Holmestrand

Infobox_Kommune
name=Holmestrand
idnumber=0702
county=Vestfold
landscape=
capital=Holmestrand
governor=Alf Johan Svele(H)
governor_as_of=2007
arearank=394
area=86
arealand=84
areapercent=0.03
population_as_of=2004
populationrank=104
population=9,515
populationpercent=0.21
populationdensity=113
populationincrease=3.1
language=Bokmål
lat_deg=59| lat_min=29| lat_sec=43| lon_deg=10| lon_min=14| lon_sec=55
utm_zone=32V| utm_northing=6595869 |utm_easting=0570713| geo_cat=adm2nd


demonym=Holmestranding
munwebpage=www.holmestrand.kommune.no
Audio|Holmestrand.ogg|Holmestrand is a city and municipality in Vestfold county, Norway.

The city was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The rural municipality of Botne was merged with Holmestrand January 1, 1964.

The city lies by the Oslofjord and is built beside the water. It was granted city status in 1752, but had been a harbour for exporting of timber/lumber since around 1550. The city has grown uphill in recent years, after the inclusion of Botne.

Transportation

The European route E18 through Vestfold goes to the west around downtown Holmestrand, and secondary roads connect the city to this highway.

The railway line Vestfoldbanen runs through the centre of Holmestrand, and the city is served by the station Holmestrand Station.

The name

The Norse form of the name must have been "Holmastrand". The first element is the genitive case of "holmi" m '(rocky) hill', the last element is "strand" f 'shore, beach, strand'.

Famous residents

* Harriet Backer (1845-1932), painter
* Agathe Backer Grøndahl (1847-1907), composer
* Nils Kjær (1870-1924), author