Horten

The municipality also includes the villages Borre, Åsgårdstrand, Skoppum and Nykirke. The municipality was previously called Borre, but after a referendum held in conjunction with the 2001 parliamentary election, it was changed to Horten on June 1, 2002.

Newspaper - The local newspaper in Horten is named Gjengangeren, and covers mostly local news. It is also available online (see external links section)

Football - Horten's main football team is Ørn Horten, which came second to last in Norwegian 2nd Division 2006. Horten also has a lesser known football team named Falk.

[edit] The name

The town is named after the old farm Horten ("Hortan" 1552), since it is built on its ground. The Norse form of the name is unknown (maybe *Horti), and the meaning of it uncertain.

[edit] Points of interest

Marinemuseet - Royal Norwegian Navy Museum - is the oldest existing museum of its kind in the world, founded in 1853. At the Royal Norwegian Navy Museum you can find many ships, including KNM Rap, the world's first torpedo boat from 1873.

Preus Fotomuseum - The Norwegian Museum of Photography - is a unique museum located in the same building as the naval museum.

The Naval Base - Horten has a naval base named Karljohansvern. Activity there in the recent years have been decreasing and parts of the area have now been opened to the public, including some nice beaches. Both the museum of photography and the navy museum is located close to the naval base.

Borre mound cemetery (Borrehaugene) - Borre National Park - contains graves of kings dating back to the Merovingian period. The park covers 45 acres (182,000 m²) and has the largest collection of kings' graves in Scandinavia. From 1989 to 1991, new excavations were undertaken both in and around the national park.

Borrehaugene provides important historical knowledge and can be seen as evidence that there was a centre of power here in the Viking age. The excavations also uncovered an unusually good selection of craft work, much of which is on display in Oslo at the Viking Ship Museum. This style has become known as "Borre style" and is, today, known for its beautiful animal and knot ornaments, which were often used for decorating harnesses. The finds also confirm that there was a Viking ship buried at Borrehaugene.

Horten Bilmuseum - The classic car museum houses a variety of classic cars ranging from 1900 to the seventies. One of Norways largest model railways is also on display in the museum. It is open every day during summer, Sundays only from the middle of August to the middle of June.

Borre Golfbane - This golf course has hosted two Challenge Tour events (1994 and 1998) and was in 2005 extended to 27 holes of full length (par 72 + par 36). The first Challenge Tour event in 1994 was the first professional Golf Tournament on Norwegian soil. The 18-hole course runs along the beautiful lake Borrevannet and some of the holes have a spectacular view over the lake.

Lake Borrevannet - A national bird sanctuary where 255 different bird species has been observed (2003 numbers). 110 species have been confirmed using the lake as their nesting place.