Holmestrand

This article is about the town in Vestfold, Norway. For the municipality in Vestfold, Norway, seeHolmestrand Municipality.For other uses, seeHolmestrand (disambiguation).

Holmestrand
Town/City
View of the town harbour
Holmestrand Location of the town Holmestrand Holmestrand (Norway)
Coordinates:59.48761°N 10.31758°E/59.48761; 10.31758
Country	Norway
Region	Eastern Norway
County	Vestfold
District	Jarlsberg
Municipality	Holmestrand Municipality
Established as
Ladested	1744
Kjøpstad	1752
Area
• Total	4.52 km2(1.75 sq mi)
Elevation	3 m (10 ft)
Population (2024)
• Total	8,258
• Density	1,826/km2(4,730/sq mi)
Demonym	Holmestranding
Time zone	UTC+01:00(CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00(CEST)
Post Code	3080 Holmestrand

is atowninHolmestrand MunicipalityinVestfoldcounty,Norway.The town is theadministrative centreof the municipality. It is located along the shore of theYtre Oslofjord,about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) northwest of thetown of Hortenand about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south of the village ofSande i Vestfold.The largetown of Drammenlies about 30 kilometres (19 mi) to the north.

The 4.52-square-kilometre (1,120-acre) town has a population (2024) of 8,258 and apopulation densityof 1,826 inhabitants per square kilometre (4,730/sq mi).

History

Map of the town in 1903

Located around theOslofjord,Holmestrand developed as a timber/lumberport starting around 1550, when theDutchcame here for timber. In 1663, the place became a customs office under the nearby city ofTønsberg.In 1716, the northern part of Holmestrand was reduced to ashes after a large fire spread through the area. In 1744, KingChristian VIdesignated it aladested.In 1752, the new KingFrederik Vgranted itkjøpstad(town) status. In the era ofsailing ships,the town had a period of prosperity, but when the transition to steamships it was left in a backwater as a shipping town. In the 19th century, the town was known for its medicalspas.In 1838, the newformannskapsdistriktlaw gave the small town self-governing municipality status. TheVestfoldbanenRailway, which was opened in 1881, led to a lot of new business. In 1884, the entire southern part of the town burned down after another fire. In 1902, after the opening of theHolmestrand–Vittingfossrailway, Holmestrand became the shipping port forwood pulpfromHvittingfossin what is nowKongsberg Municipality.The track was closed in 1938.

A factory foraluminum processingwas built just south of the city in 1917. In 1967, the company became part ofÅrdal og Sunndal Verk(ÅSV), which was later acquired byNorsk Hydroin 1986. The factory made aluminum products, including under the well-knownHøyangbrand, usingaluminumfromHøyanger.TheHolmestrand Aluminium Museumis now located in the city, celebrating the history of this industry in Holmestrand.

Name

The municipality (originally the town) is namedHolmestrand(Old Norse:Holmastrand). The first element is thegenitive caseof the wordholmiwhich means "rocky islet". The last element isstrandwhich means "shore"or"beach".This is likely referring to three small islets that were located just offshore where the town is now located. The islets are no longer visible due to infilledland reclamationefforts.

Transportation

TheEuropean route E18highway is the main north-south road throughVestfoldcounty. It runs just to the west of the town of Holmestrand and secondary roads connect the city centre to this highway. TheVestfoldbanenrailwayline runs through the centre of Holmestrand, and the city is served by theHolmestrand Station.

Notable people

See also:Holmestrand Municipality § Notable people

See also

• List of towns and cities in Norway