Svelvik Municipality

is a former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The 58 km2 municipality existed from 1845 until its dissolution in 2020. The area is now part of Drammen Municipality in Buskerud county. The administrative centre was the town of Svelvik. The other population centres in Svelvik included Nesbygda and Berger.

General information
The town of Svelvik was established as a municipality on 1 January 1845 when it was separated from Strømm Municipality, after it had been declared to be a ladested. Initially, the new municipality had a population of 1,201. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the town of Svelvik (population: 1,188) was merged with Strømm Municipality (population: 2,618) to form the new Svelvik Municipality. On 1 January 1966, the village area of Berger (population: 131) was transferred from Sande Municipality to the neighboring Svelvik Municipality. On 1 January 2020, Svelvik Municipality (population: 6,685) was merged into the neighboring Drammen Municipality (which made it switch from Vestfold to Viken county). On 1 January 2024, Viken county was dissolved and this area became part of Buskerud county.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Svelvik farm (Sverðvík) since the first Svelvik Church was built there. The first element comes from the word which means "sword". The last element is which means "bay" or "cove". The name "sword bay" is likely referring to the Ryggen promontory ridge across from the town of Svelvik. The ridge juts out into the Drammensfjorden like a sword and divides the fjord into two halves. The neighboring farm is called Sverstad (Sverðstaðir) which has the same etymology.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 4 September 1964. The official blazon is "Gules, a trident Or" (På rød, bunn en gull Neptun-gaffel). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a trident. The trident has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. By choosing the spear of the sea god Neptune, the arms symbolizes its association with the sea. At the same time, the motif has a domestic connection because the trident is the same tool that is locally used for eel fishing. The arms were designed by Georg Winther. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Svelvik. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Nord-Jarlsberg prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Tunsberg.

Geography
The municipality was located on the western shore of the Drammensfjorden. The narrow Svelvikstrømmen strait is located part-way along the fjord, near the town of Svelvik. The shortest ferry line in Norway crosses the fjord there, connecting Svelvik to the Hurum peninsula.

Government
Svelvik 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 Drammen District Court and the Borgarting Court of Appeal.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Svelvik (incomplete list):
 * 1999-2011: Knut Erik Lippert (H)
 * 2011-2015: Jonn Gunnar Lislelid (Ap)
 * 2015-2019: Andreas Muri (H)

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Svelvik 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.