Kragerø, County of Vestfold og Telemark, Norway

🇳🇴 Kragerø is a town and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional regions of Grenland and the smaller Vestmar. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kragerø. The city of Kragerø lies furthest south in the county of Telemark. The town is located on the shore of the Kilsfjord, about 5 km (3.1 mi) to the south-east of the villages of Vadfoss and Helle. Kragerø Church is located in the town centre.

The 3.32-square-kilometre (820-acre) town has a population (2022) of 5,366 and a population density of 1,617 inhabitants per square kilometre (4,190/sq mi).

History Kragerø is located at the end of a peninsula between the Kilsfjorden and Hellefjorden. The peninsula to the south, the island of Skåtøy, and several other large islands provide for a sheltered harbor for the town. By the 1500, this area began to grow up as an important harbour for shipping timber from the vast forests of Telemark. In 1666, the village was established as a kjøpstad, giving it "town" rights. The town's business life was characterized by timber exports, shipping, and shipbuilding from then until the end of the First World War. Kragerø was one of Norway's largest shipping towns in the latter half of the 19th century. In addition to timber, later came shipping of wood pulp and products from quarries in the upland.

1694 murder On 17 August 1694, Christian Hansen Ernst was killed at the present-day Knivstikkersmauet ("knife stabber alley"). He was an employee of the postal service, and a former servant of Ulrik Fredrik Gyldenløve. He was one of few Africans of the time living in Norway, whose identity is known.

municipality The 305-square-kilometre (118 sq mi) municipality is the 262nd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Kragerø is the 111th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 10,413. The municipality's population density is 36.1 inhabitants per square kilometre (93/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 2.7% over the previous 10-year period.

In the days of the sailing ships, Kragerø was one of Norway's largest port cities. The London-based newspaper The Independent, published an article on Kragerø stating that "When Norwegians want to get away from it all they head for Kragero. Forests, fjords and islands await them at the place where Edvard Munch found peace and relaxation". The population of Kragerø quadruples during its summer months due to high tourism. Edvard Munch fell in love with Kragerø in his time, and called it "The Pearl of the Coastal Towns" (Perlen blandt kystbyene.) In 2002, The Independent published an article on the region's coastline saying that "It may not have many sandy beaches, but the coast of Norway offers sophistication and stunning scenery".

General information The town of Kragerø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. Since it had been a town since 1666, the small town was granted self-governing rights under this new law. It was fully surrounded by the Sannikedal Municipality. On 1 January 1861, an area of Sannikedal (population: 857) that was adjacent to the growing town of Kragerø was annexed and transferred from Sannikedal to Kragerø. On 1 January 1891, an area of Skåtøy (population: 809) that was adjacent to the growing town of Kragerø was annexed and transferred from Skåtøy to Kragerø. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1960, the town of Kragerø (population: 4,638) was merged with the neighboring Skåtøy Municipality (population: 3,208) and Sannidal Municipality (population: 2,604).

Name The municipality (originally the town of Kragerø) is named after the island of Kragerø (Old Norse: Krákarey) since the town was built on the island and mainland near it. The first element is kráka which means "crow". The last element is ey which means "island". The Norwegian spelling would have a k instead of the g, but Kragerø uses the Danish form of the name, established in the 17th century.

See also: Kråkerøy § Name

Coat of arms Kragerø received town privileges as a kjøpstad in 1666. Upon being granted this status, the town was given an obligation to provide a galley with five canons to the King for use in the Navy. From 1666 until 1842, Kragerø was dependent on the nearby town of Skien and had to pay taxes to Skien. Because of this, Kragerø used a seal which was identical to that of Skien depicting two skis, a cross, and flower decorations. After 1842, Kragerø began using a galley as its seal.

The coat of arms was granted on 28 January 1938 for the town of Kragerø and they were re-granted on 13 May 1960 after a municipal merger creating the present Kragerø Municipality. The official blazon is "Sable, a galley argent" (Norwegian: På svart bunn en sølv galei). This means the arms have a black field (background) and the charge is a galley. The galley has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The arms were designed by Einar Foss after a sketch made by Olaf Lia. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches The Church of Norway has five parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Kragerø. It is part of the Bamble prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.

Geography Kragerø is the southernmost municipality in Telemark. To the south-west, it borders the municipality of Risør (in Agder county); to the west is Gjerstad (also in Agder county); to the north-west is Drangedal; and to the north-east is Bamble. Kragerø is popular among Norwegians (as well as foreigners) as a vacation destination during the summer, when the population swells considerably.

The municipality includes 495 islands, islets, and skerries along with 4,000 leisure houses. There are also 190 freshwater lakes in the municipality. The main offshore islands include Tåtøy, Kragerø, Skåtøy, Langøy, Bærøy, Gumøy, Stråholmen, and Jomfruland. The Fossingfjord and Kilsfjord both are found in Kragerø. The large lake Toke is partially located in the northern part of Kragerø.

Government Kragerø Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Telemark District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.