Rykene

Rykene or Rygene is a village located along the river Nidelva in Agder county, Norway. The village is primarily located in Arendal municipality, but a small portion of the village lies across the river in the neighboring municipality of Grimstad. Rykene is located about 10 km north of the town of Grimstad and about the same distance south of the city of Arendal. Historically, the village grew up due to its close proximity to forests as the timber was floated down river to the sawmills in Rykene. The village of Lindtveit lies about 2 km to the northwest, the village of Løddesøl lies about 4 km to the north, the village of Gjennestad lies about 3 km to the northeast. The village sits at the junction of Norwegian County Road 407 and Norwegian County Road 408.

The 0.75 km2 village has a population (2022) of 763 which gives the village a population density of 965 PD/km2. An area of 0.05 km2 lies in Grimstad with 22 residents while the rest of the village lies in Arendal on the north side of the river.

The village sits along the river Nidelva, at a waterfall called Rygene. The village used to have the same name as the waterfall, but the spelling of the village was later changed to Rykene. The name comes from the Old Norse name: rjúkandi which means "smoking", possibly referring to the mist at the base of the waterfall. The name has the same etymology as the municipality of Rjukan. The waterfall has since been dammed and now is the site of the Rykene Power Station which has a maximum output of 55 MW and a mean annual output of 316 GWh.

The local sports team is Rygene IL. The historic Øyestad Church is located just outside of the village.