Viking history

Norway's largest preserved Viking ship, Gokstad ship, was discovered at Gokstad Mound, Sandefjord.^[16][17]

Istrehågan, ancient burial ground which dates to the Roman Iron Age, 1500-500 BCE^[18]

Vestfold is mentioned for the first time in a written source in 813, when Danish kings were in Vestfold to quell an uprising amongst the Fürsts .^[20] There may have been as many as six political centers in Vestfold. At that time Kaupang, which was located in Tjølling near Larvik, had been functioning for decades and had a chieftain. Kaupang, which dates from the Viking Era, is believed to be the first town in Norway, although Tønsberg (which dates from ca. 900) is the oldest town in Norway still in existence. At Borre, there was a site for another chieftain. That site held chieftains for more than one hundred years prior to 813.^[21]

The stone mounds at Mølen have been dated to the Viking Age.^[22] The mounds at Haugar in present-day Tønsberg's town centre have been dated to the Viking period. At Farmannshaugen in Sem there seems to have been activity at the time, while activity at Oseberghaugen and Gokstadhaugen dates from a few decades later.

An English source from around 890 retells the voyage of Ottar (Ottar fra Hålogaland) "from the farthest North, along Norvegr via Kaupang and Hedeby to England", where Ottar places Kaupang in the land of the Dane - danenes land.^[22] Bjørn Brandlien says that "To the degree that Harald Hårfagre gathered a kingdom after the Battle of Hafrsfjord at the end of the 9th century - that especially is connected to Avaldsnes - it does not seem to have made such a great impression on Ottar".^[22] Kaupang is mentioned under the name of Skiringssal (Kaupangen i Skiringssal) in Ottar's tales.^[23][24]

By the 10th century, the local kings had established themselves. The king or his ombudsman resided in the old Royal Court at Sæheim i Sem, today the Jarlsberg Estate (Jarlsberg Hovedgård) in Tønsberg. The farm Haugar (from Old Norse haugr meaning hill or mound) became the seat for Haugating, the Thing for Vestfold and one of Norway's most important place for the proclamation of kings.^{[25] [26]} The family of Harald Fairhair, who was most likely the first king of Norway, is said to have come from this area.

The Danish kings seem to have been weak in Vestfold from around the middle of the 9th century until the middle of the 10th century, but their rule was strengthened there at the end of the 10th century.^[22] The Danish kings seem to have tried to control the region until the 13th century.^[22]

Kings ruling some or all of Vestfold

Halfdan the Black, 9th century king of Vestfold. His brother was long believed to be buried at the Gokstad Mound.^[27][28][29]

• Erik Agnarsson
• Halfdan Hvitbeinn (part of Vestfold)
• Eystein Halfdansson
• Halfdan the Mild
• Gudrød the Hunter
• Halfdan the Black, together with his brother, Olaf Gudrødsson
• Ragnvald the Mountain-High, Cousin of Harold Fairhair
• Harald Fairhair
• Bjørn Farmann
• Olaf Haraldsson Geirstadalf, brother of Bjørn
• Harald Gudrødsson Grenske, 976–987

Whaling

Southern Actor, whale-catcher turned museum ship

Whaling was an important 19th century industry in coastal cities such as Larvik, Tønsberg, and Sandefjord, which was the world centre for the world's modern whaling industry. Not only did men from Vestfold County make up practically all the crew on the Norwegian whaling fleet, but many were also involved in the whaling industry in other nations.^[30] As an example, the first phase of modern Australian whaling was almost entirely based on workers from Larvik.^[31] While the first whaling station in the Faroe Islands was established by Sandefjordians,^[32] Larvik played a similar role for the Shetland Islands. Tønsberg initiated much of the whaling industry in Iceland and the Hebrides.^[33]

The largest settlement in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Grytviken, was established by Carl Anton Larsen of Sandefjord on 16 November 1904.^[34][35] Sandefjordian Nils Larsen's expeditions to Antarctica in the early 20th century led to the Norwegian annexation of Bouvet Island (1927) and Peter I Island (1929). A cove on Peter I Island is named Sandefjord Cove in honor of Nils Larsen's hometown.^[36][37]

Sandefjord Harbor is now home to Southern Actor, the only whale-catcher from the Modern Whaling Epoch still to be in its original order.^[38][39][40] The museum ship is owned by Sandefjord Whaling Museum, Europe's only museum dedicated to whaling.^[41][42][43] Sandefjord has been named the centre of the Modern Whaling Epoch,^[44] and has been nicknamed "the whaling capital of the world."^{[45][46][47][48]}

Geology

Nøtterøy is the largest island in Vestfold.

Visitor Center at World's End in Færder National Park

The county's soft soil is composed of varieties of moraine and sedimentary soils. The Ice Age left large parts of Vestfold below sea level, and the most cultivated soil can be found on the marine terraces. Marine clay and sand cover most of the lower lying country in the south-west and north. The Vestfold moraine, a continuation of the Østfold moraine at Moss, is an ice-formed formation which stretches as a cohesive gravel ridge through the county, from Horten in the east to Mølen in the south.^[50]

Preserved areas

Færder National Park was the county's first national park when the decision was formalized by King Harald V on 23 August 2013.^[10][51] The visitor center is at World's End, and was officially opened by Queen Sonja on 26 June 2015.^[52][53] The national park lies in Nøtterøy- and Tjøme municipalities, and is made up of 325 square kilometres (125 sq mi) of ocean and 15 square kilometres (5.8 sq mi) of land. It stretches from Ormøy in the north to Færder Lighthouse in the south.^[53] It is one of two marine national parks in Norway, and is made up of coast, skerries, islands and sea bed.^[54]

Mølen in Larvik is home to Norway's largest stone beach^[55] and is an ancient burial site consisting of 230 cairns, some exceeding 35 metres (115 ft) in diameter. Excavations have dated the rock piles to about 250 A.D.^[56][57] It was the first UNESCO Global Geopark in the Nordics when established in 2008.^[58][59] Mølen is one of Larvik's most popular tourist attractions. It is home to over a hundred species of rock, including Norway's national stone, Larvikite, which is named from the area. It is a crucially important seabird habitat, where over 316 species of bird have been recorded.^[60][61]

Municipalities

Municipalities in Vestfold County

Vestfold County has experienced a large reduction in number of municipalities. As of 1949, the county was home to 19 rural municipalities and seven city municipalities. There were 14 municipalities as of 2016, but the number decreased to 6 as of 2024.

1. Holmestrand (added Hof on 1 January 2018)
2. Horten
3. Tønsberg (added Re on 1 January 2020)
4. Færder (from 1 January 2018, when Nøtterøy and Tjøme were merged)
5. Sandefjord (added Andebu and Stokke on 1 January 2017)
6. Larvik (added Lardal on 1 January 2018)

Tourism

Lilleskagen Beach at Hvasser in Færder

The harbor in Tønsberg

The pier in Nevlunghavn, the southernmost point in mainland Vestfold (excluding islands).^[75][76]

Summer tourism is an important industry in Vestfold, particularly in coastal communities such as Sandefjord, Tjøme and Stavern. Coastal cities also have large numbers of vacation homes. There were 534,724 hotel stays in 2015, where the purpose was vacationing for 236,895. Most international tourists were from the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Denmark. There were 781,459 stays at rental cabins or campgrounds in 2015.^[10] Consequentially, the population increases drastically during summer months in municipalities such as Sandefjord,^[77] Tjøme, and elsewhere. The population at Tjøme goes from 4,500 to around 50,000 each summer.^[78] The population of islands such as Tjøme often quadruple during summer,^[79] while summer communities as Stavern often sees a doubling or tripling.^[80] Tjøme Island is home to nearly as many vacation homes as residential homes.^[81]

While Tjøme has the nickname Sommerøya ("the Summer Island"),^[82][83] Sandefjord is nicknamed Badebyen ("the Bathing City") due to its many beaches and former spas.^[84] Sandefjord is known for its many great beaches,^[85][86] and it is primarily known as a summer resort community.^[87][88] It first became a bathing destination when sulphur was discovered in 1837.^[89][38] The city gained further recognition when Sandefjord Sulfur Spa and Resort (Kurbadet) was established in 1837. The bath was one of the most visited in Europe during the late 19th century.^[90]

Vestfold's most visited tourist attractions include Borre mound cemetery, the largest burial site in Northern Europe, as well as numerous sites along the coast. Architectural sites include the villages of Åsgårdstrand, Karljohansvern in Horten, and Fredriksvern in Stavern. Other important attractions are Sandefjord Whaling Museum, Mølen Geopark in Larvik, as well as Tønsberg Fortress (Slottsfjellet) in Tønsberg.^[10]

Largest companies

Largest companies in Vestfold County based on operating income in 2015:^[91]

Larvik

Hall of Remembrance (Minnehallen) outside Stavern

Edvard Munch's former summer house at Åsgårdstrand

• Bøkeskogen, world's northernmost beech tree forest.^{[114][115][116][117]}
• Kaupang, home to remains for the oldest Nordic town yet discovered. The remains are from one of Scandinavia's earliest urban sites, established in year 800 A.D.^[118][119]
• Mølen, Scandinavia's first UNESCO Global Geopark.
• Nevlunghavn and Helgeroa, adjacent coastal villages.
• Larvik Museum
• Fritzøehus, largest privately owned estate in Norway.^{[120][121][122]}
• Stavern, small coastal town, home of Citadell Island
  • Fredriksvern, Norway's main naval base from the mid-1750s until 1864.^[80]
  • Minnehallen (Hall of Remembrance), largest monument in Vestfold.^[123]

Horten

• Borre National Park, largest burial mound site in Northern Europe.^[10]
• Løvøy Chapel
• Royal Norwegian Navy Museum
• Preus Museum
• Borre Church, romanesque medieval church constructed in the 1100s.^[124]
• Tordenskioldeika
• Åsgårdstrand, oceanside resort town.^[125][126]
• Borre Golfbane

Tønsberg and Færder

Tønsberg Fortress contains ruins from Norway's largest 13th century castle.^[127]

• Tønsberg Fortress, largest ruin park in the Nordic countries.^[128]
• Oseberg Mound, site of the discovery of the Oseberg Ship
• Haugar
• Tønsberg Cathedral
• Sem Church
• Slottsfjellmuseet
• Nordbyen
• World's End, southernmost point at Tjøme.^[129]
• Herkelås
• Tjøme Church
• Færder National Park, first National Park in Vestfold.^[10][51]

Sandefjord

Viking chieftain Olaf Geirstad-Alf was buried at the Gokstad Mound.^[27][130]

• Sandefjord Museum (the Whaling Museum), Europe's only museum dedicated to whaling.^[41][42][43]
  • Southern Actor, only whale-catcher from the Modern Whaling Epoch still to be in its original working order.^[39][40][38]
• Gokstad Mound, site of the discovery of the 9th-century Gokstad Ship.
• Gaia ship, replica of the Gokstad Ship docked at Museum's Wharf.
• Sandar Church, built on ruins of a 13th-century medieval stone church. Present church was erected in 1792.
• Whaler's Monument, rotating bronze monument erected in honor of pioneering whalers.
• Sandefjord Church
• Istrehågan, ancient burial ground which dates to the Roman Iron Age around 1500-500 BCE.^[18]
• Kurbadet, former resort spa and one of Europe's most visited baths in the late 19th century.^[90]
• Folehavna Fort, ruins from a German fortress erected in 1941 during the German occupation of Norway.^[106]
• Høyjord Stave Church, the only stave church left in Vestfold County.^[38]
• Langeby, popular bathing beach at West Island.
• Goksjø, third-largest lake in Vestfold County.

Istrehågan

Istrehågan is an ancient burial ground which dates to the Roman Iron Age around 1500-500 BCE.^[18] It is located at Jåberg in Tjølling, on the border between Sandefjord and Larvik.^[134][131] The rock settings at Istrehågan resemble a ship. It is 24 metres (79 ft) long, and 9 metres (30 ft) meters broad. Archaeological excavations made in 1959-61 uncovered remains of bones, bear claws, pottery shards, a brooch, and more.^[135] At Haugen farm on the Sandefjord side is Vestfold County's largest collection of petroglyphs.^[136]

Borre National Park

Tools found by archeologists at Kaupang

At Borrehaugene near Borrre there are 9 large mounds and around 30 smaller ones.^[22][137] It is the largest burial mound site in Northern Europe.^[10]

Borre mound cemetery most likely contains graves belonging to kings of the Yngling dynasty. It is mentioned in the poem Ynglingatal as the burial site of one of two kings belonging to the royal dynasty of the Ynglingas.^[138]

Kaupang

Kaupang in Skiringssal (Larvik) is home to remains from the oldest Nordic town yet discovered.^[119] It was a trade centre established around year 800, making it one of Scandinavia's earliest urban sites. The settlement was abandoned in the mid-10th century.^[118] It is located in Kaupang Bay in Viksfjord, Larvik. Archeological finds include melting pots, jewelry parts, casting moulds and casting models.^[139] Most of Kaupang remains not excavated.^[140] There are replicas of Viking homes at Kaupang today, giving insight to how homes were constructed during the Viking Age.^[141][142]

Oseberg Burial Mound

The 22-meter (72 ft.) Oseberg Ship was excavated in Tønsberg.

Oseberg Mound is located in Tønsberg and is where the Oseberg Ship was discovered. The ship, which dates to 834 A.D., had a length of 22 metres (72 ft). Two female skeletons were found in the ship's burial chamber.^[143]

Viking burial site at Gulli

Gulli, outside Tønsberg, was the site of an archaeological excavation during the period from 2003 to 2004, prior to asphalt being laid for constructing the new E18 (road).^[144] There were 60 graves - 20 of those were preserved to a degree that [authorities decided] permitted examinations.^[144] "Perhaps the most spectacular [item] was a høvre" - used with a horse's harness. "There are few of those in Norway - one in Trøndelag and a gilded one found in Borre".^[144] The artifacts are on display at the Midgard Historical Centre in Borre.^{[145] [146]}

Fevang

19th century archeologists were struck by the many burial mounds and artifacts discovered at Fevang near Torp Airport in Sandefjord. Local farmers had discovered various artifacts in the 19th- and early 20th centuries. Archeologist Nicolay Nicolaysen traveled to Fevang and concluded that Fevang was home to an array of ancient burial mounds. Nicolaysen further discovered that Fevang had been an active graveyard for over 1,000 years - since year 0 A.D. until the first Christian cemeteries were established. Among the artifacts discovered were a gold jewel named Berlokk, which was retrieved in a woman's grave along with two gold beads, two blue glass beads, a hairpin, ceramic, burnt bones, and two clips of bronze. Her tomb is dated to the Old Iron Age, around 0-400 A.D.^[147][148]

Gokstad Mound

Interpretive signs at Gokstad Mound

Burial mound at Mølen dated to the Bronze Age

Gokstad Mound in Sandefjord was where the Gokstad Ship was excavated by Nicolay Nicolaysen in 1880.^[149] The skeleton of a man was found in the ship, long believed to be Olaf Geirstad-Alf, former king of Vestfold and half-brother of Halfdan the Black, the father of Harald Fairhair, Norway's first king. However, recent discoveries have increased uncertainty and it therefore remains unknown what chieftain was buried at Gokstad.^[150][151]

The ship, which is the largest found in Norway, is currently located at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo. The 23.8 metres (78 ft) ship was buried along with numerous gifts, including weapons, jewels, a gaming board, fish-hooks, 64 shields, six beds, three smaller boats and kitchen utensils. Twelve horses, eight dogs, two goshawks and two peacocks were also discovered in the grave.^[152][153]

Interpretive signs have been put up at the mound and Gaia, an exact replica of the Gokstad Ship, can be seen on Museum's Wharf at Sandefjord Harbor.^[154]

Mølen

Bøkeskogen is home to one of Norway's largest burial grounds from the Iron Age.^[115]

The Old Norse word Mol translates to cairns, a site often used by ancient peoples to mark a burial site. Mølen, which is Norway's largest stone beach, is home to 230 cairns, which have been built over ages. Some cairns have been dated to 250 A.D.^[56][61] The isthmus of Mølen is home to stone piles, grave mounds, and stone settings, which are all part of a protected historic site. The last Ice Age pushed large amounts of gravel and stones ahead of it, and deposited it as a moraine through all of Vestfold, known as Vestfoldraet. Raet meets the ocean at Mølen, where the moraine sinks into the sea. Its encounter with the Skagerrak ocean waves has uncovered and polished the huge round stone floor for centuries.^[155]

Bøkeskogen

Besides being the largest beech tree forest in Norway, and the most northernmost beech tree forest in the world,^[116] Bøkeskogen is also an important archeological area. 83-90 burial mounds have been discovered in the forest. Some of these include the largest burial grounds from the Pre-Roman Iron Age in Vestfold County.^[156]

Wildlife refuge

Saltstein is part of a protected habitat for birds.^[178] From 2014 surfing was permitted off Saltstein.^[178]

Besides being an UNESCO Global Geopark, Mølen in Larvik is a habitat for a variety of rare bird species.^[179] Mølen became a protected sanctuary for birds in 1970.^[59] 320 species of birds have been recorded at Mølen, more species than at any other site in Norway.^[177][180]

Wildlife preserves include Melsom- and Hemskilen Wildlife Preserves. Hemskilen Wildlife Preserve lies on the Larvik-Sandefjord border and is an important habitat for shorebirds, geese, and Passerines.^[181] Melsom Plant- and Wildlife Preserve in Sandefjord is home to various older oaks, some of them home to as many as 1,500 different species of insects.^[182] Marøyskjæra Bird Preserve consists of two skerries west of Natholmen Island, which have been important nesting areas for Common tern and Common gull since the 1980s. Over 500 seagulls hatched on the islets in the 1990s.^[183][184]