Hof, Vestfold

Hof is a former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It merged into Holmestrand on Jan. 1, 2018. The administrative centre of the former municipality was the village of Hof. The municipality of Hof was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Hof had 3,031 inhabitants as of 1 January 2002.

Hof kommune
Municipality
Coat of arms
Vestfold within
Norway
Hof within Vestfold
Coordinates: 59°33′56″N 10°2′10″E
CountryNorway
CountyVestfold
Administrative centreHof
Government
 • Mayor (2015)Mette Måge Olsen (Ap)
Area
 • Total163 km2 (63 sq mi)
 • Land148 km2 (57 sq mi)
Area rank353 in Norway
Population
 (2009)
 • Total3,058
 • Rank270 in Norway
 • Density20/km2 (50/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
11.2%
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-0714
Official language formBokmål[1]
Websitewww.hof.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

General information

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) was named after the old Hof farm (Old Norse: Hof), since the first church was built here. The name is identical with the word hof which means "pagan temple (for the Norse Gods)".[2]

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 17 July 1992. The arms show three gold-colored water lily leaves on a red background. This was chosen to represent the many small lakes in the municipality. There are three to represent the three church parishes in the municipality. It was designed by Geir Helgen from Buskerud.[3]

Number of minorities (1st and 2nd generation) in Hof by country of origin in 2017[4]
Ancestry Number
 Poland77
 Lithuania57
 Germany28
 Denmark13
 Netherlands12

Geography

The former municipality of Hof covered 164 square kilometres (63 sq mi), of which 140 square kilometres (54 sq mi) was land, 17.9 square kilometres (6.9 sq mi) was farmland and 125.1 square kilometres (48.3 sq mi) was forests. It consists of the three parishes of Hof, Eidsfoss, and Sundbyfoss. The highest point in Vestfold, Skibergfjell, is located in the northern part of Hof municipality, close to Eidsfoss. Skibergfjell is 632 metres (2,073 ft).

Economy

Hof is a typical agricultural and forestry community and its largest industry is a lumber mill. Hof lies in the climate zone best suited for agriculture in Norway. Therefore, wheat is one of the most important agricultural products of the municipality. However, between 1998 and 2008, 40% of the municipality's farms have become inactive, and the agriculture employment rate has dropped to 5,3%. Within the next 10 to 20 years an increased utilization of the municipality's forests is expected (stated August 2008).[5]

Hof is known for its great hunting and fishing resources. 120,000 acres (490 km2) of forest are open for hunting. The hunting is commercialized. About 75 landowners are united in a land owner union (Hof Utmarkslag), and hunters must purchase permits from them (mainly small game hunting).[6]

Annual rates of felled game (2007):[7]

References
  1. "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
  2. Rygh, Oluf (1907). Norske gaardnavne: Jarlsberg og Larviks amt (in Norwegian) (6 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 53.
  3. "Kommunevåpen" (in Norwegian). Hof kommune. Archived from the original on 2010-03-03. Retrieved 2009-01-13.
  4. "Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents, by immigration category, country background and percentages of the population". ssb.no. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2009-11-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. http://www.hof.kommune.no/Tjenester/Landbruk/Fiske--og-viltforvaltning/Jakt/
  7. http://www.hof.kommune.no/Tjenester/Landbruk/Fiske--og-viltforvaltning/Jakt/
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