Herøya is a peninsula in the municipality of Porsgrunn

Porsgrunn

is a town and municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Porsgrunn....

, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. It is located between the fjords of Frierfjord

Frierfjord

Frierfjorden is a fjord in the Grenland traditional district in the county of Telemark, Norway. It stretches from Brevik, and Gunneklevfjord, to the mouth of the Porsgrunn river . At the fjord mouth, Breviksstrømmen, it is about 300 m across and is crossed by the Brevik bridge...

 to the west and Gunneklevfjord

Gunneklevfjord

Gunneklevfjord is a small fjord at the head of Frierfjord in Porsgrunn municipality in Telemark county, Norway.The west side of Gunneklevfjord is defined by the peninsula of Herøya, at the mouth of Telemarksvassdraget. Herøya features a large industrial park that was founded in 1928. It contains...

 to the east, at the mouth of Telemarksvassdraget. The name stems from the word hare

Hare

Hares and jackrabbits are leporids belonging to the genus Lepus. Hares less than one year old are called leverets. Four species commonly known as types of hare are classified outside of Lepus: the hispid hare , and three species known as red rock hares .Hares are very fast-moving...

because of the large number of these that is said to have inhabited the previous island (øya).

The peninsula features a large industrial park

Industrial park

An industrial park is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development...

 that was founded in 1928

1928 in Norway

-Events:* 27 June – The opening of the underground railway line to Nationaltheatret station in Oslo .* At Herøya, outside Porsgrunn, Norsk Hydro establishes what is to become Norway's largest industrial park....

 and contains major facilities of Norsk Hydro

Norsk Hydro

Norsk Hydro ASA is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. Hydro is the fourth largest integrated aluminium company worldwide. It has operations in some 40 countries around the world and is active on all continents. The Norwegian state holds a 43.8 percent...

, Yara

Yara International

Yara International ASA is a Norwegian-based chemical company. Its largest business area is the production of nitrogen fertilizer, however it also encompasses the production of dry ice, nitrates, ammonia, urea and other nitrogen-based chemicals....

, and REC

Renewable Energy Corporation

The Renewable Energy Corporation is a solar power company with headquarters in Norway. REC produces silicon materials for photovoltaics applications and multicrystalline wafers, as well as solar cells and modules...

 (ScanWafer subsidiary). The area is served by the railway line Bratsbergbanen

Bratsbergbanen

The Bratsberg Line is a railway line between Eidanger and Notodden in Telemark, Norway. It opened in 1917, connecting the Tinnos Line, the Sørland Line and the Vestfold Line; allowing Norsk Hydro to transport fertilizer from their plant at Rjukan to the port in Skien...

. 2,700 people work on the 1.5 km² peninsula that has about 30 companies, most of which are subsidiaries of Norsk Hydro, including Hydro's research park

Research park

A Research park is a research facility that is often linked with a major research university. Throughout North America, there are more than 170 research parks. They exist to create linkages between the university, industry and the community...

 with 350 employees. A populated area south of the peninsula itself, which was initially housing for the Hydro employees, is also considered part of Herøya as a suburb of the city of Porsgrunn.

Herøya also has a local football club, participating in the Norwegian 5th division. The club stadium, Herøya Stadion, has a capacity in surplus of 2000.

History

Originally an island that was used for agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

, in 1928 Norsk Hydro decided to locate a new artificial fertilizer factory there, Hydro Porsgrunn, and in just 16 months both this factory and a shipping port for Norwegian saltpeter

Calcium nitrate

Calcium nitrate, also called Norgessalpeter , is the inorganic compound with the formula Ca2. This colourless salt absorbs moisture from the air and is commonly found as a tetrahydrate. It is mainly used as a component in fertilizers but is found other applications...

 (calcium nitrate) were built. In the process, the narrow sound between the island and the mainland was mostly filled up, thus transforming the island to a peninsula. The reason Hydro wanted to establish itself in the Grenland

Grenland

Grenland is a traditional district in the county of Telemark, in the south of Norway. It is composed of the municipalities Skien, Porsgrunn, Bamble, Nome, and Siljan. Sometimes the municipalities Kragerø, and Drangedal are considered being part of the area...

 region was the proximity to limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

, one of the necessary components in the fertilizer, Calcium nitrate. Norsk Hydro had previously had to build its fertilizer plants in Notodden

Notodden

is a town and municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Øst-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Notodden....

 (in 1907

1907 in Norway

-Incumbents:*King of Norway - Haakon VII of Norway*Prime Minister of Norway - Christian Michelsen-Events:* June 14 – Norway adopts female suffrage.* Norsk Hydro, having been founded in 1905, opens up its first plant at Notodden....

) and Rjukan

Rjukan

Rjukan is a town and the administrative center of Tinn municipality in Telemark . It is situated in Vestfjorddalen, between Møsvatn and Tinnsjå, and got its name after Rjukanfossen west of the town. The Tinn municipality council granted township status for Rjukan in 1996. The town has 3 386...

 (in 1909

1909 in Norway

-Events:* 27 January - The Young Left is founded* 27 November - The Bergen Line was opened.* Rjukanbanen railway line is opened. The 16 km line, part of the 80 km Tinnosbanen, connects Mæl and Rjukan in Telemark. The line is operated by Norsk Hydro and its purpose is to transport...

) because technology at that time didn't allow for efficient transport of electricity

Electricity

Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...

 long distances from the power plants to the place of use. But in the 1920s technology had developed and it was possible to locate the plants close to the natural resources instead of close to the hydro electric power plants

Hydroelectricity

Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...

, that were located in the mountains in Northern Telemark

Telemark

is a county in Norway, bordering Vestfold, Buskerud, Hordaland, Rogaland and Aust-Agder. The county administration is in Skien. Until 1919 the county was known as Bratsberg amt.-Location:...

.

Another important function was the establishment of a port

Port

A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....

 for the export of fertilizer from Norsk Hydro's plants in Telemark. The Telemark Canal

Telemark canal

The Telemark Canal connects Skien to Dalen in southern Norway by linking up several long lakes using a series of 18 locks. It originally consisted of two canals: The Norsjø-Skien Canal, with locks in Skien and Løveid was built in the period 1854–1861, and is the oldest of the two canals.The...

 had been used for transport from Notodden from the start of operations there, while a railway, Rjukanbanen

Rjukanbanen

The Rjukan Line , at first called the Vestfjorddal Line, was a Norwegian railway line running through Vestfjorddalen between Mæl and Rjukan in Telemark. The railway's main purpose was to transport chemicals from Norsk Hydro's plant at Rjukan to the port at Skien, in addition to passenger transport...

, had been built to the plant in Rjukan to Notodden. In 1916 this railway was extended as Bratsbergbanen

Bratsbergbanen

The Bratsberg Line is a railway line between Eidanger and Notodden in Telemark, Norway. It opened in 1917, connecting the Tinnos Line, the Sørland Line and the Vestfold Line; allowing Norsk Hydro to transport fertilizer from their plant at Rjukan to the port in Skien...

 to Skien

Skien

' is a city and municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Skien. Skien is also the administrative centre of Telemark county....

, and then to Herøya when it opened, replacing the need for the canal

Canal

Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...

. Since then there has been opened other plants at Herøya, including a production plant for PVC

Polyvinyl chloride

Polyvinyl chloride, commonly abbreviated PVC, is a thermoplastic polymer. It is a vinyl polymer constructed of repeating vinyl groups having one hydrogen replaced by chloride. Polyvinyl chloride is the third most widely produced plastic, after polyethylene and polypropylene. PVC is widely used in...

 (in 1951

1951 in Norway

-Incumbents:* Monarch - Haakon VII of Norway* Prime Minister - Einar Gerhardsen until 9 November, Oscar Torp -Events:* 19 November – Torp's Cabinet was appointed.* Norsk Hydro opens a PVC plant at Herøya....

).

Following the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany

Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany

The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany started with the German invasion of Norway on April 9, 1940, and ended on May 8, 1945, after the capitulation of German forces in Europe. Throughout this period, Norway was continuously occupied by the Wehrmacht...

 in April 1940 the German occupying force had plans to build Aluminium

Aluminium

Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....

 and Magnesium

Magnesium

Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...

 plants in Herøya. The construction of the plant by Norsk Hydro in partnership with the Luftwaffe

Luftwaffe

Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....

-operated Nordische Aluminium Aktiengesellschaft (Nordag) was however ended on July 24, 1943 when a bombardment by American B-17 Flying Fortresses completely destroyed the facilities, killing 55 construction workers. Later, in the 1950s, Hydro would take up these plans and build a magnesium factory, which was rebuilt in 2002

2002 in Norway

-Incumbents:* Monarch - Harald V of Norway* Prime Minister - Kjell Magne Bondevik -Events:* June – World Bank Oslo 2002 Protests-Notable deaths:*1 January - Arne Røgden, bobsledder...

 to a metal recycling

Recycling

Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...

 facility.

Post-WWII Herøya

In the reminiscing book UT. Fra en oppvekst i forrige århundre by historian Harald Berntsen

Harald Berntsen

Harald Berntsen is a national historian and is active in the radical left in Norway.- Background, upbringing and work :...

, portrayals are given of incidents and milieus in Herøya, from the time when his family moved there in 1951 (from downtown Porsgrunn), just before he was to begin school, and until 1960. The book explains among other things the way in which the different residential areas in Herøya were related to status and hierarchy in the Hydro community. Berntsen's family lived in a flat on Torggata, on the peninsula proper, to the west of the Gunneklevfjord, in a recently built 4-flat house which the father had been given by Hydro.

Torggata

"On both sides of Torggata up on the right, one 'owned home' after the other, within well-groomed gardens fenced in with chain link fences

Chain link fencing

A chain-link fence is a type of woven fence usually made from galvanized or LLDPE-coated steel wire...

 and gates ... In front of the residence and down on the left, Torggata has recently been elevated and gravel

Gravel

Gravel is composed of unconsolidated rock fragments that have a general particle size range and include size classes from granule- to boulder-sized fragments. Gravel can be sub-categorized into granule and cobble...

ed, but not yet asphalted

Asphalt concrete

Asphalt concrete is a composite material commonly used in construction projects such as road surfaces, airports and parking lots. It consists of asphalt and mineral aggregate mixed together, then laid down in layers and compacted...

. On the other side of the street, the Germans have left a long two-storey barrack ... On both sides of Torggata down on the left, endless open yards with grass and weeds, thistles and nettles. The yards end in a fertile belt of tall, wavering rushes with a forest of brown cigars on the top, in front of the enclosed Gunneklevfjord, glittering in the sun in all hues of pollution. On the left side of the fjord Hydro's factory buildings tower proudly, in particular the tallest round tower which day and night pumps out the thick, yellow smoke which always gives the wind strength and direction." (Berntsen, pp. 72) The barrack being described would soon be demolished to provide room for a community house.

Up Torggata, to the right and into the forest, one would arrive at the beach of the Frierfjord where boats lay waiting outside Hydro, "and where we could make out the contours of Herre and the cellulose plant

Bamble Cellulosefabrikk

Bamble Cellulosefabrikk was a pulp mill in Herre, Bamble, Norway.It was established in 1888. Cellulose expert Henrik Christian Fredrik Størmer was behind the construction. It changed its name to Herre Fabrikker in 1946, was bought by Follum Fabrikker in 1962 and closed down in 1978....

 from which the fart

Fart

Fart is an English language vulgarism most commonly used in reference to flatulence. The word "fart" is generally considered unsuitable in a formal environment by modern English speakers, and it may be considered vulgar or offensive in some situations. Fart can be used as a noun or a verb...

-like Herre smell would come." (Berntsen, p. 77)

The workers lived, among other places, on the eastside of Kirkehaugen in "owned homes". The engineers lived in the "'engineer town' consisting of villa

Villa

A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...

s with spacious gardens having been situated facing the still idyllic Frierfjord, closest to the factories, when Hydro's plant on Herøya grew from 1928 on. Or they would occupy the row of Hydro's more elegant one-family houses for engineers at Bakkedammen and, in a few cases, the grand workers' villas in Adriansåsen, the hill atop Herøya. Or increasingly in Hefalia, which lay on the opposite side of the factories, between Herøya and Porsgrunn."

Sources