Risør

View of the town harbour

A farm along the Søndeledfjorden

The Søndeled Church, built c. 1150

The town of Risør was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). On 1 January 1901, a part of the neighboring Søndeled municipality (population: 658) was transferred to Risør. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the rural municipality of Søndeled (population: 3,134) was merged into the town of Risør (population: 3,002) to form a new municipality of Risør which had a population of 6,136. On 1 January 1984, the uninhabited Folevatnet area of neighboring Tvedestrand was transferred to Risør.[5]

Painting of the town c. 1800

Painting of the battery at Holmen

Picture of the harbour c. 1950

The village of Risør was a small fishing village in the prestegjeld of Søndeled when Dutch vessels began to call there to purchase timber around the year 1570. By 1607, two inns had been opened to serve Dutch sailors. In 1630, Risør became a privileged port (ladested). The town has a timber church, Risør Church which was built in the Baroque style in 1647.

In 1723, Risør was granted town status which granted it a number of commercial privileges. 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:[8]

• 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 (now in the neighboring Tvedestrand municipality) that several British warships, headed by HMS Dictator of the English navy pursued and sank the last major vessel and the pride of Norway: the frigate HDMS Najaden.

On 1 January 1838, the new formannskapsdistrikt law came into effect, granting each parish and town in Norway the rights to have a self-governing council. Thus, Risør was a small town with a council to run it.[5]

Risør was almost wiped off the map in 1861. A great fire swept across the small town leaving just 85 houses and the 1647 Risør Church. The entire road network was re-worked after the fire to remove the small streets and alleys and have wider roads that are there today. The city was redesigned and rebuilt and today it presents a positive impression of a well kept town with white, wooden houses. White was chosen because it was an expensive paint and the residents wanted to give an expression of prosperity. Still today, most houses have white paint, although some have other colors on the sides and back of their houses.

By the second half of the 19th century, over 100 sailing vessels were based at their home port in Risør and more than 1,000 sailors called Risør home. The transition to steamships and the economic damage of World War I, however, destroyed Risør's shipping industry.

On 1 January 1901, an area of the neighboring municipality of Søndeled (population: 658) was transferred to the city, greatly expanding Risør. 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 Risør (population: 3,002) and the entire municipality of Søndeled (population: 3,134) were merged to form a new, much larger municipality of Risør, with the town being the administrative centre.[5]

Risør is the easternmost coastal municipality in Aust-Agder county, located on the peninsula between the mouths of the Søndeledfjorden and Sandnesfjorden, providing ready access to the Skagerrak. Risør municipality is bordered to the southwest by Tvedestrand, to the northwest by Vegårshei and Gjerstad, and to the northeast by Kragerø in Telemark county. The Nordfjorden is a branch of the Søndeledfjorden that flows to the north of the large island of Barmen.[9][10]

All municipalities in Norway, including Risør, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior-citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor.

Risør is located along the Skaggerak coast. The Stangholmen Lighthouse sits just offshore, marking a shipping channel leading to the town harbour. The European route E18 highway runs along the western edge of the municipality. The Norwegian County Road 416 connects the E18 highway with the town centre in the eastern side of the municipality. Other main roads in Risør include Norwegian County Road 411 and Norwegian County Road 418.

Risør was a town built as a result of shipping and industrial interests. The historic timber and fishing industries thrived for a few hundred years, but now they have mostly vanished. Paper production served as an economic basis for a time, until the pulp factory was closed in 1970. Today Risør is more of a tourist destination with a burgeoning art colony and music festivals. Summer vacationers account for a major part of the economy.[3]

Risør has many tourist attractions.[12][13][14]

• 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. During the festival the population swells to 20,000 people.[15]
• Den Hellige Ånds Church, built in 1647
• The citadel at Tangen, a fortification from the Napoleonic Wars (with modifications from the German occupation period)
• Risør Akvarium, salt water aquarium with over 100 different species. The only salt water aquarium in the south region of Norway.

• Erik Mykland, a footballer
• Victor D. Norman, the former minister of labor and administration and professor of economy at NHH.
• Serene Torjussen Evensen (later named Serena Gardner), the first female convert in Norway to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
• Ove Ansteinsson (1884–1942), a journalist and author
• Isak Lauritssøn Falck (1601–1669), a land owner and timber merchant[16]