Stavern is a small Norwegian

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...

 town located in the municipality of Larvik

Larvik

is a city and municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik. Larvik kommune - has about 41 364 inhabitants and covers 530 km2....

, south of the city of Larvik in Vestfold

Vestfold

is a county in Norway, bordering Buskerud and Telemark. The county administration is in Tønsberg.Vestfold is located west of the Oslofjord, as the name indicates. It includes many smaller, but well-known towns in Norway, such as Larvik, Sandefjord, Tønsberg and Horten. The river Numedalslågen runs...

.

The port and naval base of Stavern (until 1930 named Fredriksvern) was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt

Formannskapsdistrikt

Formannskapsdistrikt was the name for a Norwegian local self-government districts put into force in 1838. This system of municipality was created in a bill approved by the Storting and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January 1837...

). Even though it was an important port it was first given its status as a town (kjøpstad) July 1, 1942. The small town and municipality of Stavern was merged with the larger town of Larvik

Larvik

is a city and municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik. Larvik kommune - has about 41 364 inhabitants and covers 530 km2....

 January 1, 1988.

The town was the site of an important Norwegian naval base, Fredriksvern, from 1677 to 2002.
Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen

Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen

Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen was a Norwegian-American author and college professor.-Biography:He was born at the Norwegian naval base Fredriksvern, near the village of Stavern in Vestfold County, Norway. Boyesen grew up in Fredriksvern, then in Kongsberg, and, from 1854, at Systrand in Sogn...

, Norwegian-American author, was born at Fredriksvern.

Stavern has probably been a harbor since ancient times. The name is found in written sources from the 11th century and the 12th century where it is referred to as a good fishing harbor. Besides being an important military harbour, Stavern in the 17th and 18th century was also an important port for civil ship traffic from Norway to Denmark and Sweden.

Its name might stem from the name of the farm previously located there, Staurheim. It might also originate from merchants sailing from the Frisian

Friesland

Friesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the ancient region of Frisia.Until the end of 1996, the province bore Friesland as its official name. In 1997 this Dutch name lost its official status to the Frisian Fryslân...

 town Stavoren

Stavoren

Stavoren is a small town on the coast of the IJsselmeer, about 5 km south of Hindeloopen. It lies within the municipality of Súdwest-Fryslân. Stavoren was granted city rights in 1118, making it the oldest city in Friesland...

. A final possible explanation is that it originates from an Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

 name for steep cliffs or mountains, Staferni or Stafr, which accurately describes the landscape around the town.

Its former and current name is Stavern, but from 1799 to 1930 even the civilian part of the town was titled Fredriksværn

Fredriksværn

Fredriksvern was an important Norwegian naval base, just south of Larvik in Vestfold. The town of Stavern has in many ways come to be because of this naval base.Fredriksvern or Stavern has probably been a harbor since ancient times...

 as its only function was as the site of that naval base.

From 1942 the town was Norway's smallest until it merged with Larvik

Larvik

is a city and municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik. Larvik kommune - has about 41 364 inhabitants and covers 530 km2....

 in 1988 and lost its town status. In 1999 Stavern was again elevated to town status.

Currently there are around 3000 inhabitants in Stavern. It is a small town where tourism is one of the most important sources of income. During summer, the population increases to around 30,000-40,000 people, due to camping sites and cottages around the town center as well as boats visiting the harbour.

During the 20th century, Stavern became a beloved site for artists and craftsmen. The poet Herman Wildenvey

Herman Wildenvey

Herman Wildenvey , born Herman Theodor Portaas, was one of the most prominent Norwegian poets of the twentieth century. During his lifetime he published 44 books of his own poetry, in addition to translations of William Shakespeare, Ernest Hemingway, and Heinrich Heine.- Biography :Wildenvey was...

, the writer Jonas Lie

Jonas Lie

Jonas Lauritz Idemil Lie was a Norwegian novelist, poet, and playwright who is considered to have been one of the Four Greats of 19th century Norwegian literature, together with Henrik Ibsen, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson and Alexander Kielland.-Background:Jonas Lie was born at Hokksund in Øvre Eiker, in...

 as well as the painters Hans Gude

Hans Gude

Hans Fredrik Gude was a Norwegian romanticist painter and is considered along with Johan Christian Dahl to be one of Norway's foremost landscape painters...

 and Christian Krohg

Christian Krohg

Christian Krohg , was a Norwegian naturalist painter, illustrator, author and journalist.-Life and career:...

 all lived in Stavern at some point in their lives. Today, the town is well known in southern Norway for its many exhibitions and art galleries.

Stavern is the site of the Norwegian national memorial to fallen sailors of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 and World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 and a statue of the 18th century naval hero Peder Tordenskjold

Peder Tordenskjold

Peter Jansen Wessel Tordenskiold , commonly referred to as Tordenskjold , was a Norwegian nobleman and an eminent naval flag officer in the service of the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy. He rose to the rank of Vice-Admiral for his services in the Great Northern War...

.

External links

• iStavern.no, a local web-based newspaper
• Short history of Stavern