Tromøya () or Tromøy () (historic: ''Tromø'') is the largest

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 ...

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

. The island is entirely located in the municipality 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 ...

Agder Agder is a county (''fylke'') and traditional region in the southern part of Norway. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder counties were merged. Since the early 1900s, the term Sørlandet ("south ...

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 island has about 5,300 residents (in 2015) which gives it a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of about . The island is located directly across the

harbor A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

from the town of Arendal. The highest point on the island is the tall Vardåsen. The island is separated from the mainland to the north by the Tromøysundet

strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...

and it is separated from the island of

Hisøya Hisøya or Hisøy (historically: ''Hisøen'') is an island in Agder county, Norway. The island has been part of the municipality of Arendal since 1992. The main village areas on the island are Kolbjørnsvik, His, Slåbervig, and Sandviga. The ...

to the southwest by the Galtesundet strait. The long Tromøy Bridge ( no, Tromøybroa) is the

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

that has been the only road connection to the mainland since it was completed in 1961. There is also a passenger

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

that takes six minutes to transport riders from Skilsø to the town of Arendal. The company Aker Pusnes is located in Pusnes. It is a designer and supplier of all types of deck machinery and mooring systems for marine and offshore applications. Historically, the island belonged to the municipality of Østre Moland until 1878. From 1878 until 1992, the island was part of the municipality of

Tromøy Tromøy (historic: ''Tromø'') is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1878 until its dissolution in 1992. The municipal area is now part of the municipality of Arendal in Agder county. Th ...

. Since 1992, the island has been a part of the municipality of

Name

The name of the island (originally 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 ...

) historically was ''Tromø'', but more recently it has been spelled ''Tromøy'' or ''Tromøya''. These names come from 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 ...

word ''Þruma'' which means "rim", "edge", or "border". The suffix ''-ø'', ''øy'', or ''-øya'' all mean "island".

History

Viking era

Tromøya is known for having once hosted many

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

kings. According to the

Ynglinga saga ''Ynglinga saga'' ( ) is a Kings' saga, originally written in Old Norse by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson about 1225. It is the first section of his ''Heimskringla''. It was first translated into English and published in 1844 ...

Harald Granraude Harald Granraude (''Haraldr hinn granrauði'') was a semi-legendary Norwegian petty king of Agder who lived in the 9th century. He was married to Gunnhild Ragnvaldsdottir, daughter of Ragnvald Sigurdsson, of Huseby on the peninsula of Lista. H ...

, the King of

, had his headquarters on Tromøya. It also says that his daughter, Queen Åsa Haraldsdatter, took her one-year-old son, Halfdan Svarte back to Tromøya after the death of Gudrød Veidekonge. There are several place names on Tromøya derived from the Viking era including

Kongshamn Kongshavn or Kongshamn is a village in the municipality of Arendal in Agder county, Norway. Its population (2009) was 862. Kongshavn is located on the north side of the island of Tromøya, across the Tromøysundet strait from the village of Eyd ...

and Hove.

Hove Farm

Hove is an area located on the southwestern part of Tromøya which has easily cultivated due to its self-draining soil and it was therefore a convenient place for early

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

. The first recorded cultivation of

potatoes The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern United ...

in Norway is believed of have occurred at the Hove farm (''Hove gård'') which was one of the most significant estates on Tromøya. In 1757, the owner, Nils Mathiasen Aalholm, observed in his garden diary (''Nils Aalholms hagedagbok'') that potatoes were being cultivated on his farm.

World War II

During the

Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the ...

(1940-1945), the Germans had an

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

school on Tromøya called the ''Feld Flakartillerie-schule 50''. This school operated from 1941-1944 at a camp built on the Hove farm. The camp was built for 1,500 men. There were three

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

s on the island and supposedly four anti-aircraft cannons. Construction of a airstrip was begun, but never finished. Most of the camp's buildings, including the partially-completed airstrip, are still there today, along with a

bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. ...

br>(R618)
with an unknown purpose. The bunker is currently undergoing restorations (in 2007) but work has been halted due to an ownership dispute. The German military used 75 buildings in the area, most of them built during the war.

Attractions

Tromøy Church

Tromøy Church Tromøy Church ( no, Tromøy kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Arendal Municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the village of Brekka on the east coast of the island of Tromøy. It is one of the churches for the Tr ...

is the main church for all of the Tromøy parish in Arendal. The church is a medieval stone church from 1150. The foundation walls are thick. It was converted into a cruciform church in 1748. The church has a restored brick Romanesque portal with two

grotesque Since at least the 18th century (in French and German as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...

face masks on the wall on each side of the portal. The church was painted during the 1750s and decorated in

rococo style Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

. A 1750s-era model of ''Dronningen av Danmark'', a frigate based in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, hangs from the ceiling of the church's

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

. The

baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...

made of

soapstone Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in the zo ...

dates from the

medieval period 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 ...

. The

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...

and

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

are from 1725.

Businesses

The Arendal Herregaard Hotell was built in 1930 and it is one of the oldest

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

s in the region. It stands about from Spornes beach. There are also two camps on the island: Hove Leirsenter (Hove Camp) and the Hove Familie Camping (Hove Family Camping).

Hove Festival

From 2007 until 2014, the

Hove Festival The Hove Festival ( no, Hovefestivalen) was a music festival held on the island Tromøya outside of Arendal in southern Norway. It was held for the first time from 26 to 30 June 2007. Running for eight years and at one time the largest music fest ...

was Norway's largest festival venue, with a capacity of 20,000 people. Headliners for the first year included the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

bands

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

The Killers The Killers are an American rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingd ...

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line- ...

, and

My Chemical Romance My Chemical Romance (commonly abbreviated to MCR or My Chem) is an American rock band from Newark, New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist Mi ...

. In the fall of 2014,

Festival Republic Festival Republic is a UK music promoter. It was founded as Mean Fiddler Group in 1982 by Irish-born chairman John Vincent Power, as a venue-management and music-promotion group. After the group was taken over by Hamsard Ltd in 2005, the focus b ...

announced that Hove Festival would not return.

Media gallery

Arendal Færvik kirke.JPG,

Færvik Church Færvik Church ( no, Færvik kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Arendal Municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the village of Færvik on the island of Tromøy (island), Tromøy. It is one of the churches for the T ...

Krk-faervig.jpg, Færvik church Arendal_Galtesund_z.JPG, Lighthouse Hoveskogen.JPG, Hove Forest Arendal Tromøy Spornes b.JPG, Spornes headland on Tromøy Tre i Hoveskogen.JPG, Trees in Hove Forest Tromøybro1.jpg, Tromøy Bridge Tromøybro3.jpg, Tromøy bridge

References

External links

*
Hove leirsenter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tromoya Arendal Islands of Agder