is a town in Bamble Municipality in [[Telemark]] county, [[Norway]]. The town is located at the confluence of the [[Frierfjorden]], [[Eidangerfjord]], and Langesundsfjorden. The town of Brevik lies about across the fjord and the town of [[Langesund]] lies about to the southeast. [[Stathelle Church]] is located in the town.
For a long time, Stathelle and neighboring Langesund have been grouped together as part of the Porsgrunn/Skien metropolitan area and because of this, the population and area data for this town has not been separately tracked by Statistics Norway. What is tracked, is the portion of the metropolitan area located in Bamble Municipality. In 2022, the Langesund/Stathelle area in Bamble measured and together they had a population of 10,276 with a population density of .
History
Stathelle is an old
market town and it was granted
ladested rights (port town status) on 22 February 1774.
In the middle of the 1800s, Stathelle was an enterprising seaport, characterized by the trading house established by
Albert Blehr on Kjellestad, which was one of the nation's largest timber exporters. (Today there is a marina and a park in the same area.)
[The family of Albert Blehr who died in 1800, was documented by the Norwegian genealogist, C. S. Schilbred, first chairman and founding member of the Norwegian Heraldry Society in Bygdebok for Bamble (published by Bamble kommune, 1968)]
Brevik bridge was constructed during 1962. Previously travelers along the southern highway between Oslo and Stavanger had to take the ferry between the towns of Brevik and Stathelle.
Hansen & Arntzen Co AS is a traditional shipyard in Stathelle that specializes in the restoration of vessels. Hansen & Arntzen AS Ekstrand Co. was established in 1929 as a family business. The company is known for its significant repair and restoration projects. Many famous ships have been restored there, including the Norwegian Royal Yacht HNoMY Norge.
Name
The town is named
Stathelle. The first element comes from the word which means "place" or "town". The last element is which means "
flagstone" or "slab of rock".
Municipal self-government (1838-1964)
The town of Stathelle was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). 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 Stathelle (population: 724) was merged with the nearby town of
Langesund (population: 2,281) and the surrounding rural municipality of
Bamble (population: 5,237) to form a new, larger Bamble Municipality.
While it existed, this municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient Health care, old age services, unemployment, Social work, zoning, economic development, and municipal . During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of Direct election representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.
Municipal council
The municipal council (Bystyre) of Stathelle was made up of representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political
Political party.
Media gallery
Bamble brevik.jpg|Stathelle in the foreground
Stathelle og Brevik.jpg|Stathelle on the left
Stathelle.JPG|Crossing the bridge into Stathelle
Stathelle kirke.JPG|Stathelle Church
Notable people
-
Knud Karl Krogh-Tonning (1842–1911), a Norwegian theologian who was born in Stathelle
-
Turid Thomassen (born 1965), a politician
-
Ella Gjømle Berg (born 1979), a cross country skier
See also
-
Staddle stones
-
List of towns and cities in Norway
-
List of former municipalities of Norway
External links
