Hedrum 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 in 1988. The area is now part of

Larvik Municipality Larvik () is a municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik. Other main population centres in the municipality include the ...

. 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 Nanset (from 1978-1988; prior to that, the municipal administration was located in the village of Hedrum where the Hedrum Church is located). Other villages in Hedrum include Gjone, Kvelde, Skinmo, and Verningen. Hedrum municipality was located in the Lågendalen valley, the lower part of the valley that follows the river Numedalslågen. The valley is relatively flat and dominated by agricultural areas. The valley is surrounded by wooded hills which rise up towards tall mountain peaks. Among other things, the area is known for potato cultivation and fishing.

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 Hedrum 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). Over the years, there have been many municipal border adjustments. On 1 January 1875, an area of Hedrum (population: 46) became part of the neighboring town of Larvik. On 1 January 1878, an area of Hedrum (population: 61) became part of the neighboring municipality of Andebu. On 1 January 1891, an area of

Tjølling Tjølling is a former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1988. The area is now part of Larvik Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Tjøllingvollen. Other vi ...

municipality (population: 11) became part of Hedrum. In 1937, an area of Hedrum (population: 69) became part of the neighboring town of Larvik. In 1948, an area of Hedrum (population: 296) became part of the neighboring town of Larvik. 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, two border adjustments were made in Hedrum. One area of Hedrum (population: 16) was transferred to Siljan 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) and the adjacent Bakke area (population: 75) was transferred to Porsgrunn Municipality (also in Telemark county). On 1 January 1968, the unpopulated Svartangen area of Siljan was transferred to Hedrum (and

county). On 1 January 1974 the unpopulated Tagtvedt area of Hedrum was transferred to the neighboring town of Larvik. On 1 January 1983, the unpopulated Bergan area of Hedrum was transferred to the neighboring

Lardal Lardal () is a former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2018. The area is now part of Larvik Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Svarstad. The village ...

municipality. On 1 January 1986, part of the Åsveien 3 property in Hedrum was transferred to the neighboring town of Larvik. On 9 January 1987 an unpopulated area in northern Hedrum was transferred to

municipality. On 1 January 1988, the municipality was dissolved as part of a major municipality merger which consolidated the municipalities of Brunlanes (population: 8,138), Hedrum (population: 10,449), and

(population: 7,878) with the towns 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) ...

(population: 8,045) and Stavern (population: 2,538) to create a new, much larger

with a population of 37,048 people.

Name

The municipality (originally the

) is named after the old ''Hedrum'' farm () since the first Hedrum Church was built there. The first element is the

genitive case In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive ca ...

of the word which means "

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

" or "

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of Habitat (ecology), habitat found in upland (geology), upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and the biomes of montane grasslands and shrublands, characterised by low-growing vegetation on So ...

". The last element is which means "home" or "abode".

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 18 November 1966. 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 ...

, a bend wavy

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 ...

"'' (). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

is a wavy diagonal line. 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 the local forests and the wavy line was chosen to symbolize the river Numedalslågen which flows through the municipality. The arms were designed by D. Krohn-Holm, Jr. The municipal flag had the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

Hedrum Church (''Hedrum Kirke'') is a medieval era church that was the main church for the municipality. It is one of several ancient stone churches within a vicinity which also includes churches at

Hem A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...

, as well as Efteløt and Hedenstad in

Buskerud Buskerud () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Innlandet, Vestland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardanger ...

. Other churches in Hedrum include Kvelde Church and Hvarnes Church. Hedrum Church was built of stone around 1100. The church celebrated its 950-year anniversary in 2010. The church has a rectangular

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, square

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

and

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

. Building Archaeological studies show that the apse is added later. The structure was extended by four meters in 1666. The west part with the portal and door openings are from after the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

. Hedrum Church has a number of tombstones, which cover large parts of the floor of the church. Hedrum Church cemetery is clearly visible from traffic arteries on both sides of Numedalslågen. Some of the graves are believed to pre-date the introduction of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

confirming the supposition that ancient pagan cult sites were chosen as the venue for the earlier churches.

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 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.

Municipal council

The

of Hedrum 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 ...

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 Hedrum: *1838-1847: Knud Peder Kjerulf *1848-1851: Hans Fredrik Kjerulf *1851-1853: Peder Johansen Berg *1860-1861: Knud Peder Kjerulf *1862-1867: Hans Christian Nilssen Fosserød *1868-1869: Gunnar Thommesen *1870-1871: Ole Olsen Eftedal *1872-1875: Anders Andersen *1876-1887: Gunnar Thommesen *1887-1891: Frants Carlsen Rødbøl *1892-1895: Nils Olsen Hellenes *1896-1897: Ole Evensen Sundby *1898-1901: Frants Carlsen Rødbøl *1902-1910: Ivar Hagtvedt *1911-1913: Karl Johan Hvatum *1914-1916: Karl Bergan *1917-1919: Thorvald Hvidsteen *1920-1922: Anund Iversen Allum *1923-1928: Ole Andersen Gåsholt *1929-1941: Anund Iversen Allum *1941-1941: Ole N. Rimstad *1941-1942: Martin Ringdal ( NS) *1942-1945: Martin Zimmermann ( NS) *1945-1945: Anund Iversen Allum *1946-1963: Mathias Skoli ( V) *1963-1963: Anders Gåsholt ( Sp) *1964-1967: Ole Hvidsten ( V) *1968-1971: Kristoffer Bakkerud ( Sp) *1972-1975: Harald A. Holm ( V) *1976-1985: Olav Bergene Holm ( KrF) *1986-1987: Per Michaelsen ( H)

References

{{use dmy dates, date=September 2023 Larvik Former municipalities of Norway 1838 establishments in Norway 1988 disestablishments in Norway