Svelvik is a town in Drammen municipality, Viken county. It is also a former municipality, which was a part of former Vestfold county. The town of Svelvik was separated from the rural municipality of

Strømm Strømm is a former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. Separation The parish of Hurum was divided into two formannskapsdistrikt on January 1, 1838. The main part of the parish belonged to the county of Buskerud, while the annex ''Strømmen'' ...

to become a municipality of its own in 1845. The two municipalities were merged back together on 1 January 1964.

General information

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was ''Sverðvík''. The first element is ''sverð'' n '

sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...

', the last element is ''vík'' f ' cove, wick'. A neighbouring farm has the name Sverstad (Norse ''Sverðstaðir''). The word ''sverð'' probably refers to the promontory ridge ''Ryggen'' ('the back') in Hurum: This ridge lies right opposite Svelvik and Sverstad, and is almost (like a sword) cutting the

Drammensfjord Drammensfjord ( en, Drammen Fjord) is a fjord in Norway that connects to Ytre Oslofjord on the west side. It stretches to the north and northeast. The Drammenselva river discharges into the head of the fjord. The municipality and city of Drammen ...

in two parts.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 4 September 1964. The arms show a gold-colored trident on a red background, as a symbol for the sea.

Geography

The narrow Svelvikstrømmen sound separates Svelvik from the municipality of Asker, and the county of Viken. This sound is served by a

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 ...

, which has the shortest line in Norway. The village is quite characteristic, with small winding streets and traditional, white-painted houses. Svelvik has many venues for swimming and sunbathing.

Media

The newspaper ''

Svelviksposten ''Svelviksposten'' (The Svelvik Gazette) is a local Norwegian newspaper published once a week in the municipality of Svelvik in Vestfold county. Circulation According to the Norwegian Audit Bureau of Circulations and National Association of Loca ...

'' is published in Svelvik.''Store norske leksikon'': ''Svelviksposten''.
/ref>

Notable residents

Gallery of Svelvik

File:Svelvik.jpg, The built up area and town of Svelvik lies beside , a narrow sound in the

, which connects to

Oslofjorden The Oslofjord (, ; en, Oslo Fjord) is an inlet in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the and lighthouses and down to in the south to Oslo in the north. It is part of the Skagerrak strait, connecting the Nor ...

further south. The flow is amongst Norway's strongest. File:Svelvik_kirke_TRS.jpg, is a long church from 1859 with seating for 450. File:MF Svelviksund in Svelvik TRS 070414 014.jpg, The ferry plies between ( Hurum) and Svelvik, and is Norway's shortest ferry crossing. File:Vilt og vakkert ved fjorden.jpg, Fra fjorden, januar 2009, by Håvard Selby Ebbestad File:2009 Oktober Strømmen 002.jpg, Oktoberkveld ved Svelvikstrømmen, by Håvard Selby Ebbestad

References

External links

Svelvik kommune

Svelvikportalen.no

Detailed statistics for Svelvik kommune

Local news from Svelviksposten

Photographs of Svelvik 1904-1938

Culture in Svelvik map
from

Kulturnett.no The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Equality ( no, Det kongelige kultur- og likestillingsdepartement; short name ''Kultur- og likestillingsdepartementet'') is responsible for cultural policy, regulations and other matters related to the ...

Historical archives of the current Svelvik kommune
at
Historical archives of the former Svelvik kommune
at
Historical archives of the former Strømm kommune
at * *
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 ...

* {{Vestfold Cities and towns in Norway Drammen