Stathelle () is a town in Bamble Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The town is located at the confluence of the Frierfjorden, Eidangerfjord, and Langesundsfjorden. The town of Brevik lies about across the fjord and the town of Langesund lies about to the southeast. Stathelle Church is located in the town.
For a long time, Stathelle and the neighboring town of Langesund have been grouped together as part of the Porsgrunn/Skien metropolitan area and because of this, the population and area data for this town has not been separately tracked by Statistics Norway. What is tracked, is the portion of the metropolitan area located in Bamble Municipality. In 2025, the Langesund/Stathelle area in Bamble Municipality measured and together they had a population of .
Government
In Norway, municipalities are the unit of local government. This means that cities and towns are simply designations for urban areas, but under current Norwegian law, they have no actual government authority. The town of Stathelle lies within Bamble Municipality and is therefore governed by the municipal council of Bamble Municipality.
History Stathelle is an old trading town and it was granted limited ladested rights (port town status) on 22 February 1774. In the middle of the 1800s, Stathelle was an enterprising seaport, characterized by the trading house established by Albert Blehr on Kjellestad, which was one of the nation's largest timber exporters. (Today there is a marina and a park in the same area.)The family of Albert Blehr who died in 1800, was documented by the Norwegian genealogist, C. S. Schilbred, first chairman and founding member of the Norwegian Heraldry Society in Bygdebok for Bamble (published by Bamble kommune, 1968)
Brevik bridge was constructed during 1962. Previously travelers along the southern highway between Oslo and Stavanger had to take the ferry between the towns of Brevik and Stathelle.
Hansen & Arntzen Co AS is a traditional shipyard in Stathelle that specializes in the restoration of vessels. Hansen & Arntzen AS Ekstrand Co. was established in 1929 as a family business. The company is known for its significant repair and restoration projects. Many famous ships have been restored there, including the Norwegian Royal Yacht HNoMY Norge.
Name The town is named Stathelle. The first element comes from the word which means "place" or "town". The last element is which means "flagstone" or "slab of rock".
Administrative history The formannskapsdistrikt law of 1837 created a system of local government in Norway by establishing each town or city (ladested or kjøpstad) and each Church of Norway prestegjeld as a civil municipality. On 1 January 1838, the ladested of Stathelle was designated as part of Bamble Municipality since Stathelle did not have full ladested rights. On 21 December 1851, Stathelle was granted full rights as a ladested, which removed it from Bamble Municipality and created it as a municipality of its own.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Stathelle Municipality was dissolved and the following areas were merged to form an enlarged Bamble Municipality: all of Stathelle Municipality (population: ) all of Langesund Municipality (population: ) all of Bamble Municipality (population: )
Municipal self-government (1851-1964) While it existed, Stathelle Municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Bamble District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.
Mayors The mayor () of Stathelle Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1851–1859: Albert Blehr 1860–1862: Jacob Knudsen 1863–1863: Thomas Møller Blehr 1864–1866: John Petter Johnsen 1867–1869: Iver Abrahamsen 1870–1870: Peder Pedersen 1871–1871: John Petter Johnsen 1872–1872: Iver Abrahamsen 1873–1874: Nicolay Nilsen 1875–1876: J.A. Larsen 1877–1879: Nicolay Nilsen 1880–1880: A.C. Andersen 1881–1881: Nicolay Nilsen 1882–1883: A.C. Andersen 1884–1886: Søren O. Høen 1887–1887: Hans Andreas Grønli 1888–1888: Søren O. Høen 1889–1889: Hans Andreas Grønli 1890–1893: Fredrik Paus 1894–1896: Rasmus Rasmussen 1897–1897: Fredrik Paus 1898–1898: Rasmus Rasmussen 1899–1899: Fredrik Paus 1900–1900: Oluf M. Berg 1901–1903: Fredrik Paus 1904–1904: Nicolai P. Berg 1905–1905: Fredrik Paus 1906–1907: Torjus Christoffersen 1908–1909: Lars Olsen Vegheim 1910–1914: Torjus Christoffersen 1915–1915: Fredrik Paus 1916–1916: Torjus Christoffersen 1917–1917: Julius F. Nilsen 1918–1919: Johan Kristensen 1920–1921: Hans Østvedt 1922–1922: Johan Kristensen 1923–1923: Zakarias Evensen 1924–1924: Jonas Fjeld 1925–1925: Nils Larsen 1926–1928: Johannes Mykelbust (V) 1929–1929: Samuel Olsen 1930–1940: Johannes Mykelbust (V) 1941–1941: Axel Faarlund (NS) 1942–1943: Ludvig Kraft-Lund (NS) 1943–1944: Jens Oliver Bjørnsen (NS) 1945–1945: Johannes Mykelbust (V) 1945–1946: Aage Tangvold (Ap) 1946–1947: Paul Solgård (Ap) 1947–1948: Eilert Eilertsen (Ap) 1949–1957: Johannes Myklebust (V) 1958–1961: Aksel Martini (Ap) 1962–1963: Arnodd Aronsen (V)
Municipal council The municipal council of Stathelle was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.
Media gallery
Notable people Knud Karl Krogh-Tonning (1842–1911), a Norwegian theologian who was born in Stathelle Turid Thomassen (born 1965), a politician Ella Gjømle Berg (born 1979), a cross country skier
See also Stathel and staddle stones List of towns and cities in Norway List of former municipalities of Norway
References
External links Hansen & Arntzen Co AS website