Risør

Infobox_Kommune
name = Risør
idnumber = 0901


county = Aust-Agder
landscape = Sørlandet
capital = Risør
demonym = Risøring
language = Neutral


munwebpage = www.risor.kommune.no
governor = Knut Henning Thygesen (R)
governor_as_of = 2007
arearank = 332
area = 193
arealand = 179
areapercent = 0.06
population_as_of = 2004
populationrank = 142
population = 6,938
populationpercent = 0.15
populationdensity = 39
populationincrease = -1.6
lat_deg = 58 | lat_min = 43 | lat_sec = 35 | lon_deg = 9 | lon_min = 11 | lon_sec = 40
utm_zone = 32V | utm_northing = 6509604 | utm_easting = 0511262 | geo_cat = adm2nd

Audio|Risoer.ogg|Risør is a city and municipality in the county of Aust-Agder, Norway. The city of Risør was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The rural municipality of Søndeled was merged with Risør on 1 January 1964.

The city belongs to the geographical region of Sørlandet. It is a popular tourist place. The surrounding area includes many small lakes and hills. It is known for its beautiful coastline as well.

Risør is world famous for the wooden boat festival which is staged during the first week of August every year.cn|date=December 2007 Risør has in the last decade gotten a growing reputation as the regional capital of arts and crafts, which culminates in the "Villvin-festival" during the summer holiday.

In 2007 Knut Henning Thygesen was elected as the first and only mayor from the Red Party through a direct mayor election. [ [http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/politikk/article1987465.ece Ftenposten article on the election] ]

General information

Name

The Old Norse form of the name must have been "Rísøyjar". The first element is "rís" which means "thicket" and the last element is the plural form of "øy" which means "island". The name was originally referring to the island "Risøya" which is located just outside the town.

The old name of the town (until 1909) was "Østerrisør" (meaning "eastern Risør"). The first element was added in the 16th century to distinguish the town from "Vesterrisør", the old name of Mandal.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms was granted on 18 July 1891. The arms show a lighthouse on a rocky island. This symbolizes the Holmen fortress built in 1788.

The history of these arms is quite curious. When on 18 July 1891 King Oscar II visited the city, a menu had to be printed. It was printed with a coat of arms on the top, which was probably designed by the printer. That afternoon the King approved the new arms, mainly because his name was printed under the arms on the menu. [cite web|url=http://www.ngw.nl/int/nor/r/risor.htm|author=Norske Kommunevåpen|date=1990|title=Nye kommunevåbener i Norden|accessdaymonth=3 October|accessyear=2008]

Geography

Risør is the easternmost coastal municipality in Aust-Agder, located on the point where the Søndeledfjord and Sandnesfjord meet, providing ready access to the Skagerrak. (No connection with Sandnes in Rogaland.) It is bordered in the southwest by Tvedestrand, on the northwest by Vegårshei and Gjerstad in Aust-Agder and in the northeast by Kragerø in Telemark.

History

Risør was a small fishing village when Dutch vessels began to call there to purchase timber in about 1570. By 1607 two inns had been opened to serve Dutch sailors. In 1630 Risør became a privileged port ("ladestad").

The place is known for a church building from the Middle Ages, as well as a timber church "Den Hellige Ånds" (Holy Ghost) which was built in the Baroque style in 1647.

In 1723 Risør became a privileged town. By the end of the 18th century, 96 sailing vessels were owned by Risør merchants. It was the sixth largest shipping town and one of four shipbuilding centers in Norway.

In "Letters on Sweden, Norway, and Denmark", Mary Wollstonecraft wrote extensively while visiting Risør in 1783, including the following remarks:
* On entering Risør - "We were a considerable time entering amongst the islands, before we saw about two hundred houses crowded together under a very high rock--still higher appearing above."
* While at Risør - "… seaports are not favorable to improvement. The captains acquire a little superficial knowledge by traveling, which their indefatigable attention to the making of money prevents their digesting; and the fortune that they thus laboriously acquire is spent, as it usually is in towns of this description, in show and good living."
* While departing Risør - "The view of the town was now extremely fine. A huge rocky mountain stood up behind it, and a vast cliff stretched on each side, forming a semicircle. In a recess of the rocks was a clump of pines, amongst which a steeple rose picturesquely beautiful."

Risør played a role in the Napoleonic Wars in 1807-1814, when Denmark-Norway took France's side, and therefore became the enemy of Norway's most important trading-partner: Great Britain. (It is from this period that Henrik Ibsen took his subject, when he created his famous poem "Terje Vigen".) It was south of Risør, in Lyngør (in neighboring Tvedestrand municipality) that several British men-of-war of the English navy pursued and sunk the last major vessel and the pride of Norway: the line-of-battle ship HDMS Najaden.

Risør was almost wiped off the map in 1861. A great fire swept across the small town leaving just 85 houses and the 1647 church. The city was rebuilt - and today it presents a positive impression of a well kept town with white wooden houses.

By the second half of the 19th century, over 100 sailing vessels were home ported in Risør and more than 1000 sailors called Risør home. But the transition to steamships and the economic damage of World War I destroyed Risør’s shipping industry.

Risør was a city built as a result of shipping and industrial interests. Today much of the industry and most larger sailing vessels are gone - leaving behind a picturesque town with a lot of summer tourist attractions.

Economy

The historic timber and fishing opportunities have mostly vanished. Paper production served as an economic basis for a period, until the pulp factory was closed in 1970. Currently tourism, a burgeoning art colony and summer vacationers account for a major part of the economy.

Population

The normal population is about 7,000 people, but the population swells dramatically during the summer months. During the Woodenboat festival the population reaches some 35,000 people.cn|date=December 2007

Attractions

* A world class chamber music festival, is held in late June
* A bluegrass music-festival every mid-July. Norway's only festival of its kind.
* A popular artists’ market ("Villvinmarked" or "Villvin-festival") is held in July
* A wooden boat festival (Trebåtfestival) is held in August
* "Den Hellige Ånds" church, built in 1647
* The citadel at Tangen, a fortification from the Napoleonic Wars (with modificaitons from the German occupation period)
* "Risør Akvarium", salt water aquarium with over 100 different spiecies. The only salt water aquarium in the south region of Norway.

Famous residents

* Erik Mykland – Football player.
* Victor Norman – Former minister of labor and administration and professor of economy at NHH.

Footnotes

References

*"Norway" by Graeme Cornwallis, Andrew Bender, & Deana Swaney; Lonely Planet Publications, 2002. ISBN 1-74059-200-X
*"Norway" by Gerhard Lemmer, Elke frey, & Helge Reye; Nelles Verlag GmbH., 2001. ISBN 3-88618-897-3
* "South Norway" by Frank Noel Stagg, George Allen & Unwin, Ltd., 1958.
*"Norway", edited by Doreen Taylor-Wilkie; Houghton Mifflin, 1996. ISBN 0-395-81912-1
*"Adventure Roads in Norway" by Erling Welle-Strand; Nortrabooks, 1996. ISBN 82-90103-71-9
* "Letters on Sweden, Norway, and Denmark" by Mary Wollstonecraft, Cassell & Company, 1889 [http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext02/ltswd10.txt Project Gutenberg Etext version]

External links

* [http://www.risor.kommune.no Risør kommune]
* [http://www.risor-woodenboat.no/ Risør Wooden Boat Festival, every year in August.]
* [http://rlb.no/tourist/kommune/0901/info/ Tourist Information Risør]
* [http://www.visitrisor.no/eng/index.htm Visit Risør]
* [http://www.detlillehotel.no/ Det Lille Hotel]
* [http://www.austagderblad.no/ Aust Agder News (Norwegian)]
* [http://www.kammermusikkfest.no/ Risør chamber music festival (Norwegian)]
* [http://www.kulturnett.no/geografisknavigering/geografisknavigering_visning.jsp?fylke=T921062&kommune=T908368 Culture in Risør on the map (Norwegian)]
* [http://www.reuber-norwegen.de/AustAgder/FramesAustAgderKarte.html Map of Aust-Agder including Risør municipality]
* [http://www.houses-europe.com/risorby RISØRBY. Very good page with facts and pictures of Risør. (Norwegian)]