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 the counties of Buskerud and Vestfold, which face the west side of the Oslofjord and the north side of the Skagerrak on Norway's south coast. In 2020 the counties of Vestfold and Telemark were merged to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. At the same time Buskerud was merged with the counties of Akershus and Østfold to form the new county of Viken. These mergers were very unpopular and the original counties were restored effective 1 January 2024. Also in 2020 the municipality of Svelvik, formerly in Vestfold, seceded and merged with Drammen in Buskerud. In Norwegian a lighthouse is a fyrtårn (fire tower) or simply a fyr; a fyrlykt is a beacon and a lyktehus is a lantern. Øy is an island, holmen is an islet, skjær is a skerry (a tiny island or rocky reef), sund is a strait (often between an island and the mainland), bukt is a bay, nes is a headland, and havn is a harbor. Aids to navigation in Norway are maintained by the Kystverket (Coast Directorate), an agency of the Ministry of Transport and Communications. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. NF numbers are from the Norsk Fyrliste. Admiralty numbers are from volume B of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 115, but in 2018 NGA dropped many listings of lights on the Norwegian fjords.
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Buskerud Lighthouses
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Vestfold Lighthouses
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![]() Kjørtingen Nordvestre (Northwest) Light, Larvik photo copyright Capt. Peter Mosselberger; used by permission |
Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: Northeast: Oslo Area | East: Østfold (Fredrikstad Area) | West: Telemark (Skien Area)
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Posted April 10, 2006. Checked and revised May 6, 2024. Lighthouses: 47. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.