Kragerø

Kragerø is a municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional districts of Grenland and the smaller Vestmar. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kragerø. Villages in Kragerø include Helle, Vadfoss, Kil, and Portør.
The municipality is the 262nd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Kragerø is the 111th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 10,351. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 3.4% over the previous 10-year period.
In the days of the sailing ships, Kragerø was one of Norway's largest port cities. The London-based newspaper The Independent, published an article on Kragerø stating that "When Norwegians want to get away from it all they head for Kragero. Forests, fjords and islands await them at the place where Edvard Munch found peace and relaxation." The population of Kragerø quadruples during its summer months due to high tourism. Edvard Munch fell in love with Kragerø in his time, and called it "The Pearl of the Coastal Towns" In 2002, The Independent published an article on the region's coastline saying that "It may not have many sandy beaches, but the coast of Norway offers sophistication and stunning scenery."
General information
The town of Kragerø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). Since it had been a town since 1666, the small town was granted self-governing rights under this new law. It was fully surrounded by the Sannikedal Municipality. On 1 January 1861, an area of Sannikedal (population: 857) that was adjacent to the growing town of Kragerø was annexed and transferred from Sannikedal to Kragerø. On 1 January 1891, an area of Skåtøy (population: 809) that was adjacent to the growing town of Kragerø was annexed and transferred from Skåtøy to Kragerø. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1960, the town of Kragerø (population: 4,638) was merged with the neighboring Skåtøy Municipality (population: 3,208) and Sannidal Municipality (population: 2,604).
Name
The municipality (originally the town of Kragerø) is named after the island of Kragerø since the town was built on the island and mainland near it. The first element is which means "crow". The last element is which means "island". The Norwegian spelling would have a k instead of the g, but Kragerø uses the Danish form of the name, established in the 17th century.
Coat of arms
Kragerø received town privileges as a kjøpstad in 1666. Upon being granted this status, the town was given an obligation to provide a galley with five canons to the King for use in the Navy. From 1666 until 1842, Kragerø was dependent on the nearby town of Skien and had to pay taxes to Skien. Because of this, Kragerø used a seal which was identical to that of Skien depicting two skis, a cross, and flower decorations. After 1842, Kragerø began using a galley as its seal.
The coat of arms was granted on 28 January 1938 for the town of Kragerø and they were re-granted on 13 May 1960 after a municipal merger creating the present Kragerø Municipality. The official blazon is "Sable, a galley argent". This means the arms have a black field (background) and the charge is a galley. The galley has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The arms were designed by Einar Foss after a sketch made by Olaf Lia. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.
Churches
The Church of Norway has five parishes within the municipality of Kragerø. It is part of the Bamble prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.
Geography
Kragerø is the southernmost municipality in Telemark. To the southwest, it borders the municipality of Risør (in Agder county); to the west is Gjerstad (also in Agder county); to the northwest is Drangedal; and to the northeast is Bamble. Kragerø is popular among Norwegians (as well as foreigners) as a vacation destination during the summer, when the population swells considerably.
The municipality includes 495 islands, islets, and skerries along with 4,000 leisure houses. There are also 190 freshwater lakes in the municipality. The main offshore islands include Tåtøy, Kragerø, Skåtøy, Langøy, Bærøy, Gumøy, Stråholmen, and Jomfruland. The Fossingfjord and Kilsfjord both are found in Kragerø. The large lake Toke is partially located in the northern part of Kragerø.
Government
All municipalities in Norway are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Telemark District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.
Municipal council
The municipal council of Kragerø is made up of 35 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
Mayors
The mayors of Kragerø:
1838–1842: Daniel Bremer Juell
1843–1843: Hans Kamstrup
1844–1844: Albert Biørn
1845–1846: Tellef Dahll Schweigaard
1847–1847: Folkman Freck
1848–1848: Hans Biørn Wenneberg
1849–1849: Hans Schaanning
1850–1850: L. Larsen
1851–1851: Hans Schaanning
1852–1852: L. Larsen
1853–1853: Thomas Doran
1854–1854: Lars Bastian Ridder Stabell
1855–1855: Thomes Thomesen
1856–1856: Hans Biørn Wenneberg
1857–1858: Christian Rømer
1859–1859: Peter Bredsdorff
1860–1860: Hans Doran
1861–1862: Halvor Andreas Bentsen
1863–1863: Christian Homann
1864–1864: Thomes Thomesen
1865–1866: Lauritz Bentzon Thrap
1867–1867: Halvor Andreas Bentsen
1868–1868: Thomas Møller Wiborg
1869–1869: Christian Homann
1870–1870: Halvor Andreas Bentsen
1871–1871: Christian Homann
1872–1872: Peter Bredsdorff
1873–1874: Johan Dahll
1875–1875: Christian Rømer
1876–1876: Halvor Andreas Bentsen
1877–1878: Anton Larsen-Naur (H)
1879–1880: Fredrik J. Mürer
1881–1884: Anders Daae
1885–1885: Anton Larsen-Naur (H)
1886–1886: Nils August Synnestvedt
1887–1887: Christian Gierløff (H)
1888–1888: Jacob Aalborg
1889–1890: Anton Larsen-Naur (H)
1891–1891: Nils Christian Stockfleth Aall
1892–1894: Søren Anton Wenneberg
1895–1900: Carl Bundi (V)
1901–1905: Ambortius Lindvig (V)
1906–1907: Nicolay Wiborg (SmP)
1908–1910: Godske Nielsen (H)
1911–1913: Hartvig Johnsen (AvH)
1914–1915: Knud Emanuel Olsen
1916–1916: Nicolay Wiborg (FV)
1917–1919: Rolf Svendsen (AvH)
1920–1920: Hartvig Johnsen (AvH)
1921–1921: Christen Eriksen Berg (V)
1922–1922: Einar Juell (H)
1923–1925: Anders Jørgensen (AvH)
1926–1932: Anders Eide (H)
1933–1934: Thorvald Naper (H)
1935–1937: Tor Kivle (Ap)
1938–1940: Daniel Bull (H)
1941–1941: Henry Karlsen (NS)
1941–1943: A.E. Abrahamsen (NS)
1943–1944: L.P. Thoresen (NS)
1944–1945: Olav Kvaalen (NS)
1945–1945: Daniel Bull (H)
1946–1946: Petter Bentsen (Ap)
1946–1957: Thorbjørn Nilsen (Ap)
1957–1959: Reidar Soløy (Ap)
1960–1963: Arne Midgaard (Ap)
1964–1975: Thorleif Knutsen (Ap)
1976–1981: Einar Barland (KrF)
1982–1983: Per Espeli (H)
1984–1999: Magnar Kalseth (Ap)
1999–2003: Kari Fosso (H)
2003–2007: Erling Laland (Ap)
2007–2015: Kåre Preben Hegland (H)
2015–2019: Jone Blikra (Ap)
2019–present: Grunde Wegar Knudsen (Sp)
Notable people
Anton Martin Schweigaard (1808–1870), a Norwegian jurist and economic reformer
Nels Anderson (born 1828), a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
Johan Christian Heuch (1838–1904), a Norwegian Bishop of the Diocese of Agder
Theodor Kittelsen (1857–1914), a painter who also illustrated fairy tales, legends, and trolls
Hans Daae (1865–1926), a Norwegian physician, military officer and sports official
Johan Søhr (1867–1949), a Norwegian jurist and police officer
Thomas Krag (1868–1913), a Norwegian novelist, playwright and writer of short stories
Samson Eitrem (1872–1966), a philologist, expert in ancient literature, religion and magic
Edvard Amundsen (1873–1928), a Lutheran missionary in China and Tibet and an explorer
Inge Debes (1882–1945), a Norwegian jurist, editor, and politician
Ronald Fangen (1895–1946), a novelist, playwright, psalmist, journalist, and literary critic
Eugen Skjønberg (1889–1971), a Norwegian actor
Kirsten Heiberg (1907–1976), a Norwegian/German actress and singer
Else Heiberg (1910–1972) a Norwegian actress
Ole Myrvoll (1911–1988), professor of economics, liberal politician, and Minister of Finance
Carsten Hopstock (1924–2014) art historian who was the curator of Norwegian Museum of Cultural History
Alf Cranner (1936-2020) folk singer, lyricist and painter; lived in Kragerø from the 1960s
Robert Mood (born 1958), Major General and Head of the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS)
Sport
Olaf Ørvig (1889–1939), a sailor and team gold medalist at the 1920 Summer Olympics
Knut Lundstrøm (born 1951), an athlete and winter paralympian
Geir Borgan Paulsen (born 1957), an IFBB Pro bodybuilder
Preben Fjære Brynemo (born 1977), a Nordic combined skier who competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
The following cities are twinned with Kragerø:
Mariehamn, Åland, Finland
Slagelse, Region Sjælland, Denmark
Valkeakoski, Western Finland, Finland
Visby, Gotland County, Sweden
References
External links
Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
Kragerø Municipality
Kragerø city
Gigapan from Kragerø
Municipalities of Vestfold og Telemark
1838 establishments in Norway