Hankø 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 ...

located in the

Oslofjord The Oslofjord (, ; ) is an inlet in southeastern Norway. The fjord begins at the small village of Bonn in Frogn, Frogn Municipality and stretching northwards to the city of Oslo, and then curving to the east and then south again. It then flows s ...

, Østfold 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 ...

. It used to be the property of the

Dano-Norwegian Dano-Norwegian (Danish language, Danish and ) was a Koine language, koiné/mixed language that evolved among the urban elite in Norwegian cities during the later years of the union between the Denmark–Norway, Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway (1 ...

king, the site where the king hunted

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

. Later an island of retreat, notable visitors are the Norwegian king,

Princess Märtha Louise of Norway Princess Märtha Louise of Norway (born 22 September 1971) is a Norwegian self-described clairvoyant, businesswoman and a member of the Norwegian royal family, although she is not a member of the royal house and has no public role. She is marri ...

, and her husband

Ari Behn Ari Mikael Behn (; , or ; 30 September 1972 – 25 December 2019) was a Norwegian author, playwright, and visual artist, best known for his marriage to Princess Märtha Louise of Norway from 2002 to 2017. He held no title or special status, an ...

. Their second child,

Leah Isadora Behn Leah Isadora Behn (born 8 April 2005) is a member of the Norwegian Royal family. She is the second daughter of Princess Märtha Louise of Norway and her late former husband Ari Behn, and a grandchild of King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway. Sh ...

was born at their estate "Bloksberg" in 2005. Hankø is well known internationally as a venue for the sport of sailing, having hosted several world championships in different yacht classes. It is the host of annual sailing competitions in the summer, drawing international competitors in many classes including the Melges class. The island has many summer cottages, mainly owned by inhabitants from Oslo, the capital of Norway. This is due to the close proximity to the capital. The island is connected to the mainland, at a beautiful place called Vikene, by a ferry, going to and fro as the need arises. There is a hotel on the island with a spa (after recent refurbishment), which is heavily dependent on corporate customers.

Name

The name (

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was 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 ...

: ''Hanki'') is derived from ''hǫnk'' '

handle A handle is a part of, or an attachment to, an object that allows it to be grasped and object manipulation, manipulated by hand. The design of each type of handle involves substantial ergonomics, ergonomic issues, even where these are dealt wi ...

'. The island was probably considered to be the 'handle' of the peninsula

Onsøy Onsøy is a peninsula and a former municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre was Gressvik. History The parish of ''Onsø'' was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). A part of Onsøy w ...

Geography

The island stretches north to south for about 6 km. It is divided from the mainland by the Hankøsund, a stretch of water which runs about the length of the island. The north point is called "the north cape", and the southern tip marks the end of the "Hankøsund". The yachting is centered around the "Hankø Yacht Club" which lies in the Hankøsund close to the mainland. This private club has only about 150 members, membership only available upon invitation.

Climate

In the summer, the temperature is usually in the mid 20s (Celsius), and the water temperature can exceed 20 degrees Celsius in July/ August. The winters can be harsh, especially for the deer living on the island year round.

References

Oslofjord {{Østfold-geo-stub