The Kingdom of Norway (Norge in Norwegian) is one of the world's most maritime nations. The country is long and narrow, with drowned valleys called fjords that bring the sea far inland in most regions. The mainland coast is estimated to be 2650 km (1650 mi) long and when all the islands and minor indentations are counted the total coastline approaches an astonishing 60,000 km (37,500 mi), long enough the go around the world one and a half times. With such a lengthy and rocky shore it's not surprising that Norway has a large number of lighthouses. Norway is divided into 15 counties (fylker) and the counties are divided into townships (kommuner). This page lists lighthouses of Østfold county in the southeastern corner of the country, adjoining Sweden. The coastline of Østfold faces south on the head of the Skaggerak strait and west on the lower Oslofjord. In 2020 Østfold was merged with Akershus and Buskerud counties to form a new county called Viken. This merger was not popular and the merger was reversed as of 1 January 2024. Although it has always been considered a separate realm Norway has only been independent since 1905; it was ruled by the Danish king for four centuries until 1814 and then by the Swedish king until a peaceful separation of the two kingdoms was arranged in 1905. In Norwegian a lighthouse is a fyrtårn (fire tower) or simply a fyr; a fyrlykt is a beacon and a lyktehus is a lantern. The Norwegian word fjord for a narrow, deep inlet of the sea has been adopted into English. Øy is an island, holmen is an islet, skjær is a skerry (a tiny island or rocky reef), stim is a shoal, sund is a strait (often between an island and the mainland), bukt is a bay, nes is a headland, elv is a river, and havn is a harbor. Aids to navigation in Norway are maintained by the Kystverket (Coastal Administration), an agency of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. NF numbers are from the Norsk Fyrliste, the official Norwegian light list. Admiralty numbers are from volume B of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 115.
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Halden and Sarpsborg Lighthouses
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Hvaler Lighthouses
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Fredrikstad Lighthouses
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Moss Area Lighthouses
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: East: Sweden: Tanum Area | North: Oslo Area | West: West Oslofjord
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Posted April 10, 2006. Checked and revised May 13, 2025. Lighthouses: 36. Site copyright 2025 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.