Editing Stokke (section)

==History==
[[File:Kv1126Anholtveien.jpg|thumb|left]]
About 16,000 historic artifacts have been found at Brunstad in Stokke, mostly tools made out of flint but also roughly sixty [[hearths]]. The first recorded grave from [[Mesolithic]] times is also found here and dated to 5900 BCE.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Reitan |first1=Gaute |last2=Danielsen |first2=Fredrikke |last3=Gummesen |first3=Sara |last4=Schülke |first4=Almut |year=2019 |title=Brunstad i Stokke, Vestfold – et bosettingsområde fra rundt 6000 f.Kr., med spor etter gjentatte besøk, grav og deponeringer |url=https://journals.uio.no/viking/article/view/7115 |journal=Viking |volume=82 |page=33 |doi=10.5617/viking.7115 |doi-access=free |accessdate=2020-11-02|hdl=10852/74691 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

Leading up to 2017, Stokke residents were deciding whether or not to remain as an independent municipality or if they should merge with a neighboring municipality. Relatively few Stokke residents read ''[[Sandefjords Blad]]'', the main newspaper of [[Sandefjord]], and few residents reside or work in the [[Sandefjord (town)|city of Sandefjord]]. The wealthiness of Sandefjord, however, was often used as an argument for the merger with Sandefjord. Its international airport ''[[Sandefjord Airport, Torp]]'' was also seen as a deciding factor for Stokke's decision to merge into Sandefjord. For the village of [[Vear]], on the other hand, a majority of residents preferred a merge into neighboring [[Tønsberg]]. Consequentially, the village was transferred into Tønsberg on 1 January 2017, the day Stokke joined Sandefjord.<ref name="EL" />{{rp|72}} Vear is home to 2,500 residents as of 2016, which made up 22 percent of Stokke's total population prior to the merge.<ref name="EL" />{{rp|164-165}}

===Sundås Fort===
[[File:Sundås_batteri_-_Søndre_kanonstilling_fra_baksiden.jpg|thumb|left|Gun pit at Sundåsbatteriet.]]
{{Main|Sundås battery}}
Remains of a fort, the [[Sundås battery]], can be found across the [[Tønsbergfjorden]] from Håøya Island. The [[fortifications]] were constructed in the late 19th century during turbulent times with [[Sweden]] during the [[Union between Sweden and Norway]]. It was part of the newly established [[Norwegian Coastal Artillery]] ({{langx|no|Kystartilleriet}}). The fort was erected to keep potential enemies from entering [[Tønsberg (town)|Tønsberg]] by sea, and was also meant to protect the Marine harbor in the village of [[Melsomvik]]. Work on the fort began in 1897, and the forts at both Håøya Island and Sundåsen were completed in 1899. Trenches, commando posts, fencing, concrete gun pits, and other remains from the fort can still be seen at Sundås. The fort lies by the Tønsbergfjord with surrounding views of [[Færder Lighthouse]] and islands such as Håøya, [[Tjøme (island)|Tjøme]], [[Veierland]], and [[Nøtterøy (island)|Nøtterøy]]. The cannons were demolished by German forces in 1942 during the [[German occupation of Norway]]. The [[Norwegian Armed Forces]] remained in control of the fort from 1945 until 1962, when it became public property.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sundås |url=https://www.forsvarsbygg.no/no/verneplaner/landsverneplan-for-forsvaret/ostlandet/sundas/ |access-date=2018-12-10 |website=Forsvarsbygg.no}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sundåsen batteri |url=http://www.kystfort.info/page8.html |access-date=2018-12-10 |website=Kystfort.info}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sundåsen fort Stokke |url=https://www.oslofjorden.com/poi/sundaasen_fort_bogen_stokke.html |access-date=2018-12-10 |website=Oslofjorden.com}}</ref>