The
parish of Brunlagnæs (later spelled
Brunlanes) was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see
formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1875, a small area of Brunlanes (population: 4) was transferred to the
town of Larvik. On 23 June 1883, an area of Brunlanes (population: 22) became part of
Fredriksvern municipality after a border adjustment. In 1938, another area of Brunlanes (population: 28) became part of
Fredriksvern municipality. In 1949, another area of Brunlanes (population: 13) became part of
Stavern municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the
Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the Enigheten, Høyberg, and Skavåsen farms (population: 12) was transferred from Brunlanes to the newly enlarged neighboring municipality of
Porsgrunn (this also caused them to switch from Vestfold to
Telemark county). On 1 January 1969, an area of Brunlanes (population: 4) became part of
Stavern municipality.
Coat of arms The
coat of arms was approved on 29 August 1985. The official
blazon was
"Azure, twelve plates 3-4-5" (). This means the arms have a blue
field (background) and the
charge is a set of twelve
plates (circles) that are lined up in three rows (3 circles in the top row, f circles in the next row, and 5 circles in the bottom row). The circles have a
tincture of
argent which means they are commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The blue color in the field symbolized the importance of the sea and the small circles symbolised the typical round stones (made by glaciers), which can be found in huge quantities in the municipality. The arms were designed by Kjell Ronald Hansen. The municipal flag had the same design as the coat of arms.
Churches The
Church of Norway had three parishes () within the municipality of Brunlanes. It was part of the
Larvik prosti (
deanery) in the
Diocese of Tunsberg. The
Old Berg Church was built of stone in ca. 1100. The old medieval church was partially demolished in 1882, after the "new"
Berg Church had been built on the site in 1878. The remains of the walls were preserved and from 1965 to 1970, the church was restored partly with the original stone. The church has conservation status protected. Larvik Berg gamle kirke.jpg|
Old Berg Church Berg kirke, MIS.jpg|
Berg Church Tanum kirke ute.JPG|
Tanum Church Kjosekirke-01.jpg|
Kjose Church ==History==