| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
| Contents | ||
| ||||||||||||||
The town Arendal (N 58 27, E 8 56 ) in the county of Aust-Agder, Norway, has 39,554 inhabitants as of January 1, 2002. Area: 272 km². It is the administrative center of Aust-Agder county.
In the end of the 19th century Arendal was a major shipping centre with many wealthy shipowners. Today the town has small boat manufacturing, mechanical industry, electronics industry as well as one of the worlds largest silicon carbide refining plants.
Sam Eyde who founded among other thing the international companies Norsk Hydro and Elkem was born in Arendal. He also founded an aluminium smelter and a silicon carbide plant in Eydehavn (the place is named after him) 10 km east of the centre of Arendal.
Arendal has the best weather in Norway and a lovely coastline with many small islands. It is a popular tourist town and has a lively evening life in summer.
The "Litle Torungen" lighthouse is situated on a small island outside of Arendal. The lighthouse is 28.9 meters high. The station was established at the same time as the "Large Torungen" and has a functional and visual connection with this. The Large and Little Torungen was made as twin lighthouses and both are located in the Arendal shipping lane. The station was discontinued in 1914.
The "Store Torungen" lighthouse is situated on an island outside Arendal. It was constructed in 1844 and electrified in 1914. It is 34.3 meters high and contains a 2nd order lens. This is a rather large station according to Norwegian standards. It is reachable by a 55 minute boat trip from the city centre. The lightouse is still in use.
The island of Merdø, one of the islands furthest from the coast, facing the Skagerrak, is an old outport with a museum, a kiosk, several beaches and beautiful scenery. Regular boat service from Pollen to the island every day during the summer season.
The heart of Arendal (inner harbour), where you will find fishermen selling crabs, the fish market, pubs, restaurants, ducks, and benches where you can sit down for a rest. Nothing is like a sunny day in Pollen.
Right in the town centre you’ll find an area with wooden houses dating back to the 1600s. This area is called Tyholmen, and is what’s left of the old buildings since the great fires this town had during the 1800s. Spend half an hour on Tyholmen, enjoying the architecture and imagining how things must have been when there were canals between the houses instead of streets. Follow the streets of Nedre Tyholmen and Øvre Tyholmen, and see how both rich and regular people used to live. Stop by the tourist information if you have questions about any of the houses – perhaps we have a story to tell?