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 ...

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 A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers 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 the ...

. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. 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. Th ...

, Gødderstad, Grønland, Kilen, Klåholmen, Krokvåg, Laget,

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, Østerå, Sagesund,

Sandvika Sandvika () is the administrative centre of the municipality of Bærum in Norway. It was declared a city by the municipal council in Bærum on 4 June 2003. Sandvika is situated approximately west of Oslo. It is the main transportation hub for W ...

, and Songe. The town of Tvedestrand has a white-painted town center with irregular streets climbing steep hills around 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 ...

. 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: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...

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 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 (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 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 sh ...

". 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 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 ...

was granted on 4 April 1986. The white and blue arms show a white

tern Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated as a subgroup of the family Laridae which includes gulls and skimmers and consists of e ...

, a typical seabird, on a blue background. The tern and blue background were chosen to represent the 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 has three parishes () within the municipality of Tvedestrand. It is part of the Aust-Nedenes prosti ( deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark. Lyngør august 2017 (1)

History

Holt Church probably dates from the twelfth century and it has an ancient baptismal font. The interior was decorated by Torsten Hoff. 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 thi ...

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'' has one of the largest and most significant of the surviving mansions in Sørlandet, 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 (through 10th grade), outpatient health services,

senior citizen Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

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 during the refere ...

and other social services,

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 ...

, 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 counc ...

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 ...

. The municipality falls under the Agder District Court and the

Agder Court of Appeal The Agder Court of Appeal ( no, Agder lagmannsrett) is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the town of Skien. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Vestfold og Telemark and Agder (except for Si ...

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 featur ...

breakdown is as follows:

Geography

Tvedestrand municipality lies between the towns of Arendal to the southwest and

Risør is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located on the Skagerrak coast in the traditional region of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of Risør municipality is the town of Risør. There are many villages in Risør such as Akland, ...

to the northeast. The municipality also borders the municipalities of Arendal,

Froland Froland is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative center is the village of Blakst ...

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 i ...

, and

Vegårshei Vegårshei is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative center is the village of Myra. Other villages in Vegårshei include Mo and Ubergsmoen. The municipality is the 2 ...

. Tvedestrand belongs to the geographical region of Sørlandet 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, a ...

area of

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 Sandøy is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It was part of the Romsdal region. The administrative centre was the village of Steinshamn. Other villages included Ona and Myklebost. The municipality was spread out over man ...

, and Askerøya 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 inte ...

in 1991. Lyngør Lighthouse 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 Næs jernverk 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 ...

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 Sunstone is a microcline or oligoclase feldspar, which when viewed from certain directions exhibits a spangled appearance. It has been found in Southern Norway, Sweden, various United States localities and on some beaches along the midcoast of ...

, 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) felds ...

exhibiting in certain directions a brilliant spangled appearance, which has led to its use as a gemstone. * A rare

yttrium Yttrium is a chemical element with the symbol Y and atomic number 39. It is a silvery-metallic transition metal chemically similar to the lanthanides and has often been classified as a " rare-earth element". Yttrium is almost always found in co ...

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 phosph ...

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. (2 ...

Xenotime. *

Thulite Thulite (sometimes called rosaline) is a translucent, crystalline or massive pink manganese-bearing variety of the mineral zoisite. Manganese substitutes for calcium in the structure with up to two percent Mn2+. Thulite is often mottled with white ...

(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, orthorho ...

Attractions

*The 18th century Næs jernverk are from the town center. *Tvedestrand is recognized as a book town, a small village with a large number of second-hand or antiquarian

book shop Bookselling is the commercial trading of books which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, bookpeople, bookmen, or bookwomen. The founding of libra ...

s. *Interesting Places in Tvedestrand municipality: **

, a cluster of offshore islands which have been described as the '

Skagerrak The Skagerrak (, , ) is a strait running between the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, the southeast coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area through the Danish Straits to the Baltic Sea. T ...

Venice' and proclaimed by the European Commission to be “Europe’s best preserved village.” ** Sagesund village ** Sandøya island, including the villages of Kilen and Klåholmen ** 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 t ...

* Knud Knudsen (1812 in Tvedestrand – 1895) an educator, author, linguist and philologist * Elise Wærenskjold (1815 in Dypvåg – 1895) a Norwegian-American writer, temperance leader and early pioneer in Texas * Erik Eriksen (1820 in Lyngør - 1888) a Norwegian polar captain *

Arne Garborg Arne Garborg (born Aadne Eivindsson Garborg) (25 January 1851 – 14 January 1924) was a Norwegian writer. Garborg championed the use of Landsmål (now known as Nynorsk, or New Norwegian), as a literary language; he translated the Odyssey into ...

(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''

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, 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 p ...

(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 * Kristian Vilhelm Koren Schjelderup Jr. (1894 in Dypvåg – 1980) a Norwegian Lutheran theologian, author, and bishop of the Diocese of Hamar 1947 to 1964 * Harald K. Schjelderup (1895 in Dypvåg – 1974) a Norwegian physicist, philosopher and psychologist; Norway's first professor of psychology * Rolv Werner Erichsen (1899 in Holt – 1988) a Norwegian newspaper editor * Trond Bergh (born 1946 in Tvedestrand) a Norwegian economic historian, writer and academic *

Ketil Bjørnstad Ketil Bjørnstad (born 25 April 1952) is a pianist, composer and author. Initially trained as a classical pianist, Bjørnstad discovered jazz at an early age and has embraced the emergence of "European jazz". Store Norske Leksikon (in Norwegian) ...

(born 1952) a pianist, composer and author; he lived in Tvedestrand in the 1970s/80s. His psychological thriller ''Twilight'' is based there * Gina Lund (born 1962) a Norwegian civil servant and politician, brought up in Tvedestrand * Jenny Hval (born 1980) a singer-songwriter, record producer, musician and novelist

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Tvedestrand: * Lysekil,

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

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway
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