Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The pleasant little town of Stavern, just south of Larvik, is set around a stunning fold of
coastline; the ocean is full of granite outcrops, creating a maze of icy waterways. The vil-
lage of Stavern itself is almost as pretty as the natural beauty surrounding it. Its pedestrian
streets are lined with cafes, small private galleries and creamy white houses. Highlights in-
cludethemid-18th-centuryfort
Fredriksvern Verft
,whichissurroundedbyblockhouses
that once formed part of the fortress defences. Also worth visiting is the colourful 1756
church (Kommandør Herbsgata 1; admission free;
11am-1pm Tue-Fri)
, Norway's
first naval house of worship.
Stavern is the start of the popular and attractive 33km-long Kyststien
coastal walk
to
Ødegården on the western coast of Brunelanes. The Stavern
tourist office (
33 19 73
00; Kongens gate 2;
10am-4pm Wed-Sat, 1-4pm Sun mid-Jun-early Aug)
provides
route maps.
In operation since 1844, the
Hotel Wassilioff ( 33 11 36 00;
www.wassilioff.no
;
Havnegata 1; s Nkr1150, d Nkr1300-1400; )
haslearntathingortwoaboutkeeping
guests happy and, thanks to touches such as old sepia photos of Norwegian royalty and
retrodiningchairs,ithascharacterinabundance.Roomsarealittlelessexcitingthancom-
mon areas and you pay an extra Nkr200 for sea views. Its location next to the parkland
surrounding the fortress and a pocket-sized beach is spot on.
To get to and from Larvik (Nkr30, 15 minutes, hourly), use bus 1.
MØLEN
The Mølen Promontory is something of a geological oddity. It forms the end of the ice-age
Ra moraine
(rock and silt pushed ahead of the glacier and deposited as a new landform),
which extends from the lake Farrisvatn (which the moraine dammed) to the southwestern
end of Brunelanes. The 230 stone cairns and heaps of boulders, which are laid out in paral-
lel rows, are Iron Age burial mounds.
Damvann
Some 20km north of Larvik is the beautiful, haunting lake of Damvann, surrounded by
forests. Popular legend claims it to be the home of a witch called Huldra, a woman of such
exquisite beauty that it is said that any man who looked upon her was doomed. Access is
difficult without a car; the nearest bus stop is at Kvelde (6km from the lake) on Numend-
alslågen Rd.
