Helgeroa is a village in

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 ...

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 village is located along the Helgerofjorden at the

Skaggerak 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 ...

coast in southwestern Vestfold. It is located about to the north of the village of Nevlunghavn and about southwest of the town of Larvik. Nevlunghavn and neighboring Helgeroa have grown together through

conurbation A conurbation is a region consisting of a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ...

so that

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 ...

considers them to form one urban area. The statistics about the two villages are no longer tracked separately. The urban area has a population (2022) of 1,962 and a

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 ...

of .

History

Helgeroa functioned as a traffic point between Eastern Norway and Southern Norway for hundreds of years. A

toll Toll may refer to: Transportation * Toll (fee) a fee charged for the use of a road or waterway ** Toll road, a type of road which for which payment is required for passage ** Road pricing, the modern practice of charging for road use ** Road to ...

was charged at Helgeroa since 1639. The need for lodging increased with the surging ship traffic, and Helgeroa's first inn was established in the 1660s.

King Christian V Christian V (15 April 1646 – 25 August 1699) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699. Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the de ...

stayed at the inn during a visit to Helgeroa in year 1685. Helgeroa is now a popular tourist destination, and large numbers of campgrounds can be found in the immediate nearby area. It is home to a marina, guest harbor, and a harbor for ferries operating on the

Langesundsfjord Langesundsfjord (), also known as the Breviksfjord (), is a stretch of fjord in Telemark county, Norway. The long fjord flows from the Skagerrak, between the islands of Sandøya, Bjørkøya, and Siktesøya in Porsgrunn Municipality and the ma ...

. At the tip of the pier is the tall Nesjar Monument. Helgeroa was the main settlement in the former municipality of

Brunlanes Brunlanes is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1988. The area is now the southwestern part of Larvik Municipality. The administr ...

which existed from 1838 until 1988. The village was important, but it was not the administrative centre, as this was located at Tanum and later in the town of Larvik. Despite being permanent home to just a few hundred households, Helgeroa receives thousands of visitors every summer. The Nesjar Monument is located in the village and was erected on the 1000th anniversary for the

Battle of Nesjar Battle of Nesjar (''Slaget ved Nesjar'') was a sea battle off the coast of Norway in 1016. It was a primary event in the reign of King Olav Haraldsson (later Saint Olav). Icelandic skald and court poet Sigvatr Þórðarson composed the poem ' ...

, which took place by Helgeroa in year 1026.

Geography

Helgeroa lies in a sheltered harbor on the western shore of the

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

. Helgeroa was formerly a centre for local commercial traffic across the

. Today, it is mostly a summer community where tourists often arrive by yachts. All traffic to the islands in the Langesundsfjord, of which some are populated throughout the year, departs from Helgeroa Harbor. The harbor was previously a

pilot station A pilot station is an onshore headquarters for maritime pilots, or a place where pilots can be hired from. To get from a pilot station to an approaching ship, pilots need to use fast vessels to arrive in time, i.e. a pilot boat. History Histor ...

, but is now housing a large and well-equipped yachting harbor, as well as oceanside seafood restaurants and bars. It has a shopping center located on the main road.

References

{{use dmy dates, date=November 2023 Larvik Villages in Vestfold