is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality ...
in
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 ("sou ...
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. It is located on 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 ...
coast in the
traditional region
Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which at some point in time had a cultural, ethnic, linguistic or political basis, regardless of latterday borders. They are used as delimitations for studying and analysing socia ...
of
Sørlandet
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
administrative centre
An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located.
In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, L ...
of Risør municipality is the
town of Risør. There are many villages in Risør such as
Akland,
Bossvika
Bossvika is a village in Risør municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located along the southern shore of the Søndeledfjorden. The village lies at the junction of the Norwegian County Road 416 and the Norwegian County Road 411 ...
,
Fie,
Hødnebø,
Krabbesund,
Moen,
Nipe,
Røysland,
Sandnes
Sandnes () is a city and municipality in Rogaland, Norway. It lies immediately south of Stavanger, the 4th largest city in Norway and together, the Stavanger/Sandnes area is the third-largest urban area in Norway. The urban city of Sandnes lie ...
,
Sivik
Sivik is a village in Risør municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located along the northern shore of the Søndeledfjorden
Søndeledfjorden is a fjord in Risør municipality in Agder county, Norway. The long fjord begins at the ...
,
Søndeled, and
Stamsø
Stamsø or Stamsøy is a village in Risør municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located along the north shore of the Søndeledfjordne, about east of the village of Søndeled and about west of the village of Sivik
Sivik is a v ...
.
Risør is a tourist destination, and the surrounding area includes many small lakes and hills. Together with its coastline, Risør is known for its
tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement.
Types
Places of natural ...
s such as the wooden boat festival which is staged during the first week of August every year. It also has a growing reputation as the regional capital of arts and crafts, which culminates in the "Villvin-festival" during the summer holiday.
The municipality is the 302nd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Risør is the 147th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 6,735. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 2.4% over the previous 10-year period.
General information

The
town of Risør 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 Janua ...
law). On 1 January 1901, a part of the neighboring
Søndeled municipality (population: 658) was transferred to Risør. 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
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWI ...
. On 1 January 1964, the rural municipality of Søndeled (population: 3,134) was merged into the
town of Risør (population: 3,002) to form a new municipality of Risør which had a population of 6,136. On 1 January 1984, the uninhabited Folevatnet area of neighboring
Tvedestrand
is municipality in Agder county, Norway. 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, Fiane, Gjeving, Gødder ...
was transferred to Risør.
Name
The name for the town (and municipality) of Risør likely comes 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 ...
name . The first element is ''rís'' which means "
thicket
A thicket is a very dense stand of trees or tall shrubs, often dominated by only one or a few species, to the exclusion of all others. They may be formed by species that shed large numbers of highly viable seeds that are able to germinate in t ...
" and the last element is ''eyjar'' which is the plural form of "island". The relatively more modern Danish version of ''eyjar'' is ''øer'', hence the current spelling of Risør. The name originally referred to the nearby island of ''Risøya'' which is located just outside the town of Risør. The old name of the town (prior to 1909) was ''Øster Riisöer'' or ''Østerrisør'' (meaning "eastern Risør"). After 1909, it was simply called ''Risør''. The first element was added in the 16th century to distinguish the town from ''Vesterrisør'', the old name of
Mandal
A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...
.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 18 July 1891. The blue, black, and white arms show a lighthouse on a rocky island surrounded by water. There are two white stars in the top corners of the arms. The lighthouse was chosen to symbolize the Holmen fortress built in 1788. The history of these arms is quite curious. It is said that on 18 July 1891
King Oscar II visited the town of Risør so a menu had to be printed. It was printed with a coat of arms on the top, which was probably designed by the printer. That afternoon the King approved the new arms, mainly because his name was printed under the arms on the menu.
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 Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. ...
has two parishes () within the municipality of Risør. It is part of the
Aust-Nedenes prosti (
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 reside ...
) 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 la ...
.
Politics
In the 2007 municipal elections, Risør had the highest vote for the
Red Electoral Alliance
Red Electoral Alliance ( nb, Rød Valgallianse, nn, Raud Valallianse, RV) was an alliance of far-left groups formed into a Norwegian political party to promote revolutionary socialism ideals into the Norwegian parliament. The party dissolved itse ...
in Norway at 13.7 per cent. Also,
Knut Henning Thygesen
Knut Henning Thygesen (born 7 April 1953 in Risør, Norway) is a Norwegian author and politician for the Red Party. He was elected as mayor of Risør on 11 September 2007 in a direct mayor election as part of the 2007 municipal election with 4 ...
was elected as the only mayor from the
Red Party through a direct mayor election.
History

The village of Risør was a small fishing village in the
prestegjeld
A ''prestegjeld'' was a geographic and administrative area within the Church of Norway (''Den Norske Kirke'') roughly equivalent to a parish. This traditional designation was in use for centuries to divide the kingdom into ecclesiastical areas that ...
of
Søndeled when Dutch vessels began to call there to purchase
timber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including Beam (structure), beams and plank (wood), planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as fini ...
around the year 1570. By 1607, two inns had been opened to serve Dutch sailors. In 1630, Risør became a privileged port (''
ladested''). The town has a timber church,
Risør Church which was built in the
Baroque style in 1647.
In 1723, Risør was granted
town status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose.
Historically, city status ...
which granted it a number of commercial privileges. By the end of the 18th century, 96 sailing vessels were owned by Risør merchants. It was the sixth largest shipping town and one of four shipbuilding centers in Norway.
In ''
Letters on Sweden, Norway, and Denmark'',
Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft (, ; 27 April 1759 – 10 September 1797) was a British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights. Until the late 20th century, Wollstonecraft's life, which encompassed several unconventional personal relationsh ...
wrote extensively while visiting Risør in 1783, including the following remarks:
* On entering Risør: "We were a considerable time entering amongst the islands, before we saw about two hundred houses crowded together under a very high rock—still higher appearing above."
* While at Risør: "...seaports are not favorable to improvement. The captains acquire a little superficial knowledge by traveling, which their indefatigable attention to the making of money prevents their digesting; and the fortune that they thus laboriously acquire is spent, as it usually is in towns of this description, in show and good living."
* While departing Risør: "The view of the town was now extremely fine. A huge rocky mountain stood up behind it, and a vast cliff stretched on each side, forming a semicircle. In a recess of the rocks was a clump of pines, amongst which a steeple rose picturesquely beautiful."
Risør played a role in 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 ...
in 1807–1814, when
Denmark–Norway
Denmark–Norway ( Danish and Norwegian: ) was an early modern multi-national and multi-lingual real unionFeldbæk 1998:11 consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (including the then Norwegian overseas possessions: the Faroe ...
took France's side, and therefore became the enemy of Norway's most important trading-partner: Great Britain. (It is from this period that
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential pla ...
took his subject, when he created his famous poem ''Terje Vigen''.) It was south of Risør, in
Lyngør (now in the neighboring
Tvedestrand
is municipality in Agder county, Norway. 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, Fiane, Gjeving, Gødder ...
municipality) that several British warships, headed by of the
English navy pursued and sank the last major vessel and the pride of Norway: the frigate
HDMS ''Najaden''.
On 1 January 1838, the new
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 Janua ...
law came into effect, granting each parish and town in Norway the rights to have a self-governing council. Thus, Risør was a small town with a council to run it.
Risør was almost wiped off the map in 1861. A great fire swept across the small town leaving just 85 houses and the 1647
Risør Church. The entire road network was re-worked after the fire to remove the small streets and alleys and have wider roads that are there today. The city was redesigned and rebuilt and today it presents a positive impression of a well kept town with white, wooden houses. White was chosen because it was an expensive paint and the residents wanted to give an expression of prosperity. Still today, most houses have white paint, although some have other colors on the sides and back of their houses.
By the second half of the 19th century, over 100 sailing vessels were based at their home port in Risør and more than 1,000 sailors called Risør home. The transition to steamships and the economic damage of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, however, destroyed Risør's shipping industry.
On 1 January 1901, an area of the neighboring municipality of
Søndeled (population: 658) was transferred to the city, greatly expanding Risør. 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
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWI ...
. On 1 January 1964, the town of Risør (population: 3,002) and the entire municipality of Søndeled (population: 3,134) were merged to form a new, much larger municipality of Risør, with the town being the
administrative centre
An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located.
In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, L ...
.
Geography
Risør is the easternmost coastal municipality in
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 ("sou ...
county, located on the peninsula between the mouths of the
Søndeledfjorden
Søndeledfjorden is a fjord in Risør municipality in Agder county, Norway. The long fjord begins at the village of Søndeled and flows east into the Skaggerak. The large island of Barmen sits in the middle of the fjord, effectively separating ...
and
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 ...
, providing ready access to 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 ...
. Risør municipality is bordered to the southwest by
Tvedestrand
is municipality in Agder county, Norway. 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, Fiane, Gjeving, Gødder ...
, to the northwest by
Vegårshei and
Gjerstad
Gjerstad is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Sørlandet, in the southeastern part of the county, along the border with T ...
, and to the northeast by
Kragerø
Kragerø () is a town and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional regions of Grenland and the smaller Vestmar. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kragerø. The city of Kragerø ...
in
Vestfold og Telemark
Vestfold og Telemark (; ) is a county under disestablishment in Norway. The county is the southernmost one of Eastern Norway and consists of two distinct and separate traditional regions: the former counties of Telemark and (most of) Vestfold. T ...
county. The
Nordfjorden is a branch of the Søndeledfjorden that flows to the north of the large island of
Barmen
Barmen is a former industrial metropolis of the region of Bergisches Land, Germany, which merged with four other towns in 1929 to form the city of Wuppertal.
Barmen, together with the neighbouring town of Elberfeld founded the first elect ...
.
Government
All municipalities in Norway, including Risør, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior-citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. 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 coun ...
of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor.
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 Sir ...
.
Municipal council
The
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 coun ...
() of Risør is made up of 29 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows:
Transportation
Risør is located along the
Skaggerak
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.
Th ...
coast. The
Stangholmen Lighthouse sits just offshore, marking a shipping channel leading to the town harbour. The
European route E18
European route E18 runs from Craigavon in Northern Ireland to Saint Petersburg in Russia, passing through Scotland, England, Norway, Sweden and Finland. It is about in length.
Although the designation implies the possibility of a through jo ...
highway runs along the western edge of the municipality. The
Norwegian County Road 416
Norwegian county road 416 (Fv416) is a Norwegian county road in Agder county, Norway. The road runs between the town of Risør in Risør municipality and the Norwegian County Road 414 in the village of Myra in Vegårshei municipality.
Refe ...
connects the E18 highway with the town centre in the eastern side of the municipality. Other main roads in Risør include
Norwegian County Road 411
Norwegian county road 411 (Fv411) is a Norwegian county road in Agder county, Norway. The long road runs between Tvedestrand and Risør municipalities. The western end of the road starts at the junction of Norwegian County Road 410 in the t ...
and
Norwegian County Road 418.
Economy
Risør was a town built as a result of shipping and industrial interests. The historic timber and fishing industries thrived for a few hundred years, but now they have mostly vanished. Paper production served as an economic basis for a time, until the
pulp factory was closed in 1970. Today Risør is more of a
tourist destination
A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement.
Types
Places of natural b ...
with a burgeoning art colony and music festivals. Summer vacationers account for a major part of the economy.
Attractions
Risør has many tourist attractions.
* A world class
chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small num ...
festival, is held in late June
* A
bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Like mainstream country music, it la ...
-festival every mid-July. Norway's only festival of its kind.
* A popular artists’ market (''Villvinmarked'' or "Villvin-festival") is held in July
* A wooden boat festival (Trebåtfestival) is held in August. During the festival the population swells to 20,000 people.
*
''Den Hellige Ånds'' Church, built in 1647
* The
citadel
A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core.
In ...
at Tangen, a fortification from the Napoleonic Wars (with modifications from the German occupation period)
* ''Risør Akvarium'', salt water
aquarium with over 100 different species. The only salt water aquarium in the south region of Norway.
Notable residents

*
Isak Lauritssøn Falck (1601–1669), a land owner and timber merchant, developed Risør
*
Christian Jensen Lofthuus (1750-1797) led a peasant revolt in 1786 called ''Lofthusreisingen''
*
Henrik Carstensen (1753–1835) timber merchant, shipowner, rep.
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 ...
*
Carsten Henrik Bruun
Carsten Henrik Carstensen Bruun (1828–1907) was a Norwegian whaler.
Personal life
He was born in Risør as a son of Mathias Wogen Bruun (1791–1858) and Ingeborg Carstensen (1794–1882). His wife was a relative of founding father Henrik Carste ...
(1828–1907) shipmaster of whaling vessels, also involved in
sealing
*
Nikolai Prebensen
Nikolai Christian Grove Prebensen (13 April 1850 – 24 May 1938) was a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party.
He was born in the town of Risør as a son of Jacob Wetlesen Prebensen (1808–1892) and Wencke Kristiane Grove. He finished ...
(1850–1938) politician and
County Governor of Finnmark &
Aust-Agder
Aust-Agder (, en, "East Agder") was a county (''fylke'') in Norway until 1 January 2020, when it was merged with Vest-Agder to form Agder county. In 2002, there were 102,945 inhabitants, which was 2.2% of Norway's population. Its area was . The ...
*
Dikken Zwilgmeyer
Dikken Zwilgmeyer (20 September 1853 – 28 February 1913) was a Norwegian fiction writer. She is most noted for her children's literature and for her "Inger Johanne" series of books.
Personal life
Barbara Hendrikke Wind Daae Zwilgmeyer wa ...
(1853–1913) a Norwegian fiction writer of children's literature
*
Isak Martinius Skaugen
Isak Martinius Skaugen (17 August 1875 – 26 December 1962), was a Norway, Norwegian businessperson.
He was a sea captain by profession. In 1916 in Risør he founded the shipping company which still exists under the name I. M. Skaugen. His sons S ...
(1875–1962) a sea captain, founded ''
I. M. Skaugen
I.M. Skaugen () or IMS is a shipping company that operates within petrochemicals, petrochemical gases and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and lightering of crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG). IMS is horizontal integration, horizontal integrat ...
'' a shipping co.
*
Ove Ansteinsson
Ove Arthur Ansteinsson (March 23, 1882 – October 15, 1942) was a Norwegian journalist and author.
Ansteinsson was born in Risør, Norway. He made his first impact as a writer with his book ''Hedemarksfolk'' (Hedemark People, 1909), although hi ...
(1884–1942), a journalist and author
*
Per Sunderland
Per Sunderland (9 October 1924 – 4 June 2012) was a Norwegian stage actor and film actor. He made his stage debut at Studioteatret in 1945. He performed at Det Norske Teatret from 1949, at Det Nye Teater from 1951, at Folketeatret from 1952, ...
(1924–2012) a Norwegian stage and film actor
IMDb Database
retrieved 14 January 2021
* Victor D. Norman (born 1946) politician & professor of economy and rector at NHH
* Carl Magnus Neumann
Carl Magnus Neumann, also known as Calle (31 July 1944 in Oslo, Norway), is a noted saxophonist, considered one of the best in Norway.
Biography
Neumann started playing the flute at an early age, before picking up the clarinet, playing with di ...
(born 1944) jazz saxophonist, lived in Risør since 2000
* Knut Henning Thygesen
Knut Henning Thygesen (born 7 April 1953 in Risør, Norway) is a Norwegian author and politician for the Red Party. He was elected as mayor of Risør on 11 September 2007 in a direct mayor election as part of the 2007 municipal election with 4 ...
(born 1953) author and politician, Mayor of Risør from 2007
* Erik Mykland (born 1971) a footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
with 371 club caps and 78 for 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 ...
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 ye ...
Risor Rødt
Risør kommune
Risør Wooden Boat Festival
annually in August
Tourist Information Risør
Det Lille Hotel
Aust Agder News
Risør chamber music festival
Culture in Risør on the map
Risørby
– facts and pictures of Risør
{{DEFAULTSORT:Risor
Municipalities of Agder
1838 establishments in Norway