Sandefjord is a city rich on traditions within shipping and culture. The vikings have left traces here, international VIPs used to visit the city's bath and the whalers have had their grand era. 

Sandefjord became a market town in 1845, and was before that a lade city with much activity within shipbuilding and shipping. In 1845 the population of Sandefjord was 749.

The centre of the city was of a rural character, and consisted mainly of two streets with buildings under Oddefjell (Preståsen). There were 80 children of school age in the town, but there were only one teacher and one class room. There was no hospital, but two rooms and four beds were reserved at the town's poorhouse in case of cholera.

The years from 1845 to 1875 were prosperous for Sandefjord, as for the whole country. A lot of timber and other goods were shipped from here, and the number of shipowners increased.

The night of 16 March 1900 the city's central area burned down and the rebuilding was done with regulation of the streets and new street names. In 1968 the municipalities of Sandefjord and Sandar were joined together to become one municipality.
 

The viking age

Counting amongst the most important traces from the viking age are the king's grave site Gokstadhaugen in Sandefjord, and the trade area Kaupang/Skiringssal in Tjølling. Kaupang was one of the great trade areas in the North during the viking age, and the area in the cove was a significant fairway for the vikings' expeditions along the coast.

The fjord's water level was two metres higher than today, and when Olav Geirstadalv was buried in his ship at Gokstadhaugen around year 900, the water was much closer to the grave mound. Neither Vesterøya or Østerøya were connected to the mainland, and the fairway between the Tønsberg fjord and the Sandefjord fjord went through an inner fairway.

Gokstadhaugen burial mound was excavated in 1880. It was soon discovered that the content was extensive; a ship with cogged grave chamber, beds, tents, cooking vessels, harness, war equipment, twelve horses, six dogs and a peacock.

In the middle of the grave chamber were some human bones from a male and a skull, which for a long time was thought to be remains after king Olav Geristadalv, who belonged to the East Swedish royal lineage "ynglingene" ("the youths").

The finds from the Gokstad ship is exhibited in the Vikingship house at Bygdøy in Oslo. A true replica of the Gokstad ship, Gaia, can today be seen in Sandefjord.

The bath age

Sandefjord Sulphur- and Seabath was established by dr. Heinrich A. Thaulow in 1837, when Sandefjord was a small lade city. Even though it was a social event to take up residence at the bath for the summer, the bath was above all a medical institution with it's main task being treatment for rheumatism. The remedies of the bath consisted among other things of sulphur water, mud and sea nettle, and the bath guests took their glass of sulphur water at the sulphur well every morning.

Prominent people such as royalty, a prime minister and our foremost cultural personalities visited the bath. It is estimated that around 50 000 people visited the bath during the period of 1837 to 1939. The majority of visitors were Norwegians, but also Danes, Swedes, Germans, British, Americans and Russians stayed at the bath.

Sandefjord Sulphur- and Seabath The bath put Sandefjord on the map, and it's reputation made the district a popular holiday destination. The bath was open from 1 May to 1 September. Many of Sandefjord's inhabitants rented rooms to the bath guests, but apart from that, there was little contact between the locals and the guest. However, the bath's concerts and theatre tableaux were open to the inhabitants.

The last season of the bath was in 1939. Today the bath's building is restored and houses cultural events and various activities. 

The whaling age

From 1850 a number of ships from Sandefjord were whaling and sealing in the Arctic ocean and along the coast of Finnmark. In 1905 Chr. Christensen sent the first whaling expedition from Sandefjord to the Antarctic ocean.

From 1905 to 1914, 25 whaling companies were founded in Sandefjord. The city experienced a tremendously prosperous economical period. Towards the end of the 1920's Sandefjord had a fleet of 15 factory ships and more than 90 whalers. When the whale trade reached it's climax in the early 1950's, there was hectic activity at the harbour during the summer when the entire fleet was home.

The whalers on leave in Sandefjord for the summer made excellent customers for the local business community. In addition, engineering workshops and other production companies also experienced prosperous times. In 1954, more than 2 800 men from the district were hired as crew on the whalers.

From the mid 1950's whaling was gradually reduced. The occurrence of whales in the Antarctic had dwindled catastrophically, and protection interests increased constantly. A gradual readjustment to tankers indicates that the trade itself understood that the extraordinary era of whaling was coming to an end. The number of southbound expeditions were rapidly decreasing during the 1960's, and the 1967/68 season became the last for Sandefjord.

Today the memories from this important period of the city's history is being kept alive through the whaling museum and the restored whaler Southern Actor, which is docked at the museum quay.