Viking history was discovered in Sandefjord. Sandefjord has been inhabited for thousands of years. Haugen farm is home to Vestfold county's largest
petroglyph site. In 1961–1962, 78 rock carvings were discovered at the site. They consist of ships, spiral figures, circular hollows, and much more. The Vikings lived in Sandefjord and surrounding areas about 1,000 years ago, and numerous Viking artifacts and monuments can be found in Sandefjord. One of the most important remains from the
Viking Age was found at the grave site
Gokstadhaugen (Gokstad Mound) in Sandefjord. The
Gokstad ship was excavated by
Nicolay Nicolaysen and is now in the
Viking Ship Museum in Oslo. The
Viking, an exact replica of the Gokstad ship, crossed the Atlantic Ocean from
Bergen to be exhibited at the
World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. A
replica of the Gokstad ship, called
Gaia, currently has Sandefjord as home port. Viking settlements and grave sites have been discovered in Sandefjord. Sandefjord functioned as a seaport defined by the twin industries of shipping and shipbuilding throughout the 1600s and 1700s. It was formally recognized as a market town (
kjøpstad) by
King Oscar in 1845. Its population at the time was 749 residents. The
city of Sandefjord became known as a world-renowned health resort destination between 1837 and 1939. Royalty and Prime Ministers from throughout Europe visited the town for its spas in the late 1800s. It gained its reputation as a health and pleasure community when
Sandefjord sulfur spa and resort () was established in 1837. It was the first spa in town and functioned as a medical institution focusing on the treatment of symptoms for rheumatic diseases. The original bathhouse has been restored and is now a culture house by the city center. Around 50,000 people, mostly Norwegians, visited the bath from 1837 to 1939. A majority of spa visitors were from Norway, but international guests from Germany,
Britain, and the United States also visited the spas of Sandefjord.
Town fires Sandefjord has experienced numerous town fires, including a town fire in 1800 which led to most of the town burning down and subsequently having to be rebuilt. The fire, which started on the night before 16 March 1900, led to the entire city center burning down, including important business offices. Both newspapers in town,
Sandefjords Blad and
Vestfold, saw their offices burnt down. Six jewelry stores, three watchmakers, eight grocery stores, and a variety of other shops were destroyed. The fire started in the factory
Nordmannen. The fire caused the loss of 51 buildings for a total value of in addition to in loss of store items.
Sandefjord Church (built in 1872) also burnt down during the town fire of 1900. Sandefjord is perhaps best known as a whaling community. The centre of the world's modern whaling industry was located in town, and local residents not only made up practically all the crew on the Norwegian whaling fleet, but substantial numbers of them also worked within the whaling industry in nearby countries. For over fifty years in the late 1800s, Sandefjord functioned as the world center for the whaling industry, including the manufacture and equipment of whaling vessels, floating factories, and whale-catchers. During the 1911–1912 season, Sandefjord had 27 whaling companies with a total of 115 vessels. This made up over 30 percent of the world's whaling firms. The history of the whalers can also be explored at the Museum's Wharf with a visit aboard the
whale-catcher Southern Actor.
Whaling is considered to be the industry which made Sandefjord the richest city in Norway. As of 1903, half of all whaling companies in the Faroe Islands were operated out of Sandefjord. Sandefjordian whaling firms were also established on the coast of Africa, in
Portugal,
Mexico,
Western Australia, among other places. during
Nils Larsen's Antarctic expeditions. Towards the beginning of
World War I, Norwegian whaling spread throughout the world, most and foremost from Sandefjord. Expeditions from Sandefjord went as far as
Norwegian Bay in Australia,
Stewart Island in New Zealand,
Walvis Bay in Namibia,
Corral, Chile, and also isolated places such as
Kerguelen Islands,
South Georgia Island,
Bouvet Island, and the
Southern Ocean. In the 1910s, affluent resident
August F. Christensen was given a grant to practice whaling outside
Peru and
Ecuador. He was also appointed Ecuador's consul to Norway. He achieved an agreement with Ecuadorian government officials which allowed Norwegians to inhabit the
Galápagos Islands, and also receive of land, pay no taxes for ten years, and be allowed to keep their Norwegian citizenship. Christensen created huge local interest of Galápagos, and the local company
La Colonia de Floreana A/S was established on 21 March 1925. Its main goal was to exploit the Norwegian fishing rights at the Galápagos Islands. A ship named
Floreana departed from Sandefjord on 15 May 1925, equipped with enough men and goods to establish a colony.
South Georgia Island lies a few thousand kilometers east of
Cape Horn.
Sandefjord Ice Bay in continental Antarctica is also named after Sandefjord.
Mount Nils Larsen in
Queen Maud Land,
Mount Nils in
Enderby Land and
Nils Larsen Glacier are examples of many geographical names given in honor of Nils Larsen.
World War II were constructed on both
West- and
East Island. A week after
Operation Weserübung, German forces entered Sandefjord on 16 April 1940. About 30-40 men arrived in semi-trucks from
Horten under the leadership of Erik von Drydalski. After handing their directives to Sandefjord police chief Kjartan Bruun Hansen, the men left for Hotel Atlantic, where they established their headquarters in Sandefjord. German troops in Sandefjord soon rose to 200. At the beginning of the
German occupation of Norway, a German
Hafenkapitän (
harbormaster) was placed at Tollboden, and a representative for
Admiral Norwegen was placed in an office building at
Framnes verft. German soldiers could be seen marching throughout the city. At the beginning of the occupation, over 2,000 German officers visited
Socitetsbygningen (today's
Park Hotel), which belonged to
Sandefjord Spa. The
Nazi flag was waving over the building during the visit. Norwegian students were told to learn the German language, and handed out a book,
Deutsche Fibel. They were also given a copy of Adolf Hitler's book
Mein Kampf translated into the Norwegian language. ''. German forces constructed two coastal forts in Sandefjord, located at the southern tips of two local peninsulas:
Vesterøya and
Østerøya. The largest German construction in Sandefjord took place at
Folehavna, where a fortress was erected in the spring of 1941. Four cannons with a target range of were installed at the site, along with a tunnel. The four cannons were installed in concrete gun pits on the sloping rocks. German construction also took place by the lake
Goksjø, and also at Jernbaneallén, where a former garage structure was turned into a prison camp. Many local residents were killed during World War II, including a number of seamen. Håkon Andersen of Framnes was killed onboard
Arcturus when the ship was attacked by British
Beaufighters. Albert K. J. Skålsvik (1921–1944) of Krokemoa, a member of the Norwegian Homefleet ("Hjemmeflåten"), was 18 years when the war broke out. Skålsvik was killed, along with the captain, when the ship
DS Kong Bjørn was attacked by allied warplanes by
Ryvingen Lighthouse in 1944. He is now commemorated at the
Hall of Remembrance in the town of
Stavern in neighborin
Larvik Municipality. Skålsvik's younger brother, Bernard, was also a part of the Homefleet and was killed at age 17 in 1945. Radios were illegal, and people of Sandefjord such as Henry Melby of
Gokstad was arrested for having a radio in 1942. He was incarcerated at the tanker
Inger Johanne, which was attacked by allied warplanes in 1944, killing 15 people, including Henry Melby. The "new" municipality became the most populous in Vestfold county. Proposed names for the "new" municipality were
Gokstad,
Sandar, and
Torp, however, the name
Sandefjord was ultimately kept. A poll conducted by the
Sandefjords Blad newspaper in January 2015 called 600 residents in Andebu, 750 in Stokke, and 1,000 in Sandefjord. All were given the question "Do you think Stokke, Andebu, and Sandefjord should establish one single municipality?". About 69% of Sandefjord residents answered "yes", while 64% (Andebu) and 61% (Stokke) answered "yes" in Stokke and Andebu. Few Stokke residents read
Sandefjords Blad, the main newspaper of Sandefjord, and relatively few residents commute to the
city of Sandefjord for work. Despite this, Stokke residents voted to merge with Sandefjord due to two key features: its wealth and the nearby international airport. About 78 percent of Stokke residents ultimately voted to merge into Sandefjord during the September 2015 elections.
Population growth The municipality experienced a 98.6 percent population growth from 1875 to 1900. Even not including the boundary adjustments between the municipalities of Sandar and Sandefjord in 1888, this population increase was substantially higher than most Norwegian cities. Sandar experienced the largest population growth of any Norwegian town, and over twice the growth of other towns in Vestfold County. From 1875 to 1900, the disposable income of people from Sandefjord increased by over 200 percent. Total assets in local banks also increased, and in 1895–1900, total assets went from
NOK 0.6 to 1.9 million in Aktiekreditbanken and from NOK 1.1 million to 1.3 million in Sandefjords Sparebank. Even after whaling lost its importance, Sandefjord remained Norway's richest city, and from 1913 to 1917, the median income increased by over 350 percent. Norge Sandefjord (7998937239).jpg|Postcard of Sandefjord − about 1970 Ommestadkollen, Sandefjord, Vestfold, Norway - panoramio.jpg|Ommestadkollen Sandefjord_(14547787946).jpg|Sandefjord in 1947 == Geography ==