Sandefjord
Sandefjord is a municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sandefjord. Other population centres in Sandefjord include Andebu, Fevang, Fokserød, Fossnes, Freberg, Hafallen, Helgerød, Himberg, Høyjord, Kodal, Lahelle, Melsomvik, Råstad, Solløkka, Stokke, Storevar, Strand, and Unneberg.
The municipality is the 233rd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Sandefjord is the most populous municipality in Vestfold and the 14th most populous municipality in Norway, with a population of 67,009. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 6.6% over the previous 10-year period.
Sandefjord is known for its rich Viking history and the prosperous whaling industry, which made Sandefjord the richest city in Norway. Today, it has built up the third-largest merchant fleet in Norway. Sandefjord Museum is the only museum in Europe dedicated to whaling, and is home to Gokstad Mound where the 9th-century Gokstad Ship was discovered.
Sandefjord has numerous nicknames, including the whaling "capital" of Norway or as the undisputed summer city of Norway. Sandefjord is also known as the "whaling capital of the world." It has also been dubbed the "Bathing City", due to its many beaches and former resort spas. It is still considered a resort town, due to high numbers of visitors during summer months.
Sandefjord has become a transportation hub, home of Torp Airport, one of Norway's largest airports. Daily ferry connections to Sweden are provided by Color Line from the city harbor. European Route E18, one of Norway's main north–south highways, traverses the municipality.
Sandefjord is a stronghold for the Conservative Party; the Conservative coalition received over 70 percent of votes cast in 2011. Current mayor is Bjørn Ole Gleditsch from the Conservative Party, who has been mayor since 2004.
General information
The ladested of Sandefjord was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. In 1845, the ladested of Sandefjord was made a kjøpstad. On 1 January 1889, a part of the neighboring municipality of Sandeherred was transferred into Sandefjord. In 1931, an area of the neighboring municipality of Sandar was transferred into Sandefjord. In 1950, another area of the neighboring municipality of Sandar was transferred into Sandefjord.During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1968 the municipality of Sandefjord was merged with the surrounding municipality of Sandar, creating a much larger municipality of Sandefjord.
On 1 January 2017, the rural municipalities of Andebu and Stokke were merged into Sandefjord as part of a nationwide municipal reform. This merger was the first one to take place during the reform.
Etymology
The name Sandefjord was first mentioned in chapter 169 of Sverris saga from the year 1200. It was then referring to the fjord which is now known as Sandefjordsfjord. The municipality is named after the local fjord, now called Sandefjordsfjorden since the city of Sandefjord grew up at the head of the fjord. The first element of the name comes from the old Sande farm. The old farm name is the plural form of which means "sand" or "sandbanks". The last element comes from the word which means "fjord".Coat of arms
Sandefjord has had two coats of arms over the course of its history.The original coat of arms was granted on 9 May 1914 and they were in use until 1 January 2017. The official blazon is "Or, a Viking ship sable with a sail paly gules and argent under a whale embowed". This means the arms have a field has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The arms usually showed a mural crown over the shield. The charge is a Viking ship with a red and white striped sail with an arched whale over the top. The Viking ship symbolizes the famous Gokstad ship, which was found in Sandefjord in 1880, one of the best preserved Viking ships known. The whale symbolizes that in the late 19th and early 20th century, Sandefjord was a main home port for whalers operating in the southern oceans. The arms were designed by Andreas Bloch. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.
The current coat of arms was approved for use starting on 1 January 2017, after the merger of Andebu, Stokke, and Sandefjord. The official blazon is "Or, a whaler with raised harpoon on a boat issuant from the base sable". This means the arms have a field has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The charge is a whaler with a harpoon standing on a boat that is coming out of the base of the shield. The arms show part of a local whale hunting monument to symbolize the historical importance of whaling. The arms were designed by Erik Raastad from Sandefjord who called the design "courage and strength". There were also minor modification done by the heraldic expert Jan Eide from Oslo. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.
History
Viking history
Sandefjord has been inhabited for thousands of years. Excavations indicate that people have inhabited Sandefjord for around 3,000 years. Rock carvings at Haugen farm by Istrehågan in Jåberg are dated to 1,500–500 BCE. Haugen farm is home to Vestfold county's largest petroglyph site. In 1961–1962, 78 rock carvings were discovered at the site. They consist of ships, spiral figures, circular hollows, and much more.The Vikings lived in Sandefjord and surrounding areas about 1,000 years ago, and numerous Viking artifacts and monuments can be found in Sandefjord. One of the most important remains from the Viking Age was found at the grave site Gokstadhaugen in Sandefjord. The Gokstad ship was excavated by Nicolay Nicolaysen and is now in the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo. The Viking, an exact replica of the Gokstad ship, crossed the Atlantic Ocean from Bergen to be exhibited at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. A replica of the Gokstad ship, called Gaia, currently has Sandefjord as home port. Other known replicas include the Munin, located in Vancouver, Canada.
The Gokstad Ship, Norway's largest preserved Viking ship, was discovered during an excavation at Gokstad Mound in 1880. The Vikings first settled here due to its speedy route from Sandefjord and along the coast. Viking settlements and grave sites have been discovered in Sandefjord.
Sandefjord functioned as a seaport defined by the twin industries of shipping and shipbuilding throughout the 1600s and 1700s. It was formally recognized as a market town by King Oscar in 1845. Its population at the time was 749 residents.
Health resort
The city of Sandefjord became known as a world-renowned health resort destination between 1837 and 1939. Royalty and Prime Ministers from throughout Europe visited the town for its spas in the late 1800s. It gained its reputation as a health and pleasure community when Sandefjord sulfur spa and resort was established in 1837. It was the first spa in town and functioned as a medical institution focusing on the treatment of symptoms for rheumatic diseases. The original bathhouse has been restored and is now a culture house by the city center. It was one of Europe's most visited baths until its closure in 1939.Around 50,000 people, mostly Norwegians, visited the bath from 1837 to 1939. A majority of spa visitors were from Norway, but international guests from Germany, Britain, and the United States also visited the spas of Sandefjord. Today the bath's building, Kurbadet, has been restored and hosts cultural events and various annual activities.
Town fires
Sandefjord has experienced numerous town fires, including a town fire in 1800 which led to most of the town burning down and subsequently having to be rebuilt. An additional fire in 1900 destroyed 56 houses and caused major damage. Sandefjord's ships and the shipping industry remained untouched from the major fire of March 1900. The fire, which started on the night before 16 March 1900, led to the entire city center burning down, including important business offices. Both newspapers in town, Sandefjords Blad and Vestfold, saw their offices burnt down. Six jewelry stores, three watchmakers, eight grocery stores, and a variety of other shops were destroyed. The fire started in the factory Nordmannen. The fire caused the loss of 51 buildings for a total value of in addition to in loss of store items. Sandefjord Church also burnt down during the town fire of 1900.A new town fire on 27–28 March 1915 led to the death of two people and destroyed seven farms. Large parts of the street Storgata were also destroyed.
Whaling and ships
Sandefjord is perhaps best known as a whaling community. The centre of the world's modern whaling industry was located in town, and local residents not only made up practically all the crew on the Norwegian whaling fleet, but substantial numbers of them also worked within the whaling industry in nearby countries. For over fifty years in the late 1800s, Sandefjord functioned as the world center for the whaling industry, including the manufacture and equipment of whaling vessels, floating factories, and whale-catchers. Sandefjord has also been named the "whaling capital of the world." There were 25 whaling companies that were established in Sandefjord between 1905 and 1914. During the 1911–1912 season, Sandefjord had 27 whaling companies with a total of 115 vessels. This made up over 30 percent of the world's whaling firms.File:Sandefjord Southern Actor.jpg|thumb|Southern Actor, museum ship at Museum's Wharf
Starting in 1850, a number of ships from Sandefjord were whaling and sealing in the Arctic Ocean and along the coast of Finnmark. The first whaling expedition from Sandefjord to the Antarctic Ocean was sent in 1905. Towards the end of the 1920s, Sandefjord had a fleet of 15 factory ships and more than 90 whalers. In 1954, more than 2,800 men from the district were hired as crew on the whalers, but from the mid-1950s whaling was gradually reduced. The number of southbound expeditions rapidly decreased during the 1960s, and the 1967–1968 season became the last for Sandefjord. In 1971, Sandefjord's last whale processing vessel was sold to Japan. The shipping industry was gradually readjusted from whaling to other ship types during this period. The local Framnæs Mekaniske Værksted and Jotun Group Private Ltd. had major roles in this business.
Today, the memories of this important period of Sandefjord's history are kept alive at the Whaling Museum. This museum is the only museum in Europe specializing in whales and the history of whaling. The history of the whalers can also be explored at the Museum's Wharf with a visit aboard the whale-catcher Southern Actor. Whaling is considered to be the industry which made Sandefjord the richest city in Norway.
Sandefjord also has shipping traditions of tall sailing ships and steam ships. The full-rigged sailing ship Christian Radich, three-masted barquentine Endurance, whale catcher Jason and Viking ship replica Viking were some of the many ships built by Framnæs Mekaniske Værksted.
Hans Albert Grøn of Sandefjord established the first whaling station in the Faroe Islands in 1894, which was located at Gjánoyri on the island of Streymoy. As of 1903, half of all whaling companies in the Faroe Islands were operated out of Sandefjord. Furthermore, Sandefjord was the headquarters of the South African Whaling Company, which was established in 1908 and managed by shipowner Johan Bryde of Sandefjord. Sandefjordian whaling firms were also established on the coast of Africa, in Portugal, Mexico, Western Australia, among other places.