Hof, Vestfold


Hof is a former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It merged into Holmestrand on Jan. 1, 2018. The administrative centre of the former municipality was the village of Hof. The municipality of Hof was established on 1 January 1838. Hof had 3,031 inhabitants as of 1 January 2002.

General information

Name

The municipality was named after the old Hof farm, since the first church was built here. The name is identical with the word hof which means "pagan temple ".

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 17 July 1992. The arms show three gold-colored water lily leaves on a red background. This was chosen to represent the many small lakes in the municipality. There are three to represent the three church parishes in the municipality. It was designed by Geir Helgen from Buskerud.
AncestryNumber
77
57
28
13
12

Geography

The former municipality of Hof covered, of which was land, was farmland and was forests. It consists of the three parishes of Hof, Eidsfoss, and Sundbyfoss. The highest point in Vestfold, Skibergfjell, is located in the northern part of Hof municipality, close to Eidsfoss. Skibergfjell is 632 metres.

Economy

Hof is a typical agricultural and forestry community and its largest industry is a lumber mill. Hof lies in the climate zone best suited for agriculture in Norway. Therefore, wheat is one of the most important agricultural products of the municipality. However, between 1998 and 2008, 40% of the municipality's farms have become inactive, and the agriculture employment rate has dropped to 5,3%. Within the next 10 to 20 years an increased utilization of the municipality's forests is expected.
Hof is known for its great hunting and fishing resources. of forest are open for hunting. The hunting is commercialized. About 75 landowners are united in a land owner union, and hunters must purchase permits from them.
Annual rates of felled game :