page_title: Stokke
section_title: Sundås Fort
hierarchical_section_title: Stokke / History / Sundås Fort
caption_attribution_description: Sundås batteri i Stokke kommune
context_page_description: Stokke is a town in Sandefjord municipality in Vestfold County, Norway. It lies in-between Sandefjord and Tønsberg, two of Vestfold’s largest cities. It was a municipality from 1838 to 2016. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Stokke, while minor villages were Vear, Melsomvik, Storevar, and Valberg.
  On 1 January 2017, the municipality, along with Andebu, became a part of Sandefjord municipality. The village of Vear was transferred from Stokke to neighboring Tønsberg on the same day. The town of Stokke was home to 3,391 inhabitants as of 2016. The decision to merge into Sandefjord was part of a nationwide municipal reform by the Solberg Cabinet. 77.8 percent of Stokke residents voted to merge into Sandefjord during the September 2015 elections.
context_section_description: Remains of a fort, Sundåsbatteriet, can be found across the Tønsberg Fjord from Håøya Island. The fortifications were constructed in the late 19th century during turbulent times with Sweden during the Union between Sweden and Norway. It was part of the newly established Norwegian Coastal Artillery ("Kystartilleriet"). The fort was erected to keep potential enemies from entering Tønsberg by sea, and was also meant to protect the Marine harbor in Melsomvik village. Work on the fort began in 1897, and the forts at both Håøya Island and Sundåsen were completed in 1899. Trenches, commando posts, fencing, concrete gun pits, and other remains from the fort can still be seen at Sundås. The fort lies by the Tønsberg Fjord with surrounding views of Færder Lighthouse and islands such as Håøya, Tjøme, Veierland, and Nøtterøy. The canons were demolished by German forces in 1942 during the German occupation of Norway. The Norwegian Armed Forces remained in control of the fort from 1945 until 1962, when it became public property.
caption: Gun pit at Sundåsbatteriet.
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