Helle, Telemark
Helle
Vadfoss/Helle | |
|---|---|
Village | |
 View of the village church | |
  Helle Location of the village  Helle Helle (Norway) | |
| Coordinates: 58°54′13″N 9°23′26″E / 58.9035°N 9.39052°E | |
| Country | Norway |
| Region | Eastern Norway |
| County | Telemark |
| District | Vestmar |
| Municipality | Kragerø Municipality |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1.23 km2 (0.47 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 12 m (39 ft) |
| Population (2022)[1] | |
| • Total | 1,516 |
| • Density | 1,228/km2 (3,180/sq mi) |
| Data for "Vadfoss/Helle" | |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Post Code | 3790 Helle |
Helle is a village in Kragerø Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The village is located on the north shores of Hellefjorden about 7 km (4.3 mi) northeast of the town of Kragerø. The village of Vadfoss is located immediately west of Helle. The village of Helle includes the neighborhoods of Nordbø, Sollia, Måneliheia, and Skarbo. There are several small lakes in the hills above Helle, including Upper and Lower Strandtjenn, Langtjenn, Bastautjenn, Årømyrtjenna, and Svarttjenn.
The villages of Vadfoss and Helle have grown together in conurbation, so Statistics Norway groups them together as one large urban village called Vadfoss/Helle. The 1.23-square-kilometre (300-acre) village area of Vadfoss/Helle has a population (2022) of 1,516 and a population density of 1,228 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,180/sq mi).[1]
The village is connected to the rest of Norway via road by Norwegian county roads 363 and 210, and via bus by Nettbuss Sør Route 459[3] and Drangedal Bilruter Route 609.[4] The nearest highway is the European route E18, which passes through Kil, about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) to the west.
History
[edit]Helle started out as an industrial community when the Helle Bruk sawmill was built in 1580.[5] The sawmill was in continuous operation until 1930 when it was shut down. The village was also known for its ice harvesting industry, and at one point it had three different companies exporting ice from the area. There was also a chains factory in the Skarbo neighborhood with about 45 employees that was founded in 1909. It was in continuous operation up until 2005 when the company moved operations to an industrial park on the border of Kragerø and Drangedal just north of the E18 highway.[6]
Today, Helle is largely a residential community, with the exception of a few businesses on Helleveien. In the Sollia neighborhood, there is a small wooden church, Helle Church, which was built in 1994. The church includes a kindergarten, a kitchen, multiple meeting rooms, and a chapel with 200 seats.[7] There was formerly a small post office in the village center, but it closed around the turn of the millennium. In 2008, a large new elementary school, Helleskolen, was built in the Nordbø neighborhood to replace Årø School and Skarbo School. It houses about 200 students and includes sports facilities such as an artificial turf field.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Statistisk sentralbyrå (1 January 2022). "Urban settlements. Population and area, by municipality".
- ^ "Helle, Kragerø". yr.no. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ^ "Route Booklet Grenland & Kragerø 01.01.13" (in Norwegian). Nettbuss. 1 January 2013 [2012]. Retrieved 16 January 2013. [permanent dead link]
- ^ "609 Kragerø-Helle-Tangen" (in Norwegian). Drangedal Bilruter. 9 December 2012. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
- ^ "Kalstad and Helle" (in Norwegian). Visit Kragerø. Archived from the original on 13 May 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
- ^ "Welcome to Kjættingfabriken AS" (in Norwegian). FRAM Kjættingfabriken AS. Archived from the original on 24 May 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
- ^ "The population of Helle have built a church" (in Norwegian). The Kragerø Churches. Archived from the original on 16 January 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
- ^ Eckholdt, Per (25 May 2008). "Construction begins on Helleskolen" (in Norwegian). Kragerø Blad Vestmar. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
