Andebu is a former municipality in

Vestfold Vestfold () is a county and a current electoral district in Norway. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it borders Buskerud and Telemark counties. The county administration is located in Tønsberg, Norway's oldest city, and the larg ...

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 municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution on 1 January 2017. The area is now part of

Sandefjord Municipality Sandefjord () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Sandefjord ...

. The

administrative centre An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgi ...

was the village of Andebu. Other main villages in Andebu include Høyjord and Kodal. Andebu was the fourth-largest municipality in Vestfold county and it was situated in the center of the county. Upon its dissolution, the municipality had a population of 5,937. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . Andebu's economy was primarily related to logging and forestry. Andebu has been inhabited for centuries and the oldest artifacts retrieved here dates back 4000 years to the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

. Most retrieved artifacts are various types of tools, mainly axes made of

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

and other rocks. Andebu’s geography consists mainly of valleys, hills, mountains, forests, and lakes.

General information

The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of ''Andebo'' (later spelled ''Andebu'') was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () was the name of a Norwegian self-governing municipality. The name was used from the establishment these municipalities in 1838 until the name fell out of use in 1863. The municipalities had their legal basis from two laws enacted on 14 Jan ...

law). On 1 January 1878, an area of Hedrum municipality (population: 61) was transferred to Andebu. On 1 January 2017, a municipal merger took place: the municipalities of

Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Sandefjord ...

(population: 45,820), Stokke (population: 11,657), and Andebu (population: 5,937) were merged to form a new, larger

. Andebu now makes up the northern part of the new municipality.

Name

The municipality (originally the

) is named after the old '' Andebu'' farm () since the first Andebu Church was built there. The meaning of the first element is unknown, but one possibility is that it comes from the old male name , but this is not certain. The last element comes from the word which means "dwelling" or "farm". Prior to 1889, the name was spelled ''"Andebo"''.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

was granted on 12 December 1986. The official

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

is ''"

Vert Vert or Verts may refer to: * Vert (heraldry), the colour green in heraldry * Vert (music producer) (born 1972), pseudonym of Adam Butler, an English music producer * Vert (river), in southern France * Vert (sport), a competition in extreme versio ...

, three triangles

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

, one over two"'' (). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is a set of three equilateral triangles with one over two. The charge has a

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The green color in the field symbolizes the importance of

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

. The three triangles were chosen to symbolize the three villages/parishes in the municipality: Andebu, Høyjord, and Kodal. The three triangles also are set up to look like the letter A, the first letter of the municipal name. The arms were designed by Kjell Skoli. The municipal flag had the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

had three parishes () within the municipality of Andebu. It was part of the Sandefjord prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...

) in the

Diocese of Tunsberg Tunsberg is a diocese of the Church of Norway. It includes all of the parishes located within the counties of Vestfold and Buskerud, with the cathedral located in the city of Tønsberg. The Diocese of Tunsberg consists of the cathedral deanery and ...

. Andebu Church was the main church for the municipality. It was built around the year 1100. It is a stone church with seating for 300. The soapstone baptismal font is from the 1100s. The altarpiece and the pulpit are in Renaissance style and date from about 1650. The church was extensively restored in 1686. The church is home to Norway's oldest existing written parish register from 1623. The ridge turret was destroyed in a storm in 1701 and had to be rebuilt. The Høyjord Stave Church is also located in Andebu and it is the only stave church in Vestfold County.

History

Various historical artifacts and burial mounds dated to the

Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

have been discovered in Andebu. Finds include a bronze key, a stone axe, arrows, and more.

Burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

s have been discovered on approximately 30 farms in Andebu, including 17 in the village of Andebu, 5 in Høyjord, and 7 in Kodal. Some mounds are dated back as far as 500 BCE (in other words, over a thousand years prior to the Viking Age). Large amounts of burial mounds are found at Nordre Haugan, Nedre Skjelland, Våle, Vestre Høyjord, Bjørndal, and Gjerstad. The 14th century

Black Plague The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

had a devastating impact on the population of Andebu. It is estimated that the population was 600 as of 1600 A.D., approximately the same amount as prior to the plague, meaning that it took about 200 years to regain the lost population for the area. Andebu municipality was established on 1 January 1838, with priest Jens H. Otterbeck as its first mayor. Otterbeck served as mayor for 24 years and was the longest-serving mayor of Andebu.

Government

While it existed, this municipality was responsible for

primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

senior citizen Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

services,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

zoning In urban planning, zoning is a method in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into land-use "zones", each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for ...

economic development In economics, economic development (or economic and social development) is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and object ...

, and municipal

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

s. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

of directly elected representatives. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.

Municipal council

The

of Andebu was made up of 25 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

Mayors

The

mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

() of Andebu: * 1838-1862: Jens H. Otterbech * 1863-1863: Gullik Chr. Herre-Skjelbred * 1864-1865: Johan G. Gran * 1866-1867: Gullik Chr. Herre-Skjelbred * 1868-1869: Johan G. Gran * 1870-1873: Abraham Chr. Wegger * 1874-1877: Peder K. Nilsen * 1878-1880: Johan G. Gran * 1881-1881: Karl Nilsen * 1882-1889: Abraham Chr. Wegger * 1890-1897: Anton Bjørndal * 1898-1898: Edvard A. Hallenstvedt * 1899-1901: A. Ljosnæs * 1902-1905: Anton Bjørndal * 1905-1913: A. Ljosnæs * 1914-1916: Abraham Andersen Tolsrød * 1917-1922: Anders Flaatten * 1923-1927: O. Bakkeland * 1928-1930: Anders Flaatten * 1931-1939: Hans R. Trevland * 1939-1941: Ole Bergan * 1945-1945: Ole Bergan * 1946-1955: O. Strandskog * 1956-1959: Ole Bergan * 1960-1961: Johan Gran * 1962-1963: Ivar Bjørndal * 1964-1965: Johan Gran * 1966-1967: Ole Bergan * 1968-1975: Thor Wrangsund * 1976-1981: Paul Kristian Berg * 1982-1985: Ingolf Wegger * 1986-1991: Jan Vestby * 1992-1999: Rolf Fevang * 1999-2011: Hans Hilding Hønsvall ( KrF) * 2012-2016: Bjarne Sommerstad ( Sp)

Geography

Andebu was located in the interior central parts of

County. Most of Andebu is forested, but numerous rivers and mountains can also be found in Andebu. Rivers include Merkedamselva, which flows through eastern parts of the village of Høyjord. Steinselva (Skorgeelva), Bergselva and Bølevannsbekken are other rivers in Andebu. Lakes in Andebu included Stålerødvannet, Heievannet,

Goksjø Goksjø is a lake on the border of Larvik Municipality and Sandefjord Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The lake is located about to the northwest of the Sandefjord (town), town of Sandefjord and about to the south of the village of Kod ...

, and others. The highest points of the former municipality are in northwestern parts near the village of Høyjord. Some peaks include Brånafjell, which is the tallest peak in

municipality, as well as Åletjønnåsen and Storås. Smaller peaks include Bustingen, Skørsåsane, and Storås by Skjeau. The municipality of Andebu was home to 35 lakes, including the Askjemvannet, which was the largest lake in Andebu. Parts of the lake

were also located in Andebu, while minor lakes included Ilestadvannet and Åletjønn, both located near the village of Høyjord. The tall Brånafjell was the tallest mountain peak in the former municipality of Andebu, and currently the highest peak in

municipality. It is located in northernmost Andebu on the border with what used to be Re Municipality and about from the border with Lardal (now part of Larvik Municipality). Parking for mountain hiking trails can be found by Trollsvann. Nature preserves in Andebu included Veggemyra (marsh), Nordre Skarsholttjønn (marsh), Dalaåsen (birch forest), and Flisefyr-Hidalen (forest).

Recreation

Heisetra is a cabin owned by Sandefjord Tourist Association which lies by the lake Heivannet and the river Svartåa. There are of marked hiking trails are located near the cabin. The trails are used by cross-country skiers, bicyclists, hikers, and equestrians. Heisetra is situated in western Andebu near the border to the municipality of

Larvik Larvik () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Larvik (town) ...

. A nature trail with interactive signs detailing local nature is located near the lake Heivannet. The lake is used for paddling, kayaking, swimming, and fishing. Nearby trails are used for hiking, skiing, mountain biking, horseback riding, and collection of mushrooms and berries. The trail network from the cabin leads as far as

Hardangervidda Hardangervidda () is a mountain plateau ( Norwegian: ''vidde'') in central southern Norway, covering parts of Vestland, Telemark, and Buskerud counties. It is the largest plateau of its kind in Europe, with a cold year-round alpine climate, and o ...

, while shorter trails include those leading to Grevesteinen and Sliradammen. The Svartåa culture trail was previously used for the movement of logs to Larvik. This trail has various interactive signs describing the river’s cultural and historical significance, including signs near the Hansekanal, a canal created by Hans Anders Dahl in 1950. Andebu is home to numerous gravel trails, for instance located by Snappen, Trolldalen, and Vidaråsen. Parking for Snappen can be found nearby Heisetra cabin, along with a variety of other forest- and mountain hikes. It can be reached by driving to Pipenholt, which lies along county road 210 between Kodal and Åsrum in

. From Pipenholt, drive towards Hvitstein. Heiaveien goes through an agricultural landscape and passes by ''Geirastadir''. Andebu's highest mountain, Brånafjell is located in northernmost Andebu. The trail to the mountain can be found by Trollsvann Lake. Trollsvann is located on the border with Lardal and is surrounded by tall hillsides. A trail, Trollstien, follows the lake on its western side. A number of trailheads can be found near the cabin Trollsvannstua, a cabin owned by the

Norwegian Trekking Association The Norwegian Trekking Association (, DNT) is a Norwegian association which maintains mountain trails and cabins in Norway. The association was founded on 21 January 1868 with the scope "to help and develop tourism in this country". Today the goa ...

. Trails from Trollsvannstua lead as far as to Merkedammen Lake in Re and westwards to Åletjønn Lake. There are also trails leading to the waterfall Løkedalsfossen in Lardal. Another mountain trail leads to the peak and tower at Vetan, a hike from the village of Andebu. From the village centre, follow Kodalveien to Familiesenteret. From there, make a right and follow the gravel Møylandsveien over the farm fields. Before the farm, the trail winds left into the woodlands. Interpretive signs can be found throughout the trail, which describe the area's species of wildlife and flora. The peak has an elevation of and the house on top was originally a lookout tower meant to be used in times of war. An overlook tower was constructed at Vetan in 1988, which provides panoramic views of Tønsberg Fortress, the Oslo Fjord,

Gaustatoppen Gaustatoppen is a mountain in the county of Telemark, Norway. The tall mountain is located on the south side of the town of Rjukan and is the highest mountain in Telemark. The summit lies in Tinn Municipality, but there is a lower plateau that c ...

, and Skrim. Parking for the trail to Vetan is located by the Møyland kindergarten, immediately west of the centre of the village of Andebu. Andebu is home to 35 lakes, where fishing is permitted in 16 lakes. The largest rivers are Svartåa and Skorgeelva.

Points of interest

* Høyjord Stave Church, the only remaining stave church in

County * Heisetra, a cabin owned by ''Sandefjord Tourist Association'', adjacent to of hiking trails * Andebu Church, the largest medieval church in Sandefjord municipality *

Lake, the third-largest lake in Vestfold County * Svartåa River, one of Andebu's largest rivers, popular fishing river * Brånafjell, the tallest mountain in Sandefjord municipality

Notable people

* Kaare Reitan (1903–2000), an orthodontist

References

External links

* * * {{use dmy dates, date=November 2023 Sandefjord Former municipalities of Norway 1838 establishments in Norway 2017 disestablishments in Norway