Færder

Færder  is a municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Borgheim. Other villages in the municipality include Årøysund, Bjørnevåg, Buerstad, Duken, Glomstein, Grimestad, Hårkollen, Hulebakk, Kjøpmannskjær, Nesbrygga, Ormelet, Oterbekk, Skallestad, Skjerve, Solvang, Strengsdal, Sundene, Svelvik, Tenvik, Tjøme, Torød, Vestskogen, and Vollen.

The 100 km2 municipality is the 329th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Færder is the 44th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 27,286. The municipality's population density is 273.6 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 5.1% over the previous 10-year period.

The Færder National Park, which was established in 2013, comprises islands and sea area east of the municipality. The main visitors' centre for the park is located at Verdens Ende at the southern tip of the island of Tjøme.

General information
The municipality of Færder was established on 1 January 2018 when the old Nøtterøy Municipality and Tjøme Municipality were merged.

Name
The municipality is named after the small Færder island (Fjarðarøy) since the Store Færder Lighthouse was built there. The current spelling of the first element of the name is a corruption of the genitive case of the old word which means "fjord". The last element is which means "island".

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was adopted for use starting on 1 January 2018 when the municipality was established. The official blazon is "Azure, a sail argent" (Sølv fokk på blå grunn). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a jibsail. The sail has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The blue color in the field and the sail were chosen to represent the maritie traditions for this island municipality. The arms were designed by the 17-year-old Jon Markus Ringøen, a student from the municipality. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway has five parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Færder. It is part of the Tønsberg domprosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Tunsberg.

Government
Færder Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Vestfold District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Færder is made up of 39 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Færder:


 * 2018-2019: Roar Jonstang (H)
 * 2019-2023: Jon Sanness Andersen (Ap)
 * 2023–present: Tom Mello (H)

Geography
The 100 km2 municipality is entirely composed of islands between the Tønsbergfjorden and the Ytre Oslofjord. Some of the main islands include Nøtterøy, Tjøme, Hvasser, Føynland, Veierland, and Bolærne. Three lighthouses are notable in the area: Færder Lighthouse, Fulehuk Lighthouse, and Store Færder Lighthouse.

Climate
Færder lighthouse has one of the longest temperature records in Norway, with recording from the same location continuously since 1885. The 1991-2020 base period shows a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb). Færder is known in Norway for warm lows in summer; from the start of recording to summer 2020 Færder recorded 191 nights with lows 20 °C or warmer. The all-time high temperature 28 °C was recorded July 1955 and August 1947; the all-time low is -23 °C recorded in January 1942.

Notable people

 * Marcus Jacob Monrad (1816–1897), a philosopher and academic.
 * Even Tollefsen (1841–1897), a sea captain and inventor.
 * Oscar Albert Johnsen (1876–1954), a historian.
 * Bernhard Folkestad (1879–1933), a naturalist painter and essayist, bought a cottage on Brøtsøy.
 * Anton Barth von der Lippe (1886–1960), a whaler.
 * Leiv Amundsen (1898–1987), a librarian and philologist.
 * Lauritz Johnson (1906–1992), a children's writer, radio and TV host, "Uncle Lauritz".
 * Helge Skappel (1907–2001), an aviator, photographer and cartographer.
 * Trygve Bratteli (1910–1984), a politician who served as Prime Minister of Norway from 1971 to 1972 and 1973 to 1976.
 * Torgeir Andersen (1916–1991), a politician who was Mayor of Nøtterøy from 1959 to 1969.
 * Aasmund Brynildsen (1917–1974), an essayist, biographer and magazine editor.
 * Hanna-Marie Weydahl (1922–2016), a pianist.
 * Jan P. Syse (1930–1997), a lawyer and politician who served as Prime Minister of Norway from 1989 to 1990.
 * Wenche Blomberg (born 1943), an author, journalist, and criminologist who was brought up on Tjøme.
 * Kjersti Holmen (born 1956), a TV and film actress.
 * Tony Mills (1962–2019), an English rock singer who lived on Tjøme from 2016 until his death.
 * Fredrik Kjølner (born 1970), a footballer with almost 300 club caps.
 * Emma Ellingsen (born 2001), a transgender model and YouTuber.