Grimstad Municipality

Grimstad (pronounced [ˈɡrɪ̀mstɑ] ) is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It belongs to the geographical region of Sørlandet. The administrative center of the municipality is the town of Grimstad. Some of the villages in Grimstad include Eide, Espenes, Fevik, Fjære, Håbbestad, Hesnes, Homborsund, Jortveit, Kroken, Nygrenda, Prestegårdskogen, Reddal, Roresand, Rønnes, Skiftenes, Tjore, Vik, and Østerhus. The municipality is centered around the little maritime town of Grimstad which is surrounded by many small islands (Skjærgård). There is a harbor, a main street, a small market square, Grimstad Church, and a museum dedicated to the early life of Henrik Ibsen, who served as an apprentice to Grimstad's local pharmacist Reimann, from 1844 to 1847, before leaving Grimstad in 1850. Ibsen's intimate knowledge of the local people and surroundings can be seen in his poem Terje Vigen. The majority of the inhabitants live in and around the town, while the rest of the municipality is rural and heavily forested. The 303.58-square-kilometre (117.21 sq mi) municipality is the 264th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Grimstad Municipality is the 49th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 25,569. The municipality's population density is 93.9 inhabitants per square kilometre (243/sq mi) and its population has increased by 13.4% over the previous 10-year period.