barrel is an old beacon ...
peninsula, west of
Gokstad
The Gokstad Mound (Norwegian: Gokstadhaugen) is a large burial mound at Gokstad Farm in Sandefjord (formerly Sandar municipality) in Vestfold County, Norway. It is also known as the King's Mound (''Kongshaugen'') and is where the 9th century Go ...
borough. It is considered a part of the urban settlement ''Sandefjord'', which covers the greater Sandefjord city area and stretches towards
Stokke
Stokke is a town in Sandefjord municipality in Vestfold County, Norway. It lies in-between Sandefjord and Tønsberg, two of Vestfold's largest cities. It was a municipality from 1838 to 2016. The administrative centre of the municipality was the ...
and into peripheral parts of
Larvik
Larvik () is a List of cities in Norway, town and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik. The municipality ...
municipality. The urban settlement Sandefjord has a population of 39,849, of which 39,144 people live within Sandefjord.
Not to be confused with Lahelle on
Nøtterøy
Nøtterøy is an island and a former municipality in the present-day municipality of Færder in Vestfold and Telemark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Borgheim. The parish of ''Nøtterø'' was estab ...
Island, Lahelle in
Lier, or Lahelle in
Glemminge in
Østfold
Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other side o ...
County.
History
Lahelle first gained importance in the 1800s when shipyards were established at Lahelle. For a limited time, it also became a port of call for steamships. Lahelle is also where the
Gokstad Ship was moved onto barges in 1880 and transported to
Kristiania
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 ...
.
[Olstad, Finn (1995). ''Sandefjords historie Bind 1: Strandsitter og verdensborger''. Sandefjord Kommune. Page 23. .]
References
Villages in Vestfold og Telemark
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