Gjerpen is a former municipality in

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 municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of

Skien Municipality Skien () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Gr ...

. 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 Gjerpen, which is now part of the growing town of

Skien Skien () is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsjø area and Bø. The administrative ...

Gjerpen Church Gjerpen Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Skien Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the Skien (town), town of Skien. It is one of the churches for the Gjerpen parish which is part of the Skien prosti (d ...

was the main church for the municipality.

History

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 Gjerpen 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). According to the 1835 census the municipality had a population of 4,381. Gjerpen was located east of the town of Skien. It encompassed districts such as Borgestad, Bøle, Gulset, and Luksefjell. On 1 January 1856, an area of Gjerpen Municipality (population: 1,286) was

annexed Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held to ...

by the growing town of Skien. On 1 January 1903, an unpopulated area of Saude Municipality was transferred to Gjerpen. Again, on 1 July 1916, another area of Gjerpen Municipality (population: 1,332) was

by the growing town of Skien. Then on 1 July 1920, an area of southern Gjerpen (population: 437) was transferred to the town of Porsgrunn. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee () was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a ...

. On 1 January 1964, Gjerpen Municipality (population: 15,300) was merged with the neighboring Solum Municipality (population: 13,706) and the town of Skien (population: 15,805) plus the Valebø area of Holla Municipality (population: 259). These areas became the new

Name

The municipality (originally the

) is named after the old ''Gjerpen'' farm (; a corruption of ) since the first

was built there. The meaning of the first element is unknown. It is possibly the old name of a local river. The river name may have been derived from the word which means "the chattering one" or "the chuckling one", likely referring to the noise of the river. The last element is which means "

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...

" or "

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Types of pasture Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, c ...

Government

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 An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting,'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office ( direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the o ...

by a vote of the municipal council.

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 Gjerpen (incomplete list): *1838-1841: Herman Bagger *1841-1843: Christen Lund *1843-1853: Gunder Arnesen Augestad *1853-1856: Fredrik C.S. Borchsenius *1856-1857: Just Wright Grøndahl *1857-1859: Fredrik C.S. Borchsenius

Municipal council

The

of Gjerpen was made up of 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 ...

Attractions

(''Gjerpen Kirke'') is one of the oldest churches in Norway, dating from around the year 1150.

Vidkun Quisling Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling (; ; 18 July 1887 – 24 October 1945) was a Norwegian military officer, politician and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, Nazi collaborator who Quisling regime, headed the government of N ...

was buried in the Gjerpen cemetery. Mæla Manor (''Mæla gård i Gjerpen'') was the residence of merchant Diderich von Cappelen (1734–1794) and his first wife Petronelle Pedersdatter Juel (1737–1785). It was the childhood home of their sons Ulrich Fredrich von Cappelen,

Diderik von Cappelen Diderik von Cappelen (21 June 1761 – 3 April 1828) was a Norwegian wholesaler, merchant, shipowner, estate owner and politician in 1814. He is often referred to as Diderik von Cappelen but he spelt his name ''Didrich von Cappelen'' and is also ...

, and Peder von Cappelen. The former manor house is now operated as an auction facility (''Nye Store Mæla Gård Auktion''). Fossum Ironworks (''Fossum Jernverk''), which was in operation from 1539 from 1869, was last owned by the Løvenskiold family. Løvenskiold-Vækerø, which is one of Norway's largest forest owners, owns and manages the large forest estate which formerly belonged to the Fossum Ironworks ''Fossum i Løvenskiolds eie'' (Løvenskiold-Fossum)

References

{{use dmy dates, date=September 2023 Skien Former municipalities of Norway 1838 establishments in Norway 1964 disestablishments in Norway