Horten is a Norwegian coastal town and municipality in the
province of Vestfold in Vestfold and Telemark county. It is located
between Holmestrand in the north and Tønsberg in the south. The
municipality borders Tønsberg in the south and west, the basic
district Mulvika in Holmestrand in the north, and the Oslofjord in
the north and east. Horten municipality includes the towns of Horten
and Åsgårdstrand, as well as the towns of Nykirke and Skoppum.
Horten was the only municipality in the then Vestfold county that
was not merged with other municipalities in connection with the
municipal reform. Horten is Vestfold and Telemark county's smallest
municipality measured in area.
To the east, the municipality
has about 40 km of coastline towards the Oslo Fjord, with a coastal
path and several large recreation areas. The municipality's area is
approx. 71 km², with approx. 27,000 inhabitants, with the bulk of
the inhabitants in the old town of Horten (approx. 17,000). The
settlement Horten has 20,585 inhabitants as of 1 January 2020. The
other settlements in the municipality are Åsgårdstrand with 2,957
inhabitants, Skoppum with 1,701 inhabitants and Nykirke with 699
inhabitants.
Horten has been a ferry terminal for the Horten
– Moss ferry route since 1582.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms is a two-part shield and was the
first coat of arms approved by King Haakon VII in 1907. A warship is
depicted in a field in front of a castle, indicating the city's naval
base. The second part depicts a five-petalled red rose on a silver
background. This is to indicate the gardens and parks. The new unified
municipality of Horten took over the old coat of arms of the town of
Horten.
neighboring communities
Horten borders Holmestrand and
the Oslofjord to the north, the Oslofjord to the east and Tønsberg to
the south and west.
Horten is a coastal town on the Oslofjord. The municipality includes the town of Horten and the localities of Kirkebakken (Borre), Nykirke, Åsgårdstrand and Skoppum. The urban area includes the islands of Bastøy, Løvøya, Mellomøya and Østøya. The small island of Vealøs, just north of Karljohansvern, with the fortress "Norske Løve" built in 1852-1859 is still used militarily by the Norwegian Navy. Bastøy is a prison island. Geologically, the city lies in the region of the Oslo Graben.
Traces of settlement from the Stone Age can be found in the commune.
The Borrehaugene in Borre National Park testify that the municipality
was a center of power in the Viking Age. The Borre site contains the
largest collection of monumental burial mounds from AD 600-900 and is
now part of an archaeological national park covering approximately 18
hectares. Nine surviving monumental burial mounds in addition to
formerly three other large burial mounds were primarily visible from the
Oslofjord. One of the original twelve monumental graves was partially
destroyed in 1852 when bulk material was removed for road construction.
The subsequent excavations revealed a ship burial with a 17-21 m long
Viking ship. Based on the finds, this monument is directly related to
the world-famous Viking ships of Gokstad, Oseberg and Tune. Horten has
been a ferry port for the ferry between Horten and Moss since 1582.
The royal resolution of November 21, 1818 determined that the main
base of the navy should be built in Horten. This happened without the
Crown Prince Regent Karl Johan having referred the matter to Parliament
(Storting). It took 10 years from the time the decision was made until
the first ship was launched on the Horten Verft. On August 25, 1828,
ship number 1, the frigate Freia, was launched. When the Navy moved its
headquarters from Frederiksvern near Larvik to Horten that same year,
the shipyard was renamed Marinens Hovedverft. In 1854 King Oscar I gave
it the name 'Carljohansvern Verft' in honor of his father, Charles XIV
John of Sweden, former French Marshal Bernadotte. Horten has been the
home of the Royal Norwegian Navy's Music Corps since 1820. In 1864 a
naval war school was founded.
The main shipyard of the navy
became the state-owned Horten Verft A/S in 1968, which for a time
represented the economic backbone of the municipality with a good 2,000
employees. The company went bankrupt in 1987 and operations ceased. An
industrial area, Horten Industrial Park (HIP), with several companies,
mainly in the electronics industry, was created on the former shipyard
site.
The main naval base was moved from Karljohansvern to Bergen
in 1963. Today there are two important museums on the site of the naval
base, the Naval Museum and the Photo Museum. The entire area of the
former naval base with its 73 historical buildings has been protected as
a historical monument since 2006.
The municipalities of Borre and
Åsgårdstrand were merged in 1965. Horten and Borre became Borre commune
on January 1, 1988. On June 1, 2002, the municipality changed its name
to Horten Municipality.
Marinemuseet - The Naval Museum in Karljohansvern, the oldest museum
of its kind in the world, founded in 1853. Many ships can be visited,
including the KNM Rap, the world's first torpedo boat, from 1873.
Preus Museum - the national Norwegian museum of photography with
collections of Norwegian and international photographs and technical
developments from the camera obscura to the digital camera. The museum
is located in the same building as the Naval Museum.
Borrehaugene -
Borre National Park - contains the tombs of kings from the Viking Age.
The park has an area of 182,000 m² and has the largest collection of
royal tombs in Scandinavia. From 1989 to 1991 new excavations were made
in and around the park. These revealed an interesting selection of arts
and crafts, many of which can be seen at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo.
The style of these items became known as the Borre style. It is
characterized by its beautiful animal and knotwork ornaments, which were
often used to adorn armor. The finds also confirm that a Viking ship was
buried here. The Midgard Visitor Center has an exhibition on the history
of the region.
Edvard Munch's house in Åsgårdstrand, where Edvard
Munch lived for a long time and where he found many motifs for his
paintings.
Church Nykirke in the hamlet of the same name, from the
12th century, renovated in 1686 and 1849, is dedicated to St. Nicholas.
Francis Hagerup (1853–1921), politician, jurist, diplomat and prime
minister
Herman Smith-Johannsen (1875–1987), Norwegian-Canadian
cross-country skier
Gil Andersen (1879–1935), Norwegian-American
engineer, automobile racer and automobile executive
Trygve
Kristoffersen (1892–1986), gymnast
Harald Strøm (1897–1977),
footballer
Finn Ronne (1899–1980), Norwegian-American Antarctic
explorer
Arne Skaug (1906–1974), social economist, diplomat and
politician
Astrid Hjertenæs Andersen (1915–1985), writer
Leif
Preus (1928–2013), photographer, founder of Preus Fotografie and the
Preus Museum
Rolv Wesenlund (1936–2013), comedian, record producer,
singer and actor
Kristin Halvorsen (born 1960) Secretary of the
Treasury
Geir Jørgen Bekkevold (born 1963), politician
Eivind
Gullberg Jensen (born 1972), conductor
Olaf Tufte (born 1976), rower
and two-time Olympic champion
Maria Aasen-Svensrud (born 1980),
politician
Sondre Holst Enger (born 1993), cyclist
Marie Ulven,
stage name Girl in Red, singer