Grimstad () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Agder Agder is a counties of Norway, county () and districts of Norway, traditional region in the southern part of Norway and is coextensive with the Southern Norway region. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Au ...

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

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 ...

. It belongs to the geographical region of Sørlandet. The

administrative center 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 Belgiu ...

of the municipality is the town of Grimstad. Some of the villages in Grimstad include Eide, Espenes, Fevik, Fjære,

Håbbestad Håbbestad is a village in Grimstad municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located about halfway between the villages of Rykene and Fevik on the north shore of the lake ''Temse''. References

Villages in Agder Grimstad {{ ...

, Hesnes, Homborsund, Jortveit, Kroken, Landvik, Nygrenda, Prestegårdskogen, Reddal, Roresand, Rønnes, Skiftenes, Tjore, Vik, and Østerhus. The municipality is centered around the little maritime town of Grimstad which is surrounded by many small

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 ...

s ('' Skjærgård''). There is a harbor, a main street, a small

market square A market square (also known as a market place) is an urban square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world. A market square is an open area where market stalls are tradit ...

, Grimstad Church, and a museum dedicated to the early life of

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

, who served as an

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...

to Grimstad's local

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in ...

Reimann, from 1844 to 1847, before leaving Grimstad in 1850. Ibsen's intimate knowledge of the local people and surroundings can be seen in his poem '' Terje Vigen''. The majority of the inhabitants live in and around the town, while the rest of the municipality is rural and heavily forested. The municipality is the 264th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Grimstad is the 50th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 24,587. 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 ...

is and its population has increased by 13.9% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The town of Grimstad 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, part of the neighboring municipality of Fjære (population: 948) was transferred to Grimstad. Again, on 1 January 1960, another part of Fjære (pop: 344) was transferred to Grimstad. On 1 January 1971, the rural municipalities of Fjære (pop: 6,189) and Landvik (pop: 2,781) were merged with the town of Grimstad (pop: 2,794) to form a significantly larger municipality of Grimstad with a total population of 11,764 at the time of the merger.

Name

The municipality is named after the historic town of

Grimstad Grimstad () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county, Norway. It belongs to the geographical region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative center of the municipality is the Grimstad (to ...

(). The first element is the name of after the old ''Grøm'' farm. The farm name is the combination of two items. First, the old local river name ''Gróa'' which comes from the word which means "to grow" and the second part is which means "home" or "abode". The last element of the name is which means "landing place" or "

harbour A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be Mooring, moored. The t ...

". The town's name was originally spelled ''Grømstad'', when Norway was part of the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway. At some point, the spelling of the name was misunderstood and became spelled as "Grimstad" during the registration of Norwegian cities and small places.

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 in 1899 and was based upon a seal of the city dating back to 1847. The

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 ''"Azure, a

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

above three barrulets wavy Or"''. This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a two-masted

, a type of sailing ship, on top of three wavy lines which symblize the ocean. 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 ...

of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The arms usually have a mural crown above the shield. The design was chosen as a symbol for the importance of

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

and

shipping Freight transport, also referred to as freight forwarding, is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...

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 ...

has four parishes () within the municipality of Grimstad. It is part of the Vest-Nedenes 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 Agder og Telemark.

History

Grimstad lies within the boundaries of the ancient parish of Fjære. It is reportedly first mentioned as a harbor in the 16th century. Eight years after he was deposed, Christian II of

Denmark–Norway Denmark–Norway (Danish language, Danish and Norwegian language, Norwegian: ) is a term for the 16th-to-19th-century multi-national and multi-lingual real unionFeldbæk 1998:11 consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (includ ...

(1513–1523) attempted to recover his kingdoms. A tempest scattered his fleet off the Norwegian coast, and on 24 October 1531, they took refuge at Grimstad. On 1 July 1532, he surrendered to his rival, King Frederick I of Denmark, in exchange for a promise of safe conduct. King Frederick failed to honor his promise and imprisoned Christian until he died. An inn is recorded at Grimstad as early as 1607. In 1622, Grimstad became a recognized harbor under the town of Arendal. By 1747, Grimstad was identified as a sailing community and a recognized haunt of

smuggler Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...

s. During the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

blockaded Grimstad; on 16 March 1811, the British frigate ''Venus'' entered Grimstad's harbour to capture four Dano-Norwegian merchantmen sheltering there.

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

from ''Venus'' captured the sloop ''Frau Maria'' but were eventually forced to abandoned her and row back to ''Venus''. John Frederik Classen, who owned the Frolands Værk (an ironworks), obtained concessions to export and import through Grimstad and bypass Arendal with its

customs Customs is an authority or Government agency, agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling International trade, the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out ...

dues. Grimstad was awarded market town status in 1816. The

Nørholm Nørholm, also called Nørholmen, is a manor house and agricultural property on in the municipality of Grimstad in Agder county, Norway. The estate is known mostly because of one of its previous owners was Nobel Prize-winning author Knut Hamsun ...

farm in Grimstad was the home of

Knut Hamsun Knut Hamsun (4 August 1859 – 19 February 1952) was a Norwegian writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920 Nobel Prize in Literature, 1920. Hamsun's work spans more than 70 years and shows variation with regard to conscio ...

in the early 20th century.

Government

Grimstad Municipality is 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, welfare and other

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 and utilities. The municipality is 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 ...

is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Agder District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

() of Grimstad is made up of 35 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and 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 () of Grimstad: * 1838-1841: Bendix Ebbell * 1841-1842: Christian Fredrik Bonnevie * 1843-1843: Christian Holst * 1844-1844: Mathias Gundersen * 1845-1845: Christian Holst * 1846-1846: Mathias Gundersen * 1847-1848: Axel Christian Pharo * 1848-1849: J.C. Falsen * 1849-1850: Fredrik Crawfurd * 1851-1851: Morten Smith Petersen * 1852-1852: C. Crawfurd * 1853-1853: Morten Smith Petersen * 1854-1854: Christian Holst * 1855-1855: Morten Smith Petersen * 1856-1856: H. Frisak * 1856-1857: Morten Smith Petersen * 1857-1857: M.S. Tveten * 1858-1859: Morten Smith Petersen * 1859-1859: M.S. Tveten * 1860-1860: H. Frisak * 1860-1862: Morten Smith Petersen * 1863-1864: H. Frisak * 1865-1866: Henning J. Bie * 1867-1867: Morten Smith Petersen * 1867-1867: A. Frivold * 1868-1868: Morten Smith Petersen * 1868-1872: H. Frisak * 1873-1874: Fr. Crawfurd * 1875-1878: H. Frisak * 1879-1901: Fr. Smith Petersen * 1902-1907: Bernt Einersen * 1908-1910: Peter Berg * 1911-1914: Bernt Einersen * 1915-1916: Hans P. Hansen * 1917-1917: Alfred Johnsen * 1918-1919: J.A. Gundersen * 1920-1920: Daniel Gundersen ( H) * 1921-1922: O.T. Tønnevold ( H) * 1923-1925: P.B. Einersen ( H) * 1926-1928: Daniel Gundersen ( H) * 1929-1931: P.B. Einersen ( H) * 1932-1934: Carsten Assev ( H) * 1935-1936: Thomas O. Tønnevold ( H) * 1937-1937: M. Fuhr ( H) * 1938-1938: G.E. Gundersen * 1939-1945: M. Fuhr ( H) * 1945-1945: G.E. Gundersen * 1945-1945: L.B. Smith * 1946-1947: Trygve Skretting ( H) * 1948-1948: G.E. Gundersen * 1949-1949: Trygve Skretting ( H) * 1950-1950: G.E. Gundersen * 1951-1961: Trygve Skretting ( H) * 1962-1963: H. Stifoss Hanssen * 1964-1970: Trygve Skretting ( H) * 1970–1971: Johan Jørgen Ugland ( H) * 1972–1975: Gudmund Hytten ( H) * 1976–1977: Trygve Skretting ( H) * 1978–1981: Reidar Aslaksen ( KrF) * 1982–1983: Gunnar Edvard Gundersen ( H) * 1984–1985: Reidar Aslaksen ( KrF) * 1986–1987: Hallstein Gauslaa ( H) * 1988–1989: Jon Sørland ( KrF) * 1990–1991: Bent Sætra ( H) * 1992–1995: Oddvar Skaiaa ( KrF) * 1995–2003: Per Svenningsen ( Ap) * 2003–2007: Svein Harberg ( H) * 2007–2015: Hans Antonsen ( V) * 2015–2019: Kjetil Glimsdal ( KrF) * 2019–present: Beate Skretting ( H)

Education

Grimstad is home to ''Drottningborg'', a private

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

boarding preparatory school. It is also the location of the '' Bibelskolen in Grimstad (BiG)'', a private Lutheran bible school. The University of Agder has its faculty of

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

seated here. A student dorm called "Grøm" is also in Grimstad.

Geography

Grimstad is a coastal municipality in

county bordering on 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 ...

. The municipality is bordered by Arendal in the east,

Froland Froland is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative center is the village of Blakst ...

and Birkenes in the north, and Lillesand in the west. The lakes

Syndle Syndle (historic: ''"Søndlevatn"'') is a lake in the municipality of Grimstad in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the Landvik area, about northwest of the center of the Grimstad (town), town of Grimstad. The lake Syndle flows into a sm ...

and Rore are found in the northern part of the municipality. Landviksvannet and Reddalsvannet lakes are found in the southern part of the municipality, near Reddal. The rivers

Nidelva Nidelva is a river in Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. The name of the long river translates to "the River Nid" since the suffix ''elva'' is the Norwegian language, Norwegian word for "the river". Location The Nidelva starts at the Hytt ...

and Tovdalselva run through parts of the municipality. The Rivingen Lighthouse and Homborsund Lighthouse both sit on small islands just off the coast. Panoramic of Grimstad taken from the harbour

Panoramic of Grimstad taken from the harbour

Grimstad panoramic taken as the sun sets from Binabben

Climate

Grimstad has a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb, marine west coast), with autumn and early winter as the wettest season and April to July as the driest season. The all-time high temperature was 11 August 1975; the all-time low is recorded 8 February 1966. The March record high recorded 27 March 2012 was new national heat record for March. Most of the record lows are old; 8 of 12 record lows from before 1970 (November 2021). In February and March 1970 a snow depth of was recorded at Landvik. In recent times, snow usually melts fast along the coast, but the right weather setup can sometimes give large snowfalls. The weather station in Landvik, inland from the town of Grimstad, has been recording since 1957.

Attractions

The Maritime Museum, the comprehensive City Museum and the Norwegian Horticultural Museum, are all popular among tourists, as are the wealth of exhibitions and concerts that the town hosts. The town is also a popular destination for summer vacationers, and supports a robust shopping milieu during the Christmas season. During summer, Grimstad plays host to the Norwegian Short Film Festival, which attracts film enthusiasts from far and near. Another popular attraction is the Agder Teater at Fjæreheia, an open-air stage located in a disused stone

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

. Shopping is also available in Oddensenteret along the harbour. (The view from Oddensenteret is seen in the panorama photo above.) The Homborsund lighthouse is located within the municipality. Grimstad is also home to the Nøgne Ø

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...

Sports

The 1997 World Orienteering Championships were held in Grimstad. The FK Jerv is the most important football club, and plays for first time at the top division in 2022.

Notable people

The Arts

(1828–1906), a playwright who wrote his first drama, '' Catalina'' in Grimstad in 1848/49 * Andreas Isachsen (1829-1903), an actor and playwright *

(1859–1952), a Nobel lauriate author who lived in Norholm from 1918 * Clara Thue Ebbell (1880–1971), an author of young adult fiction *

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime Flying ace, fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies ...

(1916–1990), an author who visited his grandparents and summered at the Strand Hotel in Fevik in Grimstad * Lillian Müller (born 1951), a model and actress * Even Benestad (born 1974), a documentary film director * Kjetil Mørland (born 1980), a singer and songwriter who competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015

Public service & public thinking

* Bent Salvesen (1787-1820), a ship's captaina, lieutenant in the

Royal Danish Navy The Royal Danish Navy (, ) is the Naval warfare, sea-based branch of the Danish Armed Forces force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Denmark, Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and ...

, and

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

* Elisabeth Helmer (1854–after 1912), a professional photographer and women's rights activist * Sverre Hassel (1876–1928), a polar explorer who accompanied

Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegians, Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Am ...

to the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the point in the Southern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True South Pole to distinguish ...

* Marius Nygaard Smith-Petersen (1886–1953), an American physician and orthopaedic surgeon * Tryggve Gran (1889–1980), a polar explorer, flight pioneer, and author * Christopher Grigson (1926-2001), a developer of the

scanning electron microscope A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a type of electron microscope that produces images of a sample by scanning the surface with a focused beam of electrons. The electrons interact with atoms in the sample, producing various signals that ...

* Thor Tjøntveit (1936–2017), a Norwegian-American aviator and convicted fraudster * Esben Esther Pirelli Benestad (born 1949), a physician, sexologist, and prominent trans person * Gunhild Vehusheia (born 1975), a lawyer and women's rights leader

Sport

* Jacob Gundersen (1875–1968), a Norwegian-American freestyle wrestler and silver medallist (for Norway) at the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...

* Dag Otto Lauritzen (born 1956), a road bicycle racer, bronze medallist at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

, and the first Norwegian to win a stage in the Tour de France in 1987 * Thor Hushovd (born 1978), a

road bicycle racer Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most com ...

, 2010 World Road Race Champion, and the first Norwegian to wear the yellow jersey and win the green jersey in the Tour de France

Twin towns – sister cities

Grimstad is twinned with: * Asikkala, Finland * Billund, Denmark *

Köping ''Köping'' was a Swedish denomination for a market town since the Middle Ages, derived from the Old Norse word '' kaupang''. The designation was officially abolished with the municipal reform of 1971, when Sweden was subdivided into the Munic ...

, Sweden

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway (, 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 year on its web site. All rele ...

Visit Grimstad (Tourist Information)
()

()
Agder Theatre at Fjæreheia

Norway's Short Film Festival
{{Authority control 1838 establishments in Norway Municipalities of Agder