Tromøya () or Tromøy () (historic: ''Tromø'') is the largest

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 ...

Southern Norway Southern Norway (; lit. "The Southland") is the geographical List of regions of Norway, region (''landsdel'') along the Skagerrak coast of southern Norway. The region is an informal description since it does not have any governmental function ...

. The island is entirely located in the municipality of

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 ...

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 island has about 5,300 residents (in 2015) which gives it 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 about . The island is located directly across the

harbor A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be moored. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is ...

from the town of Arendal. The highest point on the island is the tall Vardåsen. The island is separated from the mainland to the north by the Tromøysundet

strait A strait is a water body connecting two seas or water basins. The surface water is, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and flows through the strait in both directions, even though the topography generally constricts the ...

and it is separated from the island of

Hisøya Hisøya or Hisøy (historically: ''Hisøen'') is an island in Agder county, Norway. The island has been part of the municipality of Arendal since 1992. The main village areas on the island are Kolbjørnsvik, His, Slåbervig, and Sandviga. The ...

to the southwest by the Galtesundet strait. The long Tromøy Bridge () is the

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

that has been the only road connection to the mainland since it was completed in 1961. There is also a passenger

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

that takes six minutes to transport riders from Skilsø to the town of Arendal. The company Aker Pusnes is located in Pusnes. It is a designer and supplier of all types of deck machinery and mooring systems for marine and offshore applications. Historically, the island belonged to the municipality of Østre Moland until 1878. From 1878 until 1992, the island was part of the municipality of Tromøy. Since 1992, the island has been a part of the municipality of

Name

The name of the island (originally 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 ...

) historically was ''Tromø'', but more recently it has been spelled ''Tromøy'' or ''Tromøya''. These names come 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 ...

word ''Þruma'' which means "rim", "edge", or "border". The suffix ''-ø'', ''øy'', or ''-øya'' all mean "island".

History

Viking era

Tromøya is known for having once hosted many

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

kings. According to the

Ynglinga saga ''Ynglinga saga'' ( ) is a Kings' sagas, Kings' saga, originally written in Old Norse by the Icelanders, Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson about 1225. It is the first section of his ''Heimskringla''. It was first translated into Engl ...

, Harald Granraude, the King of

, had his headquarters on Tromøya. It also says that his daughter, Queen Åsa Haraldsdatter, took her one-year-old son, Halfdan Svarte back to Tromøya after the death of Gudrød Veidekonge. There are several place names on Tromøya derived from the Viking era including Kongshamn and Hove. Hovefestivallocation

Hove Farm

Hove is an area located on the southwestern part of Tromøya which has easily cultivated due to its self-draining soil and it was therefore a convenient place for early

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. The first recorded cultivation of

potatoes The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

in Norway is believed of have occurred at the Hove farm (''Hove gård'') which was one of the most significant estates on Tromøya. In 1757, the owner, Nils Mathiasen Aalholm, observed in his garden diary (''Nils Aalholms hagedagbok'') that potatoes were being cultivated on his farm.

World War II

During the

Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until th ...

(1940-1945), the Germans had an

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

school on Tromøya called the ''Feld Flakartillerie-schule 50''. This school operated from 1941-1944 at a camp built on the Hove farm. The camp was built for 1,500 men. There were three

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

s on the island and supposedly four anti-aircraft cannons. Construction of a airstrip was begun, but never finished. Most of the camp's buildings, including the partially-completed airstrip, are still there today, along with a

bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...

br>(R618)
with an unknown purpose. The bunker is currently undergoing restorations (in 2007) but work has been halted due to an ownership dispute. The German military used 75 buildings in the area, most of them built during the war.

Attractions

Tromøy Church

Tromøy Church Tromøy Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Arendal Municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the village of Brekka on the east coast of the island of Tromøy (island), Tromøy. It is one of the churches for the Tr ...

is the main church for all of the Tromøy parish in Arendal. The church is a medieval stone church from 1150. The foundation walls are thick. It was converted into a cruciform church in 1748. The church has a restored brick Romanesque portal with two

grotesque Since at least the 18th century (in French and German, as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...

face masks on the wall on each side of the portal. The church was painted during the 1750s and decorated in rococo style. A 1750s-era model of ''Dronningen av Danmark'', a frigate based in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, hangs from the ceiling of the church's

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 ...

. The

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

made of

soapstone Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium-rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in sub ...

dates from the

medieval period In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

. The

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

and

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

are from 1725.

Businesses

The Arendal Herregaard Hotell was built in 1930 and it is one of the oldest

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

s in the region. It stands about from Spornes beach. There are also two camps on the island: Hove Leirsenter (Hove Camp) and the Hove Familie Camping (Hove Family Camping).

Hove Festival

From 2007 until 2014, the Hove Festival was Norway's largest festival venue, with a capacity of 20,000 people. Headliners for the first year included the American bands

Slayer Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them ...

The Killers The Killers are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After the band went through a number of short-term bas ...

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated as QOTSA or QotSA) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1996. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme shortly before he returned to his native Palm Desert, California. ...

, and

My Chemical Romance My Chemical Romance is an American Rock music, rock band from New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist Mikey Way. They are considered one of ...

. In the fall of 2014, Festival Republic announced that Hove Festival would not return.

Media gallery

Arendal Færvik kirke.JPG, Færvik Church Krk-faervig.jpg, Færvik church Arendal_Galtesund_z.JPG, Lighthouse Hoveskogen.JPG, Hove Forest Arendal Tromøy Spornes b.JPG, Spornes headland on Tromøy Tre i Hoveskogen.JPG, Trees in Hove Forest Tromøybro1.jpg, Tromøy Bridge Tromøybro3.jpg, Tromøy bridge

References

External links

*
Hove leirsenter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tromoya Arendal Islands of Agder