Holmestrand is both a municipality and a town in the province of
Vestfold in Vestfold and Telemark county. The municipality borders
in the east to the Oslo Fjord, in the north to Drammen and Øvre
Eiker in the northwest to Kongsberg and in the south to Tønsberg and
Larvik. A person from Holmestrand is called holmestranding.
The town of Holmestrand has 7,576 inhabitants as of 1 January 2020.
Other towns in the municipality include Gullhaug, Kleiverud which
was in the former Holmestrand municipality, and Hof, Sundbyfoss and
Eidsfoss which was in the former Hof municipality and Tettstedet
Sande, Galleberg, Klevjerhagen and Selvik which was located in the
former Sande municipality.
In connection with the municipal
reform, Holmestrand and Hof municipalities were merged from 1
January 2018, and from 1 January 2020, Holmestrand merged with Sande
in Vestfold.
History
The history of Holmestrand, «The city under the
mountain», is particularly linked to the timber trade, sailing ships
and the aluminum industry.
Holmestrand was a natural harbor
by the Oslo Fjord where the Dutch collected timber as early as
around 1550. In 1663 the export port became a customs post under
Tønsberg and in 1713 a loading place. In 1852, Holmestrand received
city privileges and became a market town.
In the spring of
1801, a battery of cannons was built on the headland Gaasetange to
protect the city. The battery was rebuilt and strengthened in 1808
and 1814, but fell into disrepair after 1815.
In 1880,
Holmestrand had 40 vessels with a total of 10,292 tonnes and a crew
of 341 men, but after an economic downturn and more difficult times,
the business community was weakened towards the end of the century.
The city also experienced a devastating city fire in 1884 when the
southern part was reduced to ashes. In 1905, the city's merchant
fleet consisted of 15 vessels of 3431 gross tons, including three
steamships of 1064 tons. In 1927, the fleet of five steamships
totaled 672 gross tons. The city's population also fell slightly
from 2535 inhabitants in 1900 to 2204 in 1920 and 2146 in 1928.
Holmestrand's location by the fjord and proximity to Oslo, as
well as the city's lush gardens and views from the mountains, also
provided summer tourism with holiday and bathing life. As the third
city in Norway, Holmestrand got its first spa in 1840, and had both
hot and cold sea baths into the 20th century.
In 1881,
Holmestrand station was opened with a train connection to Drammen
and Oslo over the Jarlsberg line, later called the Vestfold line.
From 1902 to 1938, the station was also connected to the
Holmestrand-Vittingfoss line (HVB) via a connecting track between
Holmestrand station (HVB). The Holmestrand-Vittingfoss line, which,
among other things, transported wood pulp from Hvittingsfoss for
shipping in Holmestrand.
In 1899, Holmestrand Public School
for the Deaf was completed. It originally started as a private
speech school for the deaf in Oslo in 1881. The school was recently
part of the Nedre Gausen competence center. In 1899, the city also
received a teachers' seminar, Holmestrand seminar, which was moved
from Asker. From before, the city had the venerable Latin school Den
Tordenskioldske Borgerskole, established by Johan Henrik
Tordenskiold (1757–1820), related to the naval hero Peter Wessel
Tordenskjold who was in port and spent some time in the city. The
Thunder School school later became a secondary school and gymnasium.
It was closed down in 1971.
After World War II, the city
again experienced growth, both in population and business. A factory
for further processing of aluminum was built just south of the city
as early as 1919. The company became part of Årdal and Sunndal Verk
(ÅSV) in 1967, and was later acquired by Norsk Hydro in 1986. The
factory made aluminum products, including under the well-known brand
HØYANG, with aluminum from Høyanger. The raw material is today
recycled material.
Today's municipality was formed in 2020
when Sande municipality and Holmestrand were merged. The
municipality is a result of previous municipal changes from 1964
when Botne and Holmestrand were merged and from 2018 when Hof and
Holmestrand were merged.