Rykene or Rygene is a village located along the river

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 ...

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,

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 primarily located in

Arendal Arendal () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the Districts of Norway, region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the munici ...

municipality, but a small portion of the village lies across the river in the neighboring municipality 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 ...

. Rykene is located about north of the town of Grimstad and about the same distance south of the city of Arendal. Historically, the village grew up due to its close proximity to forests as the timber was floated down river to the sawmills in Rykene. The village of

Lindtveit Lindtveit is a village in Arendal municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located just east of the river Nidelva along the Norwegian County Road 408. The village of Rykene Rykene or Rygene is a village located along the river Nidelv ...

lies about to the northwest, the village of

Løddesøl Løddesøl is a village in Arendal municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located along the Norwegian County Road 408 on the eastern shore of the river Nidelva Nidelva is a river in Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. The nam ...

lies about to the north, the village of

Gjennestad Gjennestad or Ginnestad is a village in Arendal municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located a short distance north of the river Nidelva, just off Norwegian County Road 407. The village of Rykene Rykene or Rygene is a village lo ...

lies about to the northeast. The village sits at the junction of

Norwegian County Road 407 Norwegian county road 407 (') is a Norwegian county road in Agder county, Norway. The highway runs between the village of Vik in Grimstad municipality and Sponvika on the south side of the city of Arendal in Arendal municipality. Prior to th ...

and

Norwegian County Road 408 Norwegian county road 408 (Fylkesvei 408 or Fv408) is a long Norwegian county road which runs between the villages of Blakstad, Aust-Agder, Blakstad in Froland municipality and Rykene in Arendal municipality. The road roughly follows the river ...

. The village has a population (2022) of 763 which gives the village 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 . An area of lies in Grimstad with 22 residents while the rest of the village lies in Arendal on the north side of the river. The village sits along the river Nidelva, at a

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

called ''Rygene''. The village used to have the same name as the waterfall, but the spelling of the village was later changed to ''Rykene''. The name comes from the

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 ...

name: ''rjúkandi'' which means "smoking", possibly referring to the mist at the base of the waterfall. The name has the same etymology as the municipality of

Rjukan Rjukan () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Tinn Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The town is also the administrative centre of Tinn Municipality. The town is located in the Vestfjorddalen valley, between the lakes Møsvatn ...

. The waterfall has since been

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

med and now is the site of the Rykene Power Station which has a maximum output of and a mean annual output of . The local sports team is Rygene IL. The historic

Øyestad Church Øyestad Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Arendal Municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the village of Rykene, on the north side of the river Nidelva. It is one of the churches for the Øyestad parish which ...

is located just outside of the village.

Media gallery

No-nb digibok 2014091028002 0007 1.jpg, View of the waterfall Rygene - Smith & Thommesen.jpg, Factory along the river Rygenefossen.jpg, Dam on the waterfall

References

{{use dmy dates, date=November 2020 Villages in Agder Arendal Grimstad