Editing Horten (section)

==General information==
[[File:Edvard Munch%27s house.jpg|thumb|left|[[Edvard Munch]]'s house in [[Åsgårdstrand]]]]
The small port town of Horten was established as a municipality on 1 January 1858 after it was separated from [[Borre Municipality]] (because it had been designated a [[ladested]] which meant it had to be a separate urban municipality and no longer part of the larger rural municipality). Initially, it had a population of 4,636. On 1 August 1921, an area of [[Borre Municipality]] (population: 287) was transferred into the [[Horten (town)|town of Horten]]. On 1 July 1951, another area of [[Borre Municipality]] (population: 308) was transferred into the [[Horten (town)|town of Horten]].<ref name="Dag">{{Cite web |last=Jukvam |first=Dag |year=1999 |title=Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen |url=http://www.ssb.no/emner/00/90/rapp_9913/rapp_9913.pdf |publisher=[[Statistics Norway|Statistisk sentralbyrå]] |language=no |isbn=9788253746845}}</ref>

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the [[Schei Committee]]. On 1 January 1965, the town of [[Åsgårdstrand]] (population: 488) and the Stang area of [[Sem Municipality]] (population: 126) were both merged with [[Borre Municipality]] (population: 6,037). On 1 January 1986, an area of [[Borre Municipality]] (population: 22) was transferred into the [[Horten (town)|town of Horten]]. On 1 January 1988, the neighboring [[Borre Municipality]] (population: 12,994) was merged with Horten Municipality (population: 9,098).<ref name="Dag" /> Prior to the merger, Horten Municipality was the same as the town of Horten, but afterwards, the municipality was much larger than the town. The name of the new municipality was somewhat controversial and the government chose ''Borre'' over ''Horten'' for the new name. On 1 June 2002, the name of the municipality was changed (back) to Horten, following a referendum held in conjunction with the [[2001 Norwegian parliamentary election|2001 parliamentary election]]. The referendum was a close call with 6,557 votes for the name Horten and 6,218 votes for Borre.<ref>{{Cite news |last=NRK Østafjells |author-link=Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation |date=10 September 2001 |title=Flertall for Horten i Borre |url=http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/distrikt/nrk_ostafjells/valg_2001_vestfold/1278899.html |access-date=19 October 2006 |language=Norwegian}}</ref> 

===Name===
The municipality (originally the town) is named after the old ''Horten'' farm (spelled "Hortan" in 1552) since the town was built on the old farm site. The name has an uncertain meaning. The name may come from a local dialect word {{lang|no|hort}} which means the "outer, knotty bark on older trees" which likely derives from the [[Old Norse]] word {{lang|non|hǫrtr}}  which means "something uneven" or "wrinkled". Another option could be that it is derived from the [[Old Norse]] word {{lang|non|hǫlkn}} or {{lang|non|helkn}} which means "rocky ground", "shelter", or "place of refuge". yet another option is that it could be the definite form of ''hort'' which can mean "bulge" ({{langx|non|hǫrti}}). Several hills and mountains in Norway have the name ''Horten'' or ''Horta'' and here it could be referring to the Brårudåsen hill lying in the middle of the town.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rygh |first=Oluf |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3YpBAAAAIAAJ |title=Norske gaardnavne: Jarlsberg og Larviks amt |publisher=W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri |year=1907 |edition=6 |location=Kristiania, Norge |pages=127-128 |language=no |author-link=Oluf Rygh}}</ref><ref name="snl" /> 

From 1 January 1988 until 1 June 2002, this municipality was named ''Borre''. See [[Borre Municipality#Name]].

===Coat of arms===
The [[coat of arms]] was granted on 19 November 1907, just after Horten was designated as a [[kjøpstad]], giving it [[town privileges]]. The [[blazon]] is ''"Per bend azure a fortress and boat on water and argent a rose"''. This means the arms are divided with a diagonal [[line (heraldry)|line]]. The [[field (heraldry)|field]] (background) below the line shows a naval fort with a boat on the water. Above the line, there is a red rose and the field has a tincture of [[argent]] which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The arms use the old [[Escutcheon (heraldry)|"English"-style of shield]] with a [[mural crown]] sits on top signifying that the municipality contains a city. The design shows the importance of the [[Karljohansvern]] [[naval base]] and the gardens of the city. The arms were designed by [[Andreas Bloch]]. The municipal flag is white with the coat of arms in the centre.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen |url=https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Horten |access-date=2024-02-18 |publisher=Heraldry of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Horten, Vestfold (Norway) |url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/no-07-01.html |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=Flags of the World}}</ref>

===Churches===
The [[Church of Norway]] has four parishes ({{lang|no|sokn}}) within the municipality of Horten. It is part of the [[Nord-Jarlsberg prosti]] ([[deanery]]) in the [[Diocese of Tunsberg]].

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ style="font-size:medium"|'''''Churches in Horten'''''
!Parish ({{lang|no|sokn}})!!Church name!!Location of the church!!Year built
|-
|rowspan="2"|Borre||[[Borre Church]]||[[Borre, Norway|Borre]]||c. 1100
|-
|[[Skoppum Church]]||[[Skoppum]]||1989
|-
|rowspan="3"|Horten||[[Horten Church]]||[[Horten (town)|Horten]]||1855
|-
|[[Løvøy Chapel]]||[[Løvøya, Vestfold|Løvøya]]||c. 1200
|-
|[[Sentrum Church]]||[[Horten (town)|Horten]]||1972
|-
|rowspan="1"|Nykirke||[[Nykirke Church (Vestfold)|Nykirke Church]]||[[Nykirke]]||c. 1100
|-
|rowspan="1"|Åsgårdstrand||[[Åsgårdstrand Church]]||[[Åsgårdstrand]]||1969
|}