Grip, Norway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Grip is an archipelago, a deserted fishing village, and a former municipality (NO-1555) in Norway. It is pronounced "greep" (the vowel sounding like the one in "weep").
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[edit] Archipelago
The Grip archipelago consists of 82 islets and rocks 14 km into the Norwegian Sea northwest off Kristiansund in Norway. The fishing village is located on Gripholmen, which is the largest and only habitable islet. On the south side of the fishing village is the main harbour, protected by two breakwaters. Other breakwaters protects the fishing village from large ocean waves. The highest point is just 10 m above mean sea level.
The Inngripan group of rocks lies three km closer to Kristiansund, where a small storm shed offered protection for shipwrecked fishermen.
Grip lighthouse, was built in 1888 on the nearby islet Bratthårskollen, north of the main island. The 44 m tall lighthouse is a cast iron tower on a large masonry foundation. It is the second tallest lighthouse tower in Norway, with a light range of 19 nautical miles. A radio beacon was operated between 1947 and 1986. Grip lighthouse is unmanned after it was automated in 1977 and was protected in 2000.
[edit] Fishing village
The first indications of settlement at Grip is from the 9th century, where fishermen settled close to the fishing grounds. Exports of fish from Norwegian fishing villages became important during the monopoly of the Hanseatic League. Grip stave church is thought to have been constructed around 1470.
Merchant Hans Hornemann in Trondheim bought the islet from King Frederick IV in 1728 and the fishermen and their families became, in effect, vassals. The fishermen had to sell the catch to the merchants at a price decided by them. The merchants, becoming landlords, also bought most of the private properties.
Storm surges destroyed most of the village in 1796 and again in 1804.
The population fluctuated for centuries, following the profitability of fishing, between 100 and 400 people. The municipality had 104 inhabitants on 1 January 1964 when it became a part of Kristiansund. A now deserted village, it was once a busy place, when 2000 fishermen could stay there in the height of the fishing season. After being deserted, the old houses has become popular summer residences, and in the summer Grip has about 250 residents.
In the summer season, a highspeed passenger boat connects Grip to Kristiansund with one or two 30 minute crossings from the town centre every day. Two diesel generators supply the summer residents with electric power from 0700 to 2300, and the archipelago has mobile phone coverage from a radio tower in Kristiansund. The old school house has been turned into an inn and post office.
[edit] Municipality
The right to vote was in Norway until 1884 mostly limited to men with property. In a fishing village where a merchant in the town owned all the houses, nobody had the right to vote. Grip could not have a local democracy, and did not belong to any municipality. Through constitutional changes in 1884 the right to vote was extended to men who paid taxes, and the fishermen in Grip paid income taxes. Grip municipality was founded in 1897, but the fishing village remained a feudal society.
Grip municipality bought the fishing village from Ludvig Williamsen in 1909. The entire community had previously been the property of a merchant in Kristiansund, not including the church, school and three private houses. The price of 110,000 kroner was financed through a public loan to be paid back in 45 years. The municipality then began selling the houses to their inhabitants. A census in 1910 showed a population of 187.
With an area of only 0,48 km², and a population of 70, Grip was the smallest municipality in Norway until it merged with Kristiansund in 1964. Centralization led to declining population after World War II, and Grip became deserted in 1974 when Hildur and Kasper Larsen left just before christmas.
[edit] The name
The name is first recorded in 1338 ("Gripar") - Norse Grípar, a plural form (natural, since Grip is an archipelago). The etymology of the name is uncertain, but it is maybe related to the Norse verb grípa 'catch, seize, grip'. If this is the case, then it probably refer to the catching of fish here.
[edit] External links
- Image of the lighthouse at Grip
