Jomfruland is an

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

Kragerø Municipality Kragerø () is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional districts of Grenland and the smaller Vestmar. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kragerø. Villages in Kragerø include Hell ...

Telemark Telemark () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway. Telemark borders the counties of Vestfold, Buskerud, Vestland, Rogaland and Agder. In 2020, Telemark merged with the county of Vestfold to form the county o ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The small elongated island is located off the coast of mainland

Kragerø Kragerø () is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional districts of Grenland and the smaller Vestmar. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kragerø. Villages in Kragerø include H ...

, about south of the island of Stråholmen. It measures about in size. Jomfruland provides shelter to the many islands of the Kragerø archipelago from the

Skagerrak The Skagerrak (; , , ) is a strait running between the North Jutlandic Island of Denmark, the east coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea. The Skagerrak contains some of the busiest shipping ...

seas. In 2023, there were about 75 permanent residents living on the island, along with many

holiday homes A holiday cottage, holiday home, vacation home, or vacation property is accommodation used for holiday vacations, corporate travel, and temporary housing often for less than 30 days. Such properties are typically small homes, such as cottage ...

on the island. Approximately on the island's center there are two white

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

s – one old and one new. Only the newer Jomfruland Lighthouse is in use today. The lighthouses are most characteristic and can be seen from all sides. These towers are often referred to as the characterizing feature of Kragerø and the archipelago. Access to Jomfruland is by

water taxi A water taxi or a water bus is a boat used to provide public transport, public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an Urban area, urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a simil ...

, car ferry, or by private vessel. The island has several guest harbours. The island has several attractions, among which are splendid beaches, developed docks with restaurant and kiosk facilities, pebble beaches on the island's north side, as well as good hiking possibilities for tourists and residents alike.

Name etymology

The island was originally named Aur (). That name was identical to the word which means "

gravel Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gr ...

" or "wet clay", likely since there is very little good soil on the island–it is mostly sand and pebbles because it is part of a

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...

that was made during the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

. By the 1400s and 1500s, the island had become known as "Jomfruland", a more poetic name. The first element comes from the word which means "

virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

", here likely referring to the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. Another theory is that the waters in that area are very clean or clear (virgin-like). The last element is which means "land" or "district".

Plant and animal life

Jomfruland is famous for its abundance of European thimbleweed, a feature which made it a location for the 1995 Norwegian movie production of

Sigrid Undset Sigrid Undset (; 20 May 1882 – 10 June 1949) was a Danish people, Danish-born Norwegian people, Norwegian novelist. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928 Nobel Prize in Literature, 1928. Born in Den ...

's ''

Kristin Lavransdatter ''Kristin Lavransdatter'' is a trilogy of historical novels written by Sigrid Undset. The individual novels are ''Kransen'' (''The Wreath''), first published in 1920, ''Husfrue'' (''The Wife''), published in 1921, and ''Korset'' (''The Cross''), ...

''. Every spring, in the beginning of May, the white thimbleweed spreads out like a blanket across the island. The island is also known for its rich bird life, with more than 300 species having been spotted. Jomfruland Bird Station (''Jomfruland Fuglestasjon'') is a facility run by the Telemark chapter of the

Norwegian Ornithological Society The Norwegian Ornithological Society (, NOF) is a Norwegian bird study and conservation organisation. It was founded in 1957, though it was preceded by a similar body with the same name which operated from 1920 to 1935. It is BirdLife Internat ...

. The station which was established in 1969 is located at Øitangen on the northern peak of the island. Much of the

bird migration Bird migration is a seasonal movement of birds between breeding and wintering grounds that occurs twice a year. It is typically from north to south or from south to north. Animal migration, Migration is inherently risky, due to predation and ...

each spring and autumn follows the coastline and passes by the island's northern peak. From March through November the station is staffed continuously. Many

civilian service Alternative civilian service, also called alternative services, civilian service, non-military service, and substitute service, is a form of national service performed in lieu of military conscription for various reasons, such as conscientious o ...

personnel have been deployed here since the 1990s, and these together with other persons in short-term employment have provided the backbone of the service which however also benefits from many volunteer workers. Due to the island's diverse plant life, a relatively large number of nesting bird species have been documented. As of March 2006, 92 species were breeding, and of these, approximately 40-50 every year. The

barred warbler The barred warbler (''Curruca nisoria'') is a typical warbler which breeds across temperate regions of central and eastern Europe and western and central Asia. This passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in tropical eastern Africa.De ...

is one of the regular species with Jomfruland perhaps being the only location in Norway where this bird breeds. Also

thrush nightingale The thrush nightingale (''Luscinia luscinia''), also known as the sprosser, is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscic ...

common rosefinch The common rosefinch (''Carpodacus erythrinus'') or scarlet rosefinch is the most widespread and common rosefinch of Asia and Europe. Taxonomy In a molecular phylogenetic study of the finch family published in 2012, Zuccon and colleagues found ...

and

red-backed shrike The red-backed shrike (''Lanius collurio'') is a carnivorous passerine bird and member of the shrike family, Laniidae. Its breeding range stretches from Western Europe east to central Russia. It is migratory and winters in the eastern areas of ...

are regular breeding species, whereas more irregular finds are of

greenish warbler The greenish warbler (''Phylloscopus trochiloides'') is a widespread leaf warbler with a breeding range in northeastern Europe, and temperate to subtropical continental Asia. This warbler is strongly bird migration, migratory and Winter, winters ...

(1992 – only breeding observation in Norway), stock pigeon,

northern shoveler The northern shoveler (; ''Spatula clypeata''), known simply in Britain as the shoveler, is a common and widespread duck. It breeds in northern areas of Europe and throughout the Palearctic and across most of North America, and winters in southe ...

and

barnacle goose The barnacle goose (''Branta leucopsis'') is a species of goose that belongs to the genus ''Branta'' of black geese, which contains species with extensive black in the plumage, distinguishing them from the grey ''Anser (genus), Anser'' species. D ...

(the latter two on nearby islands). A vast number of birds breed on islets and skerries around Jomfruland, one of these being the

black guillemot The black guillemot or tystie (''Cepphus grylle'') is a medium-sized seabird of the Alcidae family, native throughout northern Atlantic coasts and eastern North American coasts. It is resident in much of its range, but large populations from the ...

Geology

Geologically, Jomfruland is part of a large residual

from the Ice Age called the Raet step. Jomfruland is the product of the back parts of the moraine (Raet) sticking out of the water. Eastward, the moraine remains underwater from Jomfruland to Mølen in

Brunlanes Brunlanes is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1988. The area is now the southwestern part of Larvik Municipality. The administr ...

, before it reappears after crossing

Tromøya Tromøya () or Tromøy () (historic: ''Tromø'') is the largest island in Southern Norway. The island is entirely located in the municipality of Arendal in Agder county, Norway. The island has about 5,300 residents (in 2015) which gives it a p ...

. Where the Raet moraine is connected to the mainland it forms pebble beaches. Between Jomfruland and Tromøy there are shallow waters in places where the moraine almost reaches the water surface.

References

{{use dmy dates, date=September 2023 Kragerø Islands of Telemark Moraines of Europe Glacial deposits of Norway

Name etymology

Plant and animal life

Geology

See also

References