Sem is a former municipality in

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 ...

county,

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 ...

. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1988. The area is now part of

Tønsberg Municipality Tønsberg () is a municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Jarlsberg. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tønsberg which was established in the 9th century. Other larger pop ...

. The

administrative centre An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

was the village of Semsbyen. Other villages in Sem included

Barkåker Barkåker is a village in the municipality of Tønsberg, 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 Sc ...

, Eik,

Husvik Husvik is a former whaling station on the north-central coast of South Georgia Island. It was one of three such stations in Stromness Bay, the other two being Stromness and Leith Harbour. Husvik initially began as a floating, offshore factory sit ...

, Husøy, Ringshaug, and Tolvsrød.

General information

The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of Sem 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 1877, a small area of Sem (population: 61) was transferred into the growing city of Tønsberg. On 1 July 1915, an area of Nøtterøy Municipality (population: 12) was transferred to Sem Municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee ( no, Schei-komitéen) was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II. It convened in 1946, and its formal name was (The 1946 Committee on Municip ...

. On 1 January 1965, the Stang area of northeastern Sem (population: 126) was transferred to Borre Municipality. On 1 January 1967, a minor boundary adjustment was made: an area of Stokke Municipality (population: 5) was transferred to Sem and a nearby area of Sem (population: 2) was transferred to Stokke Municipality. On 1 January 1988, all of Sem Municipality (population: 21,948) was merged with the city of Tønsberg (population: 8,896) to form a new, larger

Name

The municipality (originally the

) is named after the old ''Sem'' farm ( non, Sæmr, a compressed form of ) since the first

Sem Church SEM can refer to: Computing * Search engine marketing, promoting websites by increasing their visibility in search engine results * Security event manager, a security log tool used on data networks Economics and management * Stock Exchange ...

was built there. The first element is which means "

sea The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

" or "

ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

", likely referring to the local Tønsbergfjorden. The last element is which means "home" or "abode".

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 ...

had three parishes () within the municipality of Sem. It was part of the Tønsberg domprosti (arch-

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 Tunsberg. The churches in the parish included

, Slagen Church, Vallø Church, Søndre Slagen Church, and Husøy Church.

History

Originally the parish of Sem was named after the historic Sem Manor (). During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, Sem Manor was the residence of a royal and feudal overlord at the site where

Jarlsberg Manor Jarlsberg Hovedgård Jarlsberg Manor (Norwegian: Jarlsberg Hovedgård) is a manor three kilometres northwest of the centre of the town of Tønsberg in Vestfold og Telemark, Norway. It has traditionally been the residence of members of the Wedel-Jar ...

is located today. King

Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair no, Harald hårfagre Modern Icelandic: ( – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from 872 to 930 and was the first King of Nor ...

chose to install his son Bjorn Farmann as the master of the estate. It was here that Bjorn Farmann was killed by Eric Bloodaxe in 927. In 1673,

Peder Schumacher Griffenfeld Count Peder Griffenfeld (before ennoblement Peder Schumacher) (24 August 1635 – 12 March 1699) was a Danish statesman and royal favourite. He became the principal adviser to King Christian V of Denmark from 1670 and the ''de facto'' ruler of ...

took over the property which until then had belonged to the

King of Denmark The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional political system, institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes Denmark proper and the autonomous administrative division, autonomous territories of the Faroe ...

. Griffenfeldt named the farm ''Griffenfeldgård'', but three years later it was renamed Jarlsberg Manor (). In 1682, the buildings on Jarlsberg burned and new buildings of stone were built by the new owner, the Danish-Norwegian Field Marshal Wilhelm Gustav Wedel.

Government

While it existed, this municipality was 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 Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for Work (human activity), w ...

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 Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...

, and municipal

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

s. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

directly elected Direct election is a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the persons or political party that they desire to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are cho ...

representatives. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

was

indirectly elected An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office (direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the old ...

by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Tønsberg District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Mayors

The

mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities ...

( no, ordfører) of Sem: * 1838–1840: H.P. Holmboe * 1840–1843: Peter Sverdrup * 1843–1844: Jens Mørch * 1844–1850: Jacob Jacobsen * 1850–1852: Ole Helgesen Sande * 1852–1854: Mathias Askehaug * 1854–1858: O. von Munthe af Morgenstierne * 1858–1860: Hans Olsen Røraas * 1862–1866: H.C.P. Bakkeskaug * 1866–1868: Carl Askeløf * 1868–1870: J.L. Thams * 1870–1874: P.A.O. Røsland * 1876–1888: Nils Christian Larsen Ullenrød * 1888–1899: H.C. Horgen * 1899–1908: Kr. Løken * 1908–1910: J. Haagenrud * 1910–1911: A. Holth * 1911–1914: Kr. Løken * 1910–1911: A. Holth * 1914–1917: Tank Frydenberg * 1917–1920: Ole Olsen Nauen ( H) * 1920–1923: A. Monrad Rom * 1923–1931: Chr. Auli * 1932–1935: Th. Bostrøm Hansen * 1935–1939: E. O. Bjønness * 1938–1940: Nils Røraas * 1945–1945: Harald Norheim * 1946–1948: Morten Ilebrekke ( H) * 1948–1951: O. Olsen Nauen ( H) * 1952–1955: Asbjørn Døvle ( H) * 1956–1967: Alf Berg ( Ap) * 1967–1975: Gert Bjerløv (

KrF The Christian Democratic Party ( nb, Kristelig Folkeparti, nn, Kristeleg Folkeparti, se, Risttalaš Álbmotbellodat, , KrF) is a Christian-democratic political party in Norway founded in 1933. The party is an observer member of the European Pe ...

) * 1975–1988: Jacob Kirsebom ( H)

Municipal council

The

of Sem was made up of 41 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...

References

External links

Jarlsberg Hovedgård

{{use dmy dates, date=December 2023 Tønsberg Former municipalities of Norway 1838 establishments in Norway 1988 disestablishments in Norway