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Svelvik

Svelvik kommune
Municipality
Svelvik.jpg
Coat of arms of Svelvik kommune
Coat of arms
Official logo of Svelvik kommune
Vestfold within
Norway
Svelvik within Vestfold
Svelvik within Vestfold
Coordinates: 59°37′25″N 10°22′18″E / 59.62361°N 10.37167°E / 59.62361; 10.37167Coordinates: 59°37′25″N 10°22′18″E / 59.62361°N 10.37167°E / 59.62361; 10.37167
Country Norway
County Vestfold
Administrative centre Svelvik
Government
 • Mayor (2015) Andreas Muri () (H)
Area
 • Total 58 km2 (22 sq mi)
 • Land 56 km2 (22 sq mi)
Area rank 419 in Norway
Population (2004)
 • Total 6,445
 • Rank 153 in Norway
 • Density 115/km2 (300/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years) 8.1 %
Demonym(s) Svelviking
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code NO-0711
Official language form Bokmål
Website www.svelvik.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Svelvik [ˈsvæɽviːk] is a town and municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Svelvik.

The town of Svelvik was separated from the rural municipality of Strømm to become a municipality of its own in 1845. The two municipalities were merged back together on 1 January 1964.

The Old Norse form of the name was Sverðvík. The first element is sverð n 'sword', the last element is vík f 'cove, wick'. A neighbouring farm has the name Sverstad (Norse Sverðstaðir). The word sverð probably refers to the promontory ridge Ryggen ('the back') in Hurum: This ridge lies right opposite Svelvik and Sverstad, and is almost (like a sword) cutting the Drammensfjord in two parts.

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 4 September 1964. The arms show a gold-colored trident on a red background, as a symbol for the sea.

The narrow Svelvikstrømmen sound separates Svelvik from the municipality of Hurum, and the county of Buskerud. This sound is served by a ferry, which has the shortest line in Norway.

The village is quite characteristic, with small winding streets and traditional, white-painted houses. Svelvik is a summer paradise with many possibilities for swimming and sunbathing.

The built up area and town of Svelvik lies beside Svelvikstrømmen (), a narrow sound in Drammensfjorden (), which connects to Oslofjorden further south. The flow is amongst Norway's strongest.


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