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Tjøme

Tjøme kommune
Municipality
Tjoeme, Norway 1.jpg
Coat of arms of Tjøme kommune
Coat of arms
Official logo of Tjøme kommune
Vestfold within
Norway
Tjøme within Vestfold
Tjøme within Vestfold
Coordinates: 59°7′16″N 10°23′57″E / 59.12111°N 10.39917°E / 59.12111; 10.39917Coordinates: 59°7′16″N 10°23′57″E / 59.12111°N 10.39917°E / 59.12111; 10.39917
Country Norway
County Vestfold
Administrative centre Tjøme
Government
 • Mayor (2008) Bente Kleppe Bjerke (Ap)
Area
 • Total 39 km2 (15 sq mi)
 • Land 39 km2 (15 sq mi)
Area rank 423 in Norway
Population (2004)
 • Total 4,553
 • Rank 212 in Norway
 • Density 117/km2 (300/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years) 13.1 %
Demonym(s) Tjømling
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code NO-0723
Official language form Bokmål
Website www.tjome.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Tjøme (Norwegian pronunciation: [çœmə]) is a municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tjøme. The parish of Tjømø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Tjome was the childhood holiday destination for writer Roald Dahl.

The Old Norse form of the name was Tjúma. The name of the island is probably very old, and the meaning is unknown. Prior to 1918, the name was spelled "Tjømø".

The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1989). The arms show three silver-colored oarlocks on a blue background which represents the three islands Tjøme, Brøtsø and Hvasser.

Tjøme municipality is completely located on islands, the main island being the Tjøme island, where Kirkebygda (the community center) is located, along with the shops, schools and restaurants. There are a few other central areas on the islands such as Hvasser, with active fishermen as well as the tourist industry for the bypassing travellers, with an icebar, shops, bunker station petrol station, and a number of places to buy food and supplies.

There are approximately 4,600 permanent residents on the island, but in the summer months this number rises to around 40,000 inhabitants, including the Norwegian Royal Family who have a summer house on the island. The reason for the extreme increase is mainly the sea sports available in the area and the remarkably good weather. Summers on Tjøme are both warm and sunny, and the beaches are filled with locals and tourists. Tjøme has been nicknamed Sommerøya (English: the summer island). Tourists mostly from the Oslo area visit this charming island.


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