Tjøme () is an island in

Færder Færder is a municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Borgheim. The municipality was established in 2018 by the unification of the former municipalities of T ...

, and a former

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

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 A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

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 administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Tjøme. 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 ''Tjømø'' 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 ...

). Tjøme was the childhood holiday destination for writer

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 ...

. It is the second-largest island in

County.

General information

Name

The

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

form of the name was ''Tjúma''. The name of the

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

is probably very old, and the meaning is unknown. Prior to 1918, the name was spelled ''"Tjømø"''.

Coat-of-arms

The

coat-of-arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its w ...

is from modern times (1989). The arms show three silver-colored

oarlock A rowlock , sometimes spur (due to the similarity in shape and size), oarlock (USA) or gate, is a brace that attaches an oar to a boat. When a boat is rowed, the rowlock acts as a fulcrum for the oar. On ordinary rowing craft, the rowlocks are ...

s on a blue background which represents the three islands Tjøme, Brøtsø and Hvasser.

Geography

Tjøme municipality is completely located on islands, the main island being the Tjøme island, where Kirkebygda (the community center) is located, along with the shops, schools and restaurants. There are a few other central areas on the islands such as

Hvasser Hvasser is a populated island and a village in Færder municipality, Norway, connected to mainland and the city of Tønsberg via the islands Brøtsø, Tjøme and Nøtterøy. The name comes from the Norwegian word "hvass", meaning sharp, which is ...

, with active

fishermen A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreat ...

as well as the

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

industry for the bypassing travellers, with an icebar, shops, bunker station

petrol station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasoline ...

, and a number of places to buy food and supplies. There are approximately 4,600 permanent residents on the island, but in the summer months this number rises to around 40,000 inhabitants, including the Norwegian Royal Family who have a summer house on the island. The reason for the extreme increase is mainly the sea sports available in the area and the remarkably good weather. Summers on Tjøme are both warm and sunny, and the

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

es are filled with locals and tourists. Tjøme has been nicknamed ''Sommerøya'' ( en, the summer island). Tourists mostly from the

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 ...

area visit this charming island.

Verdens Ende Verdens Ende ("World's End", or "The End of the Earth" in NorwegianNickel, Phyllis and Hans Jakob Valderhaug (2017). ''Norwegian Cruising Guide—Vol 2: Sweden, West Coast and Norway, Swedish Border to Bergen''. Attainable Adventure Cruising Ltd. ...

( en, World's End, or more figuratively, The End of the Earth) lies at the southern tip of Tjøme Island, and has for years been visited by tourists. Tjøme is also a great place for

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

, even though they are limited by the size of the island. The spectacular seaside scenery can be seen all year round. Tjøme krk b

Tjøme Church

Tjøme church (''Tjøme Kirke'') is located in the middle of Tjøme. It was completed in 1866 after the prior medieval church was demolished in 1860. The church was constructed in

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It e ...

style and built with

Larvikite Larvikite is an igneous rock, specifically a variety of monzonite, notable for the presence of thumbnail-sized crystals of feldspar. These feldspars are known as ''ternary'' because they contain significant components of all three endmember fe ...

with other details in brick. A carved baroque altarpiece and a pulpit with figures of the evangelists were both performed in the period 1670–76. The stained glass windows were made in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and were consecrated in 1901. There are four church bells; two from

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

dating to 1707 and 1712 and two were cast in 1937 at

Olsen Nauen Bell Foundry The Olsen Nauen Bell Foundry ( no, Olsen Nauen Klokkestøperi) is a Norwegian bell foundry located in the municipality of Tønsberg. The foundry was established in 1844 by Ole Olsen, and it is headed today by the sixth generation of the Olsen ...

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 ...

. In the cemetery outside the church is the grave of author

Alf Larsen Alf Larsen (22 July 1885 – 12 December 1967) was a Norwegian poet, essayist and magazine editor. Biography Larsen was born at Tjøme in Vestfold, Norway. he was the eldest of seven children born to Alfred Larsen (1859-1905) and Kristi ...

(1885-1967).

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 ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tjome Former municipalities of Norway Populated places disestablished in 2018 Villages in Vestfold og Telemark Færder