Administrative centre Horten Demonym(s) HortenserHortensar Population 24,671 (2004) | Time zone CET (UTC+1) Local time Wednesday 12:21 AM | |
Weather 4°C, Wind W at 34 km/h, 78% Humidity Points of interest Royal Norwegian Navy Mus, Preus Museum, Local Historical Centre, Brårudåsen batteri, Hangar B |
Horten is a town and municipality in Vestfold county, Norway—located along the Oslofjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Horten. The municipality also includes the villages of Borre, Åsgårdstrand, Skoppum, and Nykirke.
Contents
- Map of Horten Norway
- Horten strandparken norway
- General information
- Name
- Coat of arms
- Education
- Transportation
- Borrehaugene
- Other attractions
- Sports
- Twin towns Sister cities
- References
Map of Horten, Norway
The town of Horten was separated from the municipality of Borre to become a municipality of its own in 1858. The neighboring municipalities of Borre and Horten were merged back together on 1 January 1988. The name of the new united municipality was first Borre, but after a referendum it was changed to Horten on 1 June 2002.
The local newspaper in Horten is named Gjengangeren, and covers mostly local news. It is also available online (see external links section).
Horten strandparken norway
General information
The nearest train station in Horten is Skoppum. Skoppum is 1 hour and 10 minutes by train from Oslo Central station. By car Horten is reached by following E18 south, and is approx. 100 km (62 miles) from Oslo. The nearest airport is Sandefjord Airport Torp which is located about 30 minutes by train south of Skoppum.
Name
The town is named after the old Horten farm (called "Hortan" in 1552), since it is built on the same ground. The name seems to be the finite form of hort m 'bulge' (but here in a weak form, Norse *horti). Several hills and mountains in Norway have the name Horten (or Horta, femininum), and here it could be referring to the hill Brårudåsen lying in the middle of the town.
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from relatively modern times. They were granted on 19 November 1907. The arms were granted when Horten received city status. The arms use the old "English"-style of shield that is divided diagonally in a "party per bend" style with a mural crown on top signifying its city status. The lower part of the arms show the importance of the city as a naval port. The upper part shows a rose as a symbol for the nature around the city.
Education
Close to Horten is the University College Høgskolen i Buskerud og Vestfold, commonly referred to as Bakkenteigen, which offers a wide range of subjects from sociology, history and language thru mathematics, nature science and maritime studies. Bakkenteigen has over 4000 students and aims to be a resource for research and development in the region.
Transportation
Being located out on a peninsula, most major transportation arteries go to the west of Horten, and secondary roads connect the city to these routes. A ferry line (the Bastø Ferry) across the Oslofjord runs between Horten and Moss in Østfold.
The railway line Vestfoldbanen passes through the Horten municipality, but not through the main city center. Skoppum Station is located southwest of the downtown, although several commuters prefer to use Holmestrand Station due to better road access.
Borrehaugene
Borrehaugene (from Borre, the name of a local village and haugene from the old Norse Word haugr meaning mound) was the first national park to be founded in Norway. Borre National Park is situated between Horten and Åsgårdstrand. The site provides important historical knowledge and can be seen as evidence that there was a center 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.
The Borre mound cemetery at Borre National Park contains graves of kings dating back to the Migration Period. The park covers 45 acres (180,000 m2) and has the largest collection of kings' graves in Scandinavia. These burial mounds may represent North Europe’s most extensive collection of graves of the old Scandinavian Yngling dynasty. From 1989 to 1991, new excavations were undertaken both in and around the national park.
Other attractions
Sports
Horten has several football clubs. The most successful and well known is FK Ørn-Horten, which currently plays in the Norwegian 2nd Division. Another Horten team, Falk, plays 3rd division, while Borre and Holtankammeratene plays further down in the leagues.
Twin towns — Sister cities
The following cities are twinned with Horten: