Larvik (town)

Coordinates: 59°03′12″N 10°02′07″E / 59.05328°N 10.03518°E / 59.05328; 10.03518
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Larvik
Laurvig (historic)
Larvik Municipality
Established as 
Kjøpstad1671
Area
[2]
 • Total15 km2 (6 sq mi)
Elevation
[3]
44 m (144 ft)
Population
 (2022)[2]
 • Total26,821
 • Density1,791/km2 (4,640/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Larvikar
Larviker
Larviking
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Post Code
3256 Larvik

Larvik

Larvik Municipality.[4]

The 15-square-kilometre (3,700-acre) town has a population (2022) of 26,821 and a

Larvik Municipality
lives in the city, the rest live in the much more rural areas of the municipality.

The town originally was built in the Tollerodden area where the Larvik Church is located.[4]

The town is one of the largest ports in

Vestfoldbanen railway line runs through the town, stopping at Larvik Station. The European route E18 highway passes through the north side of the town, connecting the capital of Oslo with Southern Norway.[4]

History

Old map of Laurvig (c. 1884)
Herregården estate in Larvik
Aerial view of the city in 2012

Various remains from the

Roman Iron Age, ancient peoples erected a stone monument resembling a ship at Istrehågan, one of Norway's greatest remains from prehistoric times.[5]
: 8 

About 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) southeast of the town is Skiringssal, an archaeological site where archaeologists first discovered burial mounds and an ancient Viking hall, and later uncovered the nearby remains of an ancient town, Kaupang. This is now known as the oldest known merchant town in Norway. There was international trade from this area, over 1,200 years ago.[5]: 12  Skiringssal has remains from the oldest town yet discovered in the Nordic countries,[6] and it was one of Scandinavia's earliest urban sites.[7]

Larvik (which historically used the

Ulrik Fredrik Gyldenløvebought the Fritsø estate. He later became the first Count of Laurvig. The count built a new residence in 1674, "Herregården", which can still be visited today.[8][4]

The town survived from the timber trade, boat building, and shipping. A major industry in the town was the Fritsø Ironworks, which was operated until 1868.[4]

The whole Larvik area was owned by a Danish Count (grevskap) until 1817. Since the rest of Norway had come under Swedish rule in 1814, the county was purchased by four local businessmen in 1817.[9] Then in 1821, it became part of the newly created Jarslberg og Laurvigs amt (county).

Larvik is also the site of the

Treschow estate, "Fritzøehus", which is currently owned by the heirs of Mille-Marie Treschow
, reportedly "Norway's richest woman". The Treschow estate was created in 1835 when Willum Frederik Treschow bought the county from the Danish crown, who in turn had bought the county from the local consortium "grevlingene", four local entrepreneurs who proved unable to manage the ownership financially (the consortium had bought the county from the Danish crown in 1817 originally, the crown taking over the county when the last of the counts had to sell it because of debt).

Larvik, along with neighbouring cities of

Tønsberg, were the three dominant whaling cities of Norway in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[10]

The city of Larvik was a 19th-century spa community, home of Larvik Bath. The spa welcomed several members of government and also Russian oligarchs. The royal family,

Nobel Prize for Literature.[5]
: 60–63 

See also

References

  1. ^ a b In the Norwegian language, the word by can be translated as "town" or "city".
  2. ^ a b c Statistisk sentralbyrå (1 January 2022). "Urban settlements. Population and area, by municipality".
  3. ^ "Larvik, Larvik". yr.no. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  4. ^
    Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget
    . Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  5. ^
    OCLC 13071070
    .
  6. ISBN 9781780052106
    .
  7. ISBN 9788779342590
    .
  8. ISBN 9780756693305
    .
  9. ^ "Unike dokument viser Larviks danske hemmelegheit". 26 June 2021.
  10. ISBN 9780520039735
    .

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