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Dette er et bilde fra Dramstadbukta, like nord for Svelvik, og markerer inngangen til Svelvikstraumen som er det desidert smaleste partiet av Drammensfjorden.
This is a picture overlooking ‘Dramstadbukta’ (Dramstad bay) and marks the enterance to ‘Svelvikstraumen’, which is the narrowest part of ‘Drammensfjorden’.
Dette bildet er tatt på “historisk grunn” – nemmlig fra den såkalte “Batteriøya” hvor det i gammel tid var en befestning og en liten garnison som voktet innløpet til Drammensfjorden og Svelvik. Det er verd å merke seg at på 1600-tallet og inn i 1700-tallet, fungerte Svelvik som havneby for Drammen. Fjorden var ofte islagt og gods ble losset over på sleder som ble trukket inn til Drammen på fjordisen.
This picture has been taken on historical ground, – from the so called ‘Battery island’ where it a long time ago was located a small coastal fortress guarding the access to the Drammenfjord and Svelvik. It’s worth mentioning that from 1600 and into the 1700’s Svelvik was functioning as a port for the city of Drammen. The Drammensfjord was often totally frozen and cargo was reloaded onto sledges which was towed up to Drammen on the fjord ice!
Dessverre gikk ca 1/4 av byen tapt i en storbrann i 1887, men ble bygget opp igjen og dermed delvis modernisert.
Unfortunately a quarter of the town was burned down in a fire (1887) but rebuilt and partly modernized.
Legg merke til dagens luftspenn over Svelvik-straumen. Med en fri høyde på 46 meter blir det faktisk i laveste laget for større cruise-fartøyer etc. og diskusjonen går høyt om man skal heve spennet med ytterligere 15-20 meter eller om man skal grave en sjøkabel like gjerne først som sist.
Drammen er landets “bilhavn” nr 1, og det kommer til dels ganske store båter gjennom Svelvikstraumen som nylig er mudret opp for enda større fartøyer.
Please observ the powerlines across the Svelvik strait. With a free height of only 46 meters the lines pose a problem the modern cruise vessels of today
and the discussions are running high whether to raise the heigh with another 50-60 feet or to transport the power through a sea cable that are not dependent of the height of ships.
Drammen is the no 1 car import port in Norway and the strait have just recently been dug yet deeper than before.
Snur vi oss mot sør så ser vi at det finnes en liten “kyststi” langs ytterkanten av Batteriøya. Den går forbi “fiskebrygga” og ut langs fjorden til Svelviks ‘1000 års-sted’ – de gamle kanonstillingene.
If we turn to the south, we find a small track along the outer parts of Battery Island, passing the ‘fishing pier’, along the Drammensfjord, ending at Svelviks so called ‘1000 year spot’ where the old guns were located.
Selve brystvernet ble restaurert på slutten av 1980-tallet, men kanonene daterer seg tilbake til Tordenskjolds tid. Man må uvilkårlig undre seg på hva som ville ha hendt dersom tyskerne i 1940 hadde valgt å forsere Svelvikstraumen fremfor å utfordre Oscarsborg festning i Drøbak-sundet?
The fortifications were restored back in 1980, but the guns themselves date back to
‘Tordenskiold‘ (Peter Wessel) and the early 1700. One may only speculate what would have happened if the germans (1940) instead of challenging the fortress of Oscarsborg, had sailed into the Drammensfjord, past Svelvik, and proceeded to Oslo by road? (It’s only 30 miles! )
På baksiden av Batteriøya ligger en godt skjermet båthavn. Her holder Svelvik Motorbåforening til. Ser vi nordover, ligger Svelvik og bader i mai-solen.
In the back of ‘Battery Island’ we find the ‘Svelvik Motor yacht club’. Looking north, Svelvik is basking in the warm sun –
Mens vi likevel befinner oss i den sørlige delen av Svelvik, tar jeg med noen “offisielle bygninger” som ligger i denne delen av Svelvik:
Først selve kommuneadministrasjonen – Rådhuset –
And while we are in the southern part of Svelvik, I include a few more ‘official buildings’ like here – the City Hall!
Her finner vi Tømmerås skole og det lokale sykehjemmet!
Here we find ‘Tømmerås school’ and the local nursing home as well.
Egentlig tror jeg denne reportasjen fra Svelvik kunne ha blitt ganske lik den jeg i sin tid laget fra Drøbak? Små hvite hus, Sørlandsstemning, sjø og en masse blomster . . .
Actually I think thes report from Svelvik could be very much alike the one I made from Drøbak some time ago? Small white houses, gardens with a lot of flowers, the sea . . .
Innimellom husene som til tider kan legge svært tett langs Svelvik-straumen, kan man finne små terrasser med friluftskafeer som alle har utsikt til straumen
In between the houses, which at times may be located very close to each other along the Svelvik strait, you may also find small outdoor cafes which all offer a view to the strait itself.
Da jeg var der, var det veldig tidlig i sesongen, og derfor ikke så mange gjester –
Men atmosfæren var der!
When I was there, it was very early into the season, thus not too many guests, but the atmosphere was there!
Bebyggelsen i Svelvik er typisk “sørlandsk” – i hovedsak hvit eller gul og i en stil som henspiller på “en bløde kyststripe –
The atmosphere in Svelvik is close to what we find further south in Norway:
Houses kept in white or yellow; abundance of flowers and intimate small gardens.
I mange små hager bugnet det av blomster, men i mange tilfeller dekket tette hekker for innsyn. Likevel fikk jeg en del bilder som kan gi et samlet inntrykk av byen. Ja,- for Svelvik er en by! Svelvik fikk sin bystatus i 1998 og idag bor det ca 6500 mennesker i Svelvik. De fleste jobber i Drammen eller Oslo, men det finnes nok også de som nyter sitt otium i “sørlandsbyen” Svelvik.
In the many small gardens there was an abundance of flowers, green plants and colorful bushes, but fences and hedges made it difficult to get the shots I was after and which would provide a best possible impression of this city. Yes, Svelvik is a ‘city’ and got it’s city status in 1998. Today approximately 6500 people live in Svelvik. Most of them work in Drammen or Oslo, but among them there are no doubt people that cherish their time as pensioned.
Tunge klaser av duftende syriner hang over hagegjerdene –
Heavy clusters of fragrant lilacs were hanging across the garden fences –
* * *
Nede langs vannet var det bygget en del nytt, – og fortsatt i ‘Sørlandsstil’. Ingen tvil om at man her kunne nyte ‘det gode liv’! Så hvorfor reise til Spania eller Italia når man kan ha det slik ‘hjemme’?
Down by the sea people had been building, modernizing, but still in the so called ‘style from Sørlandet’ (down south). evidently it would be possible to enjoy ‘the good life’ here, and why on Earth should one go to Spain or Italy in the summers when this was ‘home’?
I sørenden av parken, ut mot Svelvik-straumen, ligger et enormt anker fra seilskutetiden som et minne om byens maritime tilknytning –
Her finner vi også en statue av ‘førstereisgutten’
In the southern end of the park towards the ‘Svelvik strait’ lies an enormous anchor and
there is also a statue of the apprentice at sea. All to indicate the maritime history behind Svelvik aand its development.
Her ligger Svelvik kirke med 700 sitteplasser, ble i sin tid tegnet av arkitekt
W. Hanssten. Kirken sto ferdig i 1859 og erstattet da den gamle Nicolaikirken fra 1200-tallet.
Here lies Svelvik church with its 700 seats,which was once constructed by Arch. W.Hanssten
The church was finished in 1859 and replaced the old ‘Nicolia church from 1200.
Ved siden av kirken ligger et krigsmonument over falne fra den 2. verdenskrig –
Close by a memorial over fallen soldiers in the second world war. (1939-45 )
Her følger noen bilder fra kirkegården –
Ved siden av Svelvik kirke ligger kirkekontoret
Alongside Svelvik church lies the officce of the church
Og umiddelbart i nærheten av Kirken ligger også kontorene til den lokale avisen: ‘Svelvikposten’!
Very close by we also find the offices of the local paper: ‘Svelvikposten’
Langsomt beveger jeg meg nordover i byen –
Overalt er det duftende blomster.
Slowly I’m moving towards the northern parts of the city.
Everywhere there are fragrant flowers.
Beboerne pynter sine inngangspartier
People are decorating their entrances.
Foran oss ligger fergeleiet. He kan man ta bilen med på landets korteste fergestrekning – tvers over Svelvik-straumen. En strekning på knapt 200 meter, men ikke desto mindre en viktig fergestrekning. For her kommer aldri en bro! Den ville i så fall måtte ha en fri høyde på 60 meter og være minst 2 kilometer lang. Det er det neppe grunnlag for!
In front of us lies the ferry to ‘Verket’ and the community of Hurum. Here you might bring your car across the shortest lap in the country – across the ‘Svelvik strait’ – a distance of approximately 200 yards! Never the less, it’s an important ferry connection ’cause here it will never be a bridge! The reason being it would haved to have a free height of no less than 60 yards and be 1,5 mile long! And there are no traffic volume top pay for that!
For selv om dette kan se ut som et idyllisk sted, så er det ikke helt ufarlig!
Strømmen kan være svært sterk når høy- og lavvann skifter, og man bør helst ikke få motorstopp i dette farvannet.
For even if this may look like an idyllic place, it’s not without dangers! The current when the tide shifts from high to low tide, may be extremely strong. And you really don’t want an engine failure in this waters!
Nord i byen finner vi også “Lalla-parken”, en minnepark over hele Norges revy-skuespillerinne Lalla Carlsen. En nydelig liten park med en statue av Lalla Carlsen , springvann og blomster…
Lalla Carlsen ble riktignok født i Svelvik (1889 – 1967 ), men flyttet til Kristiania ( Oslo) bare 10 år gammel.
Here in the northern part of the city we find ‘Lalla-parken’, a memorial park over one of Norways biggest cabaret actresses through all times: Lalla Carlsen! A nice small park with a statue of Lalla Carlsen, a fountain and lots of flowers. . .
Lalla Carlsen was admittedly born here in Svelvik (1889) but moved to Oslo when she was only 10 years old.
Like bak denne parken finner vi også et av Svelviks shoppingsentra.Directly behind this little park we find one of Svelviks shopping centers.
Noen hadde bygget seg sin egen helt private frilufts-restaurant (og denne var langt fra den eneste)
Somebody had built themselves a private outdoor restaurant as close to the water as possible! (And it was far from the only one!)
Jeg avslutter denne lille turen i Svelvik med en liten kikk over enda et hagegjerde og håper dere har fått et godt inntrykk av Svelvik?
I conclude this little trip around Svelvik with another peek across yet another garden fence, hoping that you have gained an impression of what Svelvik may be like?
(Compliments of SRB )
And if you still wants to see more of Norway or Norwegian nature, kindly check my front page under ‘Geographic Zones, or feel free to jump onto one of the links below:
VEITASTROND – TROLLSTIGEN – ÅNDALSNES – VIKERSUND
or please return to INDEX
What an enjoyable tour! Quaint, clean and beautiful, and appears to be a charming place to live.
Yes, in a way! A small settlement located at the opening of the Drammensfjord approximately 20 miles south of the city of Drammen!
I’m very happy thatg you seem to have discovered the treasures hidden in my archives 🙂
and – if you are using the ‘index’, I think you’ll find great help in googeling ‘Norwegian Counties’, thus getting to know ‘the lay of the land’ so to speak . . .
Yes, I am using the Index and also going into your archives, starting with the oldest.
You’ll certainly have your work cut out for you! 🙂
In a matter of days I’ll be passing 7000 pictures published!
Thank you for these beautiful pictures. My grandfather grew up west of Drammen in a small place called Mjondalen, perhaps you are familiar with it.
Hi, Dimlamp –
This is exactly why this blog was initiated! And I was sort of hoping that some paper or magazine (in the US) related to americans with Norwegian heritage would take an interest?
Just think how many americans could enjoy seeing the places where they originally came from – if they only got wind of this blog and whwere to find it?!
Yes, I know Mjøndalen very well! And I do have pictures from it! So just to show my good will, I’ll be publishing a few of them sometime today. Stay tuned!
Those Norwegian coastal villages are amazingly beautiful. Thanks again for this nice and interesting report!
Yes they are. And I should say ‘thank you’, but I wasn’t the one that built them 🙂
Only secured the pictures and made it possible for all to see.
Takker så mye. Så får jeg vel se om det blir noe respons imorgen? (Var jo litt sen publisering)
flott reportasje om ett meget hyggelig sted!