Tvedestrand
The town of Tvedestrand has a white-painted town center with irregular streets climbing steep hills around the harbor. The natural environment of the area makes it a tourist destination. The municipality includes numerous islands, which makes it popular in the summer for boaters. 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 157th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 6,053. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 1.9% 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. On 1 January 1960, the rural municipalities of Dypvåg (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 area (population: 375) of Tvedestrand was transferred to neighboring Moland 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 () 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". The name of the farm is the plural form of which  means "small farm". Coat of arms. The coat of arms was granted on 4 April 1986. The white and blue arms show a white tern, 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. 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. 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 between English and Dano-Norwegian forces during the Napoleonic Wars 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 services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected  representatives, which in turn elect a mayor. The municipality falls under the Aust-Agder District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal. Municipal council. The municipal council () of Tvedestrand is made up of 25 representatives that are elected to four year terms. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows: Geography. Tvedestrand municipality lies between the towns of Arendal to the southwest and Risør to the northeast. The municipality also borders the municipalities of Arendal, Risør, Froland, Åmli, and Vegårshei. Tvedestrand belongs to the geographical region of Sørlandet in the Østre Agder area of Agder 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, and Askerøya as well as the unique village of Lyngør which lies on several small islands. Lyngør was acclaimed "Europe's best preserved village" by Europa Nostra 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. 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, 13 km from Tvedestrand town, 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: International relations. Twin towns — Sister cities. The following cities are twinned with Tvedestrand: