Svelvik is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares ...

in Drammen municipality, Viken county. It is also a former municipality, which was a part of former

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered t ...

county. The town of Svelvik was separated from the rural municipality of Strømm to become a municipality of its own in 1845. The two municipalities were merged back together on 1 January 1964.

General information

Name

The

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

form of the name was ''Sverðvík''. The first element is ''sverð'' n '

sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed t ...

', the last element is ''vík'' f ' cove, wick'. A neighbouring farm has the name Sverstad (Norse ''Sverðstaðir''). The word ''sverð'' probably refers to the promontory ridge ''Ryggen'' ('the back') in Hurum: This ridge lies right opposite Svelvik and Sverstad, and is almost (like a sword) cutting the Drammensfjord in two parts.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 4 September 1964. The arms show a gold-colored trident on a red background, as a symbol for the sea.

Geography

The narrow Svelvikstrømmen

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by ...

separates Svelvik from the municipality of Asker, and the county of Viken. This sound is served by a ferry, which has the shortest line in Norway. The village is quite characteristic, with small winding streets and traditional, white-painted houses. Svelvik has many venues for swimming and sunbathing.

Media

The newspaper '' Svelviksposten'' is published in Svelvik.''Store norske leksikon'': ''Svelviksposten''.
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Notable residents

Gallery of Svelvik

File:Svelvik.jpg, The built up area and town of Svelvik lies beside , a narrow sound in the Drammensfjord, which connects to Oslofjorden further south. The flow is amongst

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

's strongest. File:Svelvik_kirke_TRS.jpg, is a long church from 1859 with seating for 450. File:MF Svelviksund in Svelvik TRS 070414 014.jpg, The ferry plies between ( Hurum) and Svelvik, and is

's shortest ferry crossing. File:Vilt og vakkert ved fjorden.jpg, Fra fjorden, januar 2009, by Håvard Selby Ebbestad File:2009 Oktober Strømmen 002.jpg, Oktoberkveld ved Svelvikstrømmen, by Håvard Selby Ebbestad

References

External links

Svelvik kommune

Svelvikportalen.no

Detailed statistics for Svelvik kommune

Local news from Svelviksposten

Photographs of Svelvik 1904-1938

Culture in Svelvik map
from

Kulturnett.no The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Equality ( no, Det kongelige kultur- og likestillingsdepartement; short name ''Kultur- og likestillingsdepartementet'') is responsible for cultural policy, regulations and other matters related to the ...

Historical archives of the current Svelvik kommune
at
Historical archives of the former Svelvik kommune
at
Historical archives of the former Strømm kommune
at * *
Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every ye ...

* {{Vestfold Cities and towns in Norway Drammen