Re, Norway

Re is a former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The 225 km2 municipality existed from 2000 until its dissolution in 2020. The area is now part of Tønsberg Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Revetal. Other villages in the municipality included Ramnes, Brekkeåsen, Bergsåsen, Gretteåsen, Undrumsdal, Fon, Vivestad.

Prior to its dissolution in 2020, the 225 km2 municipality was the 316th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Re had a population of 9,730. The municipality's population density is 43.3 PD/km2.

The river Aulielva ran through the municipality. The highest point in Re was Snippane with an elevation of 400 m. Snippane was located along the border with Lardal Municipality, about 3 km south of the village of Hof.

General information
The municipality was established on 1 January 2002 when the two neighboring municipalities of Ramnes and Våle were merged to form one large municipality called Re.

On 1 January 2020, Re Municipality was dissolved and new borders were drawn for the municipalities of Horten, Tønsberg, and Holmestrand:
 * the 691 daa area that is on the northeast coast Re Municipality, including the island of Langøya, was transferred into Holmestrand Municipality
 * the 128 daa Haugan area was transferred from Horten Municipality to Re
 * the 388 daa Nykirke/Pauliveien area was transferred from Re to Horten Municipality
 * the 318 daa west Skoppum area was transferred from Re to Horten Municipality (creating a small exclave for the Råen farm inside Horten)
 * the remaining portions of Re Municipality was merged into Tønsberg Municipality

Name
The municipality is named after an old name for the district, Re (Ré). The name is related to the old German word which means "line" or "row", referring to the local geological formation called Raet.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 31 August 2001 in preparation for the establishment of the new municipality on 1 January 2002. It was determined by a public competition and a public vote among inhabitants of the new municipality. The official blazon is "Vert, an escarbuncle Or" (I grønt en gul liljehaspel). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is a five-pointed escarbuncle. The charge has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The green color in the field symbolizes the importance of nature and agriculture. The five-pointed design has a long history in the area and it symbolizes unity and to point back in time to the historic battles fought at Re. The five points represent the five parishes within Re. The arms were designed by Arvid Steen. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway had five parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Re. It was part of the Nord-Jarlsberg prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Tunsberg.

History
In this area a battle took place in 1177, which is the last one mentioned in Heimskringla by Snorri Sturluson. Graves and other findings from the Viking Age and even earlier can be found throughout the district.

Government
While it existed, this municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment, social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Nordre Vestfold District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Mayor
Re Municipality had only one mayor (ordfører) during its existence: Thorvald Hillestad from the Centre Party. He served from 2002 until its dissolution in 2020. Prior to this, he was the mayor of Våle Municipality for many years.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Re was made up of 25 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.