Bamble


Bamble is a municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Langesund.

General information

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was Bamblar. The name could be related to the word bembel m 'belly'. The name was written "Bamle" in the period 1889–1917.
See also the name Bømlo.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 12 December 1986. The arms show a gold-colored ship's wheel on a blue background. The arms are nearly identical to the former arms of Stathelle, which along with Langesund was merged with the municipality of Bamble on 1 January 1964. Sailing and fishing have always been of great importance for the area, and a ship's wheel was thus an appropriate symbol.

History

The municipality of Bamble was established on 1 January 1838. The lading place of Stathelle was separated from the municipality of Bamble in 1851. On 1 January 1964, the municipality of Bamble was merged with the neighboring municipalities of Stathelle and Langesund. The new municipality was named Bamble, the administrative centre was Langesund, and the coat-of-arms of Stathelle were used for the new municipality.
Bamble, lying at the southern tip of the Kongsberg-Bamble geological formation, also has a unique geology that has been extensively researched by geologists such as W. C. Brøgger. It exhibits a high grade gneiss terrane characterized by metasomatism. As such there have been many mines operating in the area, most notably the Ødegården Verk apatite mines and the nickel mines in Nystein.
Bamble Church is located at E18 south of Grenland Bridge. It is a wooden cruciform church which was built in 1845. The church is located next to the ruins of Olav Church which dated to around 1145.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Bamble: