Holmestrand
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| Holmestrand kommune | |||
| — Municipality — | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country | Norway | ||
| County | Vestfold | ||
| Municipality ID | NO-0702 | ||
| Administrative centre | Holmestrand | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor (2007) | Alf Johan Svele(H) | ||
| Area (Nr. 394 in Norway) | |||
| - Total | 86 km² (33.2 sq mi) | ||
| - Land | 84 km² (32.4 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2004) | |||
| - Total | 9,515 | ||
| - Density | 113/km² (292.7/sq mi) | ||
| - Change (10 years) | 3.1 % | ||
| - Rank in Norway | 104 | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Official language form | Bokmål | ||
| Demonym | Holmestranding[1] | ||
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| Website: www.holmestrand.kommune.no | |||
Holmestrand is a city and municipality in Vestfold county, Norway.
The city was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The rural municipality of Botne was merged with Holmestrand January 1, 1964.
The city lies by the Oslofjord and is built beside the water. It was granted city status in 1752, but had been a harbour for exporting of timber/lumber since around 1550. The city has grown uphill in recent years, after the inclusion of Botne.
[edit] Transportation
The European route E18 through Vestfold goes to the west around downtown Holmestrand, and secondary roads connect the city to this highway.
The railway line Vestfoldbanen runs through the centre of Holmestrand, and the city is served by the station Holmestrand Station.
[edit] The name
The Norse form of the name must have been Holmastrand. The first element is the genitive case of holmi m '(rocky) hill', the last element is strand f 'shore, beach, strand'.
[edit] Famous residents
- Harriet Backer (1845-1932), painter
- Agathe Backer Grøndahl (1847-1907), composer
- Nils Kjær (1870-1924), author
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