Vestfold

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Vestfold

is a county

Counties of Norway

||-||}Norway is divided into 19 subnational, called county . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 431 Municipalities of Norway ....
in Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a constitutional monarchy in Northern Europe that occupies the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula....
, bordering Buskerud

Buskerud

is a Counties of Norway in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark, and Vestfold. The county administration is located in Drammen....
and Telemark

Telemark

is a Counties of Norway in Norway, bordering Vestfold, Buskerud, Hordaland, Rogaland and Aust-Agder. The county administration is in Skien.The county is located in southeastern Norway, extending from Hardangervidda to the Skagerrak coast....
. The county administration is in Tønsberg

Tønsberg

is a List of cities in Norway and Municipalities of Norway in Vestfold Counties of Norway, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of T?nsberg....
. Vestfold is located west of the Oslofjord

Oslofjord

The Oslofjord is a bay in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the Torbj?rnskj?r fyrstasjon and F?rder lighthouses and down to Langesund in the south to Oslo in the north....
, as the name indicates. It includes many smaller, but well-known towns in Norway, such as Larvik

Larvik

is a List of cities in Norway and Municipalities of Norway in Vestfold Counties of Norway, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik....
, Sandefjord

Sandefjord

is a List of cities in Norway and Municipalities of Norway in Vestfold Counties of Norway, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Sandefjord....
, Tønsberg

Tønsberg

is a List of cities in Norway and Municipalities of Norway in Vestfold Counties of Norway, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of T?nsberg....
and Horten

Horten

is a List of cities in Norway and Municipalities of Norway in Vestfold Counties of Norway, Norway—located along the Oslofjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Horten....
. The river Numedalslågen

Numedalslågen

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is a county

Counties of Norway

||-||}Norway is divided into 19 subnational, called county . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 431 Municipalities of Norway ....
in Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a constitutional monarchy in Northern Europe that occupies the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula....
, bordering Buskerud

Buskerud

is a Counties of Norway in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark, and Vestfold. The county administration is located in Drammen....
and Telemark

Telemark

Tønsberg

Oslofjord

Larvik

is a List of cities in Norway and Municipalities of Norway in Vestfold Counties of Norway, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik....
, Sandefjord

Sandefjord

is a List of cities in Norway and Municipalities of Norway in Vestfold Counties of Norway, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Sandefjord....
, Tønsberg

Tønsberg

is a List of cities in Norway and Municipalities of Norway in Vestfold Counties of Norway, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of T?nsberg....
and Horten

Horten

Numedalslågen

Numedalsl?gen is a river located in southeastern Norway. It stretches for over 250 kilometres through the counties of Vestfold and Buskerud, beginning at the Hardangervidda plateau and meeting the ocean at Larvik in Vestfold....
runs through the district. Many islands are located at the coast. Vestfold is mostly dominated by lowland and is among the best agricultural areas of Norway. Winters last about three months, while pleasant summer temperatures last from May to September, with a July average of 17°C ().

Vestfold is known for shipping and sailing. Formerly a headquarters for whaling fleets, the coastal towns of Vestfold now engage in fishing and shipbuilding. Some lumbering is carried on in the interior. The district also includes some of the best farmland in Norway.

Vestfold is the only county in which all municipalities have declared Bokmål

Bokmål

Bokm?l , also known as Riksm?l or Dano-Norwegian, is the more commonly used of the two Norwegian language written standard languages, the other being Nynorsk....
to be their official written form

Orthography

The orthography of a language specifies the correct way of using a specific writing system to write the language. Orthography is derived from Greek language ????? orth?s and ???fe?? gr?phein ....
of the Norwegian language

Norwegian language

Norwegian is a North Germanic languages language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is an official language. It is also spoken as a second language among Norwegian-Americans in the United States of America, especially in the central northern states....
.

History

The family of Harald Fairhair

Harald I of Norway

Harald Fairhair or Harald Finehair , was the first king of Norway.Little is known of the historical Harald. The only contemporary sources mentioning him are the two skaldic poems Haraldskv??i and Glymdr?pa, by ?orbj?rn Hornklofi....
, who was most likely the first king of the whole Norway, is said to have come from this area. At that time Vestfold, including Lier

Lier, Norway

Lier is a Municipalities of Norway in Buskerud Counties of Norway, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lier....
and Eiker

Eiker

Eiker is a Districts of Norway in the counties of Norway of Buskerud, Norway, consisting of the municipalities of Norway of Nedre Eiker and ?vre Eiker ....
, was a petty kingdom

Petty kingdom

A petty kingdom is an independent realm recognizing no Suzerainty and controlling only a portion of the territory held by a particular ethnic group or nation....
. Kings of Vestfold include:

Erik Agnarsson
Halfdan Hvitbeinn
Halfdan Hvitbeinn

Halfdan Hvitbeinn was a mythical petty king in Norway, described in Ynglinga saga. The following description is based on the account in Ynglinga saga, written in the 1220s by Snorri Sturluson....
(part of Vestfold)
Eystein Halfdansson
Eystein Halfdansson

Eystein Halfdansson was the son of Halfdan Hvitbeinn of the House of Yngling according to Heimskringla. He inherited the throne of Romerike and Vestfold....
Halfdan the Mild
Halfdan the Mild

Halfdan the Mild was the son of king Eystein Halfdansson, of the House of Yngling and he succeeded his father as king, according to Heimskringla....
Gudrød the Hunter
Gudrød the Hunter

Gudr?d the Hunter was a semi-legendary king in south-east Norway, during the early Viking Age. He is mentioned in the skaldic poem Ynglingatal....
Halfdan the Black
Halfdan the Black

This article is about the ninth-century king of Vestfold and father of Harald I of Norway. For his less famous grandson by the same name, see Halfdan Haraldsson the Black....
, together with his brother, Olaf Gudrødsson
Ragnvald the Mountain-High
Ragnvald the Mountain-High

Ragnvald "the Mountain-High" Olafsson was a petty king of Vestfold in what is today Norway. He was the son of Olaf Geirstad-Alf, a cousin of Harald Fairhair and the father of Aseda Rognvaldsdatter, who married Eystein Ivarsson....
, Cousin of Harold Fairhair
Harald Fairhair
Bjørn Farmann
Bjørn Farmann

Bj?rn Farmann was one of the sons of Harald Fairhair, the first king of Norway, and was the king of Vestfold. He was the great-grandfather of Olaf II of Norway, through his son Gudr?d Bj?rnsson....
Olaf Haraldsson Geirstadalf
Olaf Haraldsson Geirstadalf

Olaf Haraldsson was son of Harald Fairhair of Norway. He was made king of Vingulmark by his father and then later inherited Vestfold after his brother Bj?rn Farmann had been killed by their half-brother Eric I of Norway....
, brother of Bjørn
Harald Gudrødsson Grenske, 976-987

Kaupang

Kaupang is a town founded in the 780s during the time when the Vikings started to launch their raids against Great Britain and other parts of Europe until it was abandoned for unknown reasons in the early 10th century....
, a town from the Viking Age

Viking Age

Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the eighth to eleventh centuries....
is believed to be the first town in Norway, although Tønsberg

Tønsberg

is a List of cities in Norway and Municipalities of Norway in Vestfold Counties of Norway, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of T?nsberg....
is the oldest town in Norway still existing. By the 10th century the local kings had established themselves as the first dynasty to begin the unification of Norway.

The name

Vestfold is the old name of the region - revived in modern times. Fold was the old name of the Oslofjord

Oslofjord

The Oslofjord is a bay in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the Torbj?rnskj?r fyrstasjon and F?rder lighthouses and down to Langesund in the south to Oslo in the north....
, and the meaning of the name Vestfold is 'the region west of the Fold'.

Before 1919 the county was called Jarlsberg og Larvik Amt. The amt

Amt (subnational entity)

"Amt" is a type of administrative division of some northern European countries. It is generally larger than a municipality, and the term is thus roughly equivalent to a U.S....
was created in 1821, consisting of the two old counties of Jarlsberg

Jarlsberg

Jarlsberg was a county established in 1673 by Peter Griffenfeld in the central and Northern part of Vestfold, Norway. In 1821 Jarlsberg and Larvik were joined to form Jarlsberg og Larvik amt and this was renamed 'Vestfold' in 1919....
and Larvik

Larvik

is a List of cities in Norway and Municipalities of Norway in Vestfold Counties of Norway, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik....
.

J. R. R. Tolkien

J. R. R. Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, Order of the British Empire was an English people English literature, poetry, Philology, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion....
also used Westfold as the name of a district in the fictional realm of Rohan

Rohan

Rohan, is a fictional realm in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy era of Middle-earth. It is also referred to as Riddermark or The Mark. The realm is of significant importance in the author's most famous book, The Lord of the Rings....
, in his fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of Plot , Theme , and/or Setting . Fantasy is generally distinguished from science fiction and horror by the expectation that it steers clear of technological and macabre themes, respectively, though there is a great deal of overlap between the three ....
world of Middle-earth

Middle-earth

Middle-earth refers to the fictional lands where most of the stories of author J. R. R. Tolkien take place. These stories include The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings....
.

Municipalities

Vestfold County has a total of 14 municipalities:

Andebu
Andebu

Andebu is a Municipalities of Norway in Vestfold Counties of Norway, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Andebu....
Hof
Holmestrand
Holmestrand

is a List of cities in Norway and Municipalities of Norway in Vestfold Counties of Norway, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Holmestrad....
Horten
Horten

is a List of cities in Norway and Municipalities of Norway in Vestfold Counties of Norway, Norway—located along the Oslofjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Horten....
Lardal
Lardal

Lardal is a Municipalities of Norway in Vestfold Counties of Norway, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Svarstad....
Larvik
Larvik

is a List of cities in Norway and Municipalities of Norway in Vestfold Counties of Norway, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik....
Nøtterøy
Nøtterøy

N?tter?y is a Municipalities of Norway in Vestfold Counties of Norway, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Borgheim....
Re
Re, Norway

Re is a Municipalities of Norway in Vestfold Counties of Norway, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Revetal....
Sande
Sande, Vestfold

Sande is a Municipalities of Norway in Vestfold Counties of Norway, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of "Sande i Vestfold"....
Sandefjord
Sandefjord

is a List of cities in Norway and Municipalities of Norway in Vestfold Counties of Norway, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Sandefjord....
Stokke
Stokke

Stokke is a Municipalities of Norway in Vestfold Counties of Norway, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Stokke....
Svelvik
Svelvik

is a List of cities in Norway and Municipalities of Norway in Vestfold Counties of Norway, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Svelvik....
Tjøme
Tjøme

Tj?me is a Municipalities of Norway in Vestfold Counties of Norway, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tj?me....
Tønsberg
Tønsberg

is a List of cities in Norway and Municipalities of Norway in Vestfold Counties of Norway, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of T?nsberg....