The Kingdom of Norway (Norge in Norwegian) is one of the world's most maritime nations. The country is long and narrow, with drowned valleys called fjords that bring the sea far inland in most regions. The mainland coast is estimated to be 2650 km (1650 mi) long, and when all the islands and minor indentations are counted the total coastline approaches an astonishing 60,000 km (37,500 mi), long enough the go around the world one and a half times. With such a lengthy and rocky shore it's not surprising that Norway has a large number of lighthouses. Norway is divided into counties (fylker) and the counties are divided into townships (kommuner). This page lists lighthouses of the county of Telemark, which faces the west side of the Oslofjord and the north side of the Skagerrak on Norway's south coast. Skien is the largest town in this region and the seat of the county government. In 2020 the counties of Vestfold and Telemark were merged to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. This merger was very unpopular and the original counties were restored effective 1 January 2024. In Norwegian a lighthouse is a fyrtårn (fire tower) or simply a fyr; a fyrlykt is a beacon and a lyktehus is a lantern. Øy is an island, holmen is an islet, skjær is a skerry (a tiny island or rocky reef), sund is a strait (often between an island and the mainland), bukt is a bay, nes is a headland, and havn is a harbor. Aids to navigation in Norway are maintained by the Kystverket (Coast Directorate), an agency of the Ministry of Transport and Communications. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. NF numbers are from the Norsk Fyrliste. Admiralty numbers are from volume B of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 115, but NGA has dropped nearly all of the lights of southern Norwegian fjords in this area.
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: East: West Oslofjord | West: Aust-Agder (Arendal Area)
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Posted April 10, 2006. Checked and revised May 13, 2024. Lighthouses: 20. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.