Horten

Infobox_Kommune
name=Horten
idnumber=0701
county=Vestfold
landscape=
capital=Horten
governor=Nils Henning Hontvedt
governor_as_of=2004
arearank=407
area=70
arealand=68
areapercent=0.02
population_as_of=2004
populationrank=34
population=24,671
populationpercent=0.54
populationdensity=361
populationincrease=8.2
language=Bokmål
demonym=Hortenser
lat_deg=59| lat_min=25| lat_sec=15| lon_deg=10| lon_min=25| lon_sec=58
utm_zone=32V| utm_northing=6587795 |utm_easting=0581319| geo_cat=adm2nd

munwebpage=www.horten.kommune.no
:"Follow this link if you are after the Horten brothers and their flying-wing aircraft."

Horten is a town and municipality in the county of Vestfold, Norway, located along the Oslofjord.

The town of Horten was separated from Borre as a municipality of its own in 1858. Borre and Horten were (again) merged to one municipality 1 January 1988. The name of the new united municipality was first "Borre", but (after a referendum) it was changed to "Horten" 1 June 2002.

The municipality also includes the villages Borre, Åsgårdstrand, Skoppum and Nykirke.

"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 has several footbal clubs. The most successful and well known is Ørn Horten, which currently plays in the Norwegian 3rd Division (Konica Minolta League). Another Horten team, Falk, plays in the same league, while Borre and Gribb plays further down in the leagues.

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.

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 HNoMS "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.

The Royal Norwegian Navy Band a military band ranked among the best in Europe has its home base on Karljohansvern in Horten.

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, situated half way between Horten and Åsgårdstrand, 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 have been observed (2003 numbers). 110 species have been confirmed using the lake as their nesting place.

"Vineyard" - In Horten is the northernmost vineyard of the world, operating under the name of 'L'Esprit d'Edvard Munch'.

"Åsgårdstrand" in the south of the municipality is a sight of its own. A small, white painted ocean town, best known for it's great painters (like the mentioned Edvard Munch) and bathing.

Transportation

Being located out on a peninsula, most major transport arteries go to the west of Horten, and secondary roads connect the city to these routes.

The railway line Vestfoldbanen passes through the Horten municipality, but not through the main city center. The station of Skoppum is located southwest of the downtown, although several commuters prefer to use Holmestrand Station due to better road access. [ [http://www.gjengangeren.no/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070313/NYHETER/103130182 Pendlerne velger Holmestrand] ("Commuters choose Holmestrand"), Gjengangeren, 13 March 2007 no icon]

A ferry line (the Bastø Ferry) across the Oslo Fjord runs between Horten and Moss, Norway in Østfold.

External links

* [http://www.fmu.mil.no/marine/index.html The Naval Museum (Norwegian only)]
* [http://www.preusmuseum.no/main_blank_e.html Museum of Photography]
* [http://www.lokalhistoriskarkiv.no/arkivet Local History Museum (Norwegian only)]
* http://www.visithorten.com
* [http://www.gjengangeren.no Gjengangeren - the local newspaper of Horten (Norwegian only)]
* [http://www.automobilmuseum.no Horten bilmuseum (the classic car museum - Norwegian only)]
* [http://www.borregb.no Borre Golfbane (Borre Golf Course)]

Notes