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 ...

in Agder

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 ...

. It is located in the traditional district 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 is the town of Tvedestrand. There are many villages in the municipality including

Dypvåg Dypvåg is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1960 when it was merged into the present-day municipality of Tvedestrand which is in Agder county. The small mu ...

, Fiane,

Gjeving Gjeving is a village in Tvedestrand municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located along the Skagerrak coast, just off Norwegian County Road 411, about east of the town of Tvedestrand and about east of the village of Dypvåg. The ...

, Gødderstad, Grønland, Kilen,

Klåholmen Klåholmen is a village in Tvedestrand municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located on the island of Sandøya, midway between the popular tourist destinations of Kilsund and Lyngør Lyngør is a village area on a group of small ...

, Krokvåg,

Laget Laget is a village in Tvedestrand municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located at the inner end of the Sandnesfjorden Sandnesfjorden is a fjord in Agder county, Norway. The long fjord is primarily in the municipality of Risør, ...

Lyngør Lyngør is a village area on a group of small islands in the municipality of Tvedestrand in Agder county, off the southeast coast of Norway. The village is about northeast of Tvedestrand and approximately southwest of the town of Risør.

Nesgrenda Nesgrenda is a village in Tvedestrand municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located along the Norwegian County Road 415 about west of the town of Tvedestrand and about northwest of the village of Fiane and the European route E18 ...

Østerå Østerå is a village in Tvedestrand municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located along the Norwegian County Road 411 on the shores of the Tvedestrandfjorden, just east of the town of Tvedestrand and about north of the village ...

Sagesund Sagesund is a small village in the municipality of Tvedestrand in Agder county, Norway. It is located on the shore of the Oksefjorden and along the Norwegian County Road 411. Sagesund is located about southeast of the town of Tvedestrand and a ...

Sandvika Sandvika () is the administrative centre of the municipality of Bærum in Norway. It was declared a List of cities in Norway, city by the municipal council (Norway), municipal council in Bærum on 4 June 2003. Sandvika is situated approximately ...

, and

Songe Songe is a village in Tvedestrand municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located along the European route E18, about northeast of the town of Tvedestrand and about south of the village of Akland (in neighboring Risør is a mun ...

. The town of Tvedestrand has a white-painted town center with irregular streets climbing steep hills around the harbor. The natural environment of the area makes it a tourist destination. The municipality includes numerous islands, which makes it popular in the summer for

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

ers. The number of people in the municipality practically doubles in the summer, due to vacationers. There are approximately 1,700 summer cottages ("hytter") around the fjord and coastal areas. Tvedestrand has over 2,000 buildings that are more than 100 years old. The municipality is the 298th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Tvedestrand is the 155th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 6,115. The municipality's

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 ...

is and its population has increased by 1.6% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The town of Tvedestrand 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). 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 1960, the rural municipalities of

(population: 1,805) and

Holt Holt or holte may refer to: Natural world *Holt (den), an otter den * Holt, an area of woodland Places Australia * Holt, Australian Capital Territory * Division of Holt, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives in Vic ...

(population: 3,759) were merged with the town of Tvedestrand (population: 868) to form a new municipality named Tvedestrand. On 1 January 1962, the

Strengereid Strengereid is a village in the municipality of Arendal in Agder county, Norway. It is located along the Norwegian County Road 410, about northeast of the village of Eydehavn and just west of the island of Flostaøya. The village of Sagene lies ...

area (population: 375) of Tvedestrand was transferred to neighboring

Moland Moland is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1962 until 1992 when it was merged into the present-day municipality of Arendal which is located in what is now Agder county. The administr ...

municipality. Then on 1 January 1964, the Holtegården area (population: 5) was transferred from Moland to Tvedestrand. The uninhabited Folevatnet area in Tvedestrand was transferred to the municipality of Risør on 1 January 1984.

Name

The town (and municipality) are named after the old ''Tveite'' farm ( non, Þveitar) where the town now sits. The first element is the

genitive case In grammar, the genitive case (abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can al ...

of the farm name and the last element is ''strond'' which means "strand" or "

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 ...

". The name of the farm is the plural form of which means "small farm".

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

was granted on 4 April 1986. The white and blue arms show a white tern, a typical seabird, on a blue background. The tern and blue background were chosen to represent the

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, ...

since the municipality was historically dependent on it for its

economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...

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 three parishes () within the municipality of Tvedestrand. It is part of the

Aust-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

Holt Church Holt Church ( no, Holt kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Tvedestrand Municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located just south of the village of Fiane, Tvedestrand, Fiane. It is one of the churches for the Holt parish which ...

probably dates from the twelfth century and it has an ancient

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). ...

. The interior was decorated by

Torsten Hoff Torsten Ottersen Hoff (c.1688 – 1754) was a Norwegian sculptor. In addition to commissions in his home town, he did work in several other places in eastern and southern Norway. He also made furnace models for the ironworks. He is known for ...

. Around 1600, Tvedestrand was mainly a harbour for the Berge and Tveite farms’ boats, hence the name Tvedestrand (''strand'' means beach or coast in Norwegian). Lyngør was the site of the

Battle of Lyngør The Battle of Lyngør was a naval action fought between Denmark-Norway and the United Kingdom in 1812 on the southern coast of Norway. The battle ended in a Dano-Norwegian defeat, and marked the end of the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway's involvement ...

between English and

Dano-Norwegian Dano-Norwegian (Danish and no, dansk-norsk) was a koiné/mixed language that evolved among the urban elite in Norwegian cities during the later years of the union between the Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway (1536/1537–1814). It is from this ...

forces during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

resulting in the sinking of the frigate of the Dano-Norwegian forces, '' Najaden'' by the British ship-of-the-line ''Dictator'' in 1812. The town, as it now exists, was built in the 19th century as a harbour for Norway's longest existing iron works, ''Næs jernverk''. Lying in the parish of Holt, ''

Næs jernverk Næs Ironworks ( no, Næs Jernverk or ''Næs verk'') in Holt (now part of Tvedestrand municipality, in Aust-Agder county, Norway), was an iron works which started operation in 1665 under the name “Baaseland Værk”. The blast furnace and ...

'' has one of the largest and most significant of the surviving mansions in

, built by Ulrich Schnell. Schnell bought up various iron works in the neighborhood and set up several sawmills in the district. He obtained a special license to export timber directly from Tvedestrand, establishing the basis for an international harbor.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Tvedestrand, 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 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 ...

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 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. The municipality is 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 ...

of elected representatives, which in turn elect a

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 ...

. 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

() of Tvedestrand is made up of 25 representatives that are elected to four year terms. Currently, the

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 ...

breakdown is as follows:

Geography

Tvedestrand municipality lies between the towns 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 ...

to the southwest and Risør to the northeast. The municipality also borders the municipalities of

, Risør, Froland,

Åmli Åmli is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional region of Sørlandet. The main population centre and administrative center is the village of Åmli which lies along the river Nidelva. Other villages in Åmli in ...

, and Vegårshei. Tvedestrand belongs to the geographical region of

in the

Østre Agder Østre Agder is a district or region in Agder county in southern Norway. The district covers the eastern, coastal areas of the county including the eight municipalities of Arendal, Tvedestrand, Risør, Grimstad, Gjerstad, Vegårshei, Åmli, and Fr ...

area of Agder county. The town itself lies at the end of a picturesque fjord, Tvedestrandfjorden, which is the name for the inner part of the Oksefjorden (originally ''Ufsefjorden'', meaning the fjord with steep, rocky sides). The municipality also encompasses the islands Borøy, Sandøy, and

Askerøya Askerøya is an island in Tvedestrand municipality in Agder county, Norway. The island lies along the Skagerrak coast. The island is just southwest of the Lyngør area and just northeast of the islands of Borøya and Sandøya. There is no ...

as well as the unique village of

which lies on several small islands. Lyngør was acclaimed "Europe's best preserved village" by

Europa Nostra Europa Nostra (Italian for "Our Europe") is a pan-European Federation for Cultural Heritage, representing citizens' organisations that work on safeguarding Europe's cultural and natural heritage. It is the voice of this movement to relevant intern ...

in 1991.

Lyngør Lighthouse Lyngør Lighthouse ( no, Lyngør fyr) is a coastal lighthouse located on the island of Kjeholmen in the Lyngør area in the municipality of Tvedestrand in Agder county, Norway. The lighthouse was established in 1879, and was listed as a protected ...

is located by the village. Tvedestrand municipality includes 162 islands, with a collected coastline of . The river Storelva, one of the Southern Coast's best salmon and sea trout rivers, flows past the

and ultimately out into the

Sandnesfjorden Sandnesfjorden is a fjord in Agder county, Norway. The long fjord is primarily in the municipality of Risør, but the innermost part of the fjord is actually in Tvedestrand municipality. The fjord originates at the large inland lake Vegår and f ...

Climate

Tvedestrand has a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb, marine west coast), with autumn as the wettest season and spring as the driest. The weather station in Lyngør, about from the town of Tvedestrand, has been recording since 1920. The all-time high at Lyngør lighthouse is from 12. August 1975.

Geology

A number of rare minerals are found in Tvedestrand: * Sunstone, a rare

feldspar Feldspars are a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagioclase'' (sodium-calcium) feldsp ...

exhibiting in certain directions a brilliant spangled appearance, which has led to its use as a

gemstone A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, ...

. * A rare yttrium

phosphate In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phospho ...

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ( ...

Xenotime Xenotime is a rare-earth phosphate mineral, the major component of which is yttrium orthophosphate ( Y P O4). It forms a solid solution series with chernovite-(Y) ( Y As O4) and therefore may contain trace impurities of arsenic, as well as sili ...

. * Thulite (also called rosaline), an opaque, massive pink variety of the mineral

zoisite Zoisite, first known as saualpite, after its type locality, is a calcium aluminium hydroxy sorosilicate belonging to the epidote group of minerals. Its chemical formula is Ca2 Al3( Si O4)(Si2O7)O(O H). Zoisite occurs as prismatic, orthorhombi ...

Attractions

*The 18th century

are from the town center. *Tvedestrand is recognized as a

book town A book town is a town or village with many used book or antiquarian bookstores. These stores, as well as literary festivals, attract bibliophile tourists. Some book towns are members of the International Organisation of Book Towns. List of boo ...

, a small village with a large number of second-hand or antiquarian book shops. *Interesting Places in Tvedestrand municipality: **

, a cluster of offshore islands which have been described as the ' Skagerrak Venice' and proclaimed by the European Commission to be “Europe’s best preserved village.” **

village ** Sandøya island, including the villages of Kilen and

** Borøya island

Notable residents

* Peder Johnsen (1783 in Tvedestrand – 1836) a sailor, rep. at the

Norwegian Constituent Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly (in Norwegian ''Grunnlovsforsamlingen'', also known as ''Riksforsamlingen'') is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly at Eidsvoll in Norway, that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised th ...

* Knud Knudsen (1812 in Tvedestrand – 1895) an educator, author, linguist and philologist *

Elise Wærenskjold Elise Wærenskjold (February 19, 1815 – January 22, 1895) was a Norwegian-American writer, temperance leader and early pioneer in Texas. Background Elise Amalie Tvede Wærenskjold was born in Dypvåg parish in Tvedestrand in the county of Aust- ...

(1815 in Dypvåg – 1895) a Norwegian-American writer, temperance leader and early pioneer in Texas *

Erik Eriksen Erik Eriksen (20 November 1902 – 7 October 1972) was a Denmark, Danish politician, who served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 1950 to 1953 and as the fourth President of the Nordic Council in 1956. Eriksen was leader of the Denmark, Dan ...

(1820 in Lyngør - 1888) a Norwegian polar captain * Arne Garborg (1851–1924), an

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, founded and edited the ''

Tvedestrandsposten ''Tvedestrandsposten'' is a local newspaper published in Tvedestrand, Norway. It was established in 1872 by Arne Garborg Arne Garborg (born Aadne Eivindsson Garborg) (25 January 1851 – 14 January 1924) was a Norwegian writer. Garborg champio ...

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

(still published in 2019) * Jens Holmboe (1880 in Tvedestrand – 1943) a Norwegian botanist, professor and author * Theo Findahl (1891 in Tvedestrand – 1976) a teacher, journalist and foreign correspondent * Alfred Engelsen (1893 – 1966 in Tvedestrand) a gymnast and diver, team gold medallist at the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

Kristian Vilhelm Koren Schjelderup Jr. Kristian Vilhelm Koren Schjelderup (18 January 1894 – 28 March 1980) was a Norwegian Lutheran theologian, author, and bishop of the Diocese of Hamar in the Church of Norway from 1947 to 1964. He was noted as a warm-hearted and intellectual, l ...

(1894 in Dypvåg – 1980) a Norwegian Lutheran theologian, author, and bishop of the

Diocese of Hamar The Diocese of Hamar ( no, Hamar Bispedømme) is a diocese within the Church of Norway. The Diocese of Hamar includes all of the churches in Innlandet county plus the churches in Lunner in Viken county. Administratively, the diocese is divided ...

1947 to 1964 *

Harald K. Schjelderup Harald Krabbe Schjelderup (21 May 1895 – 19 August 1974) was a Norwegian physicist, philosopher and psychologist. He worked with all three subjects on university level, but is best remembered as Norway's first professor of psychology. He was ...

(1895 in Dypvåg – 1974) a Norwegian physicist, philosopher and psychologist; Norway's first professor of psychology *

Rolv Werner Erichsen Rolv Werner Erichsen (2 December 1899 – 22 August 1988) was a Norwegian newspaper editor. He was born in Holt outside Tvedestrand in Aust-Agder. Career He was born as the eldest son of district physician Stian Erichsen (1867–1953) and ...

(1899 in Holt – 1988) a Norwegian newspaper editor *

Trond Bergh Trond Bergh (born 16 September 1946) is a Norwegian economic historian, and researcher at the Department of Innovation and Economic Organisation of the BI Norwegian Business School. Life and work Bergh was born in Tvedestrand, and took the can ...

(born 1946 in Tvedestrand) a Norwegian economic historian, writer and academic * Ketil Bjørnstad (born 1952) a pianist, composer and author; he lived in Tvedestrand in the 1970s/80s. His psychological thriller ''Twilight'' is based there *

Gina Lund Gina Lund (born 1962) is a Norwegian civil servant and politician for the Labour Party. She is currently serving as the county governor of Agder. She finished secondary education in Tvedestrand in 1981, and worked one year as a secretary in the ...

(born 1962) a Norwegian civil servant and politician, brought up in Tvedestrand *

Jenny Hval Jenny Hval (born 11 July 1980) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and novelist. She has released eight solo albums, two under the alias Rockettothesky and six under her own name. In 2015, Hval released her fifth studio ...

(born 1980) a singer-songwriter, record producer, musician and novelist

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Tvedestrand: *

Lysekil Lysekil () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Lysekil Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had about 7,600 inhabitants in 2018. Situated on the south tip of Stångenäs peninsula at the mouth of Gullmarn fjord, it ...

Västra Götaland County Västra Götaland County ( sv, Västra Götalands län) is a county or '' län'' on the western coast of Sweden. The county is the second most populous of Sweden's counties and it comprises 49 municipalities (''kommuner''). Its population of 1 ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

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 ...

Tvedestrand municipality site

A UK site on Tvedestrand municipalityA map of Tvedestrand municipality

The island of Borøya

Culture

The newspaper Garborg founded
{{use dmy dates, date=December 2020 Municipalities of Agder 1838 establishments in Norway