Editing Hof, Vestfold (section)

==History==
The village has a number of ancient [[burial mounds]] which testify to the fact that the village was relatively densely populated in ancient times. [[Eidsfos Verk]] was established as an [[ironworks]] at the end of the 17th century and had its heyday under [[Peder von Cappelen]] (1763–1837). On the company's property is a stately main building, Eidsfos Hovedgård, which was made into a historical landmark in 1923. The farm has a large park and unique workers' housing from the 18th century. In Hof, there is an ironworks museum that shows cultural and ironworks history.<ref name="snl2">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Hof (tidligere kommune) |encyclopedia=[[Store norske leksikon]] |publisher=[[Kunnskapsforlaget]] |url=https://snl.no/Hof_-_tidligere_kommune |date=2022-06-30 |editor-last=Thorsnæs |editor-first=Geir |language=no |editor2-last=Lundbo |editor2-first=Sten |accessdate=2024-02-25}}</ref>

The village of Hof served as the [[administrative centre]] of the old [[Hof Municipality (Vestfold)|Hof Municipality]] from 1838 until 2018 when it became part of [[Holmestrand Municipality]]. The medieval [[Hof Church (Vestfold)|Hof Church]] is located in the village.<ref name="snl" />

===Name===
The municipality (originally the [[prestegjeld|parish]]) is named after the old ''Hof'' farm ({{langx|non|Hof}}) since the first [[Hof Church (Vestfold)|Hof Church]] was built there. The name is identical with the word ''[[Heathen hofs|hof]]'' which means "[[Paganism|pagan]] [[temple]]", a place for worshiping the old [[List of Germanic deities and heroes|Norse Gods]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rygh |first=Oluf |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3YpBAAAAIAAJ |title=Norske gaardnavne: Jarlsberg og Larviks amt |date=1907 |publisher=W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri |edition=6 |location=Kristiania, Norge |page=47 |language=no |authorlink=Oluf Rygh}}</ref>