Photo: Wolfmann·CC BY-SA 4.0· Wikimedia Commons
Islands / Færder / Hvasser
The fourth largest island in the municipality, at the outer edge of the Vestfold archipelago about 25 km south of Tønsberg. A busy summer place, with the village of Hvasser and a centre at Sandøsund (Krukehavn) with a shop, cafés and restaurants. Several good swimming beaches: Lilleskagen in the north, Sydstranda, Sønstegård and Jørestrand.
Hvasser lies at the outer edge of the Vestfold archipelago, around 25 km south of Tønsberg and furthest out towards open sea. Coming in from the west you see the built-up area and the small-boat harbour at Sandøsund, known as Krukehavn, wedged into the sound facing the neighbouring island of Sandø. To the north runs the long sandy beach at Lilleskagen. The name comes from hvass, meaning sharp, after the pointed rock knolls on the island.
road and bridge from Tjøme via Brøtsø.
The island is connected by road, so you need neither a boat nor a timetable.
The island was earlier called Vasserland, or Vasser. Sitting where it does, out towards the sea, Hvasser became a community of pilots and seafarers. The pilot station for the outer Oslofjord is here, and Hvasser pilots took ships in and out of the fjord for generations. The pilot Severin Evensen from Hvasser brought King Haakon VII in to Kristiania (now Oslo) in 1905, when the new king arrived in an independent Norway.
Hvasser church was completed in 1903, with a tower added in 1908. In 1910 the island had 486 inhabitants living in 118 houses, a tight coastal community that lived off fishing, pilotage and the sailor's trade.
In 1913 the pilot boat *Gaa Paa* was wrecked off Hvasser. A sculpture on the island commemorates those who died.
Hvasser is a busy summer place. The centre is at Sandøsund/Krukehavn, with a shop, cafés, a gallery, restaurants and an outlet selling fish products. Around 480 people live here year-round, almost all of them in Hvasser village, but the population multiplies in summer with cabin owners and visitors. The pilot station is still in operation, and a coastal museum tells the local maritime history. There are several swimming beaches: Lilleskagen in the north, Sydstranda, Sønstegård and Jørestrand.
Hvasser is reached by car over the bridge from Tjøme via Brøtsø, with no ferry needed, and there is a guest harbour and quay space at Sandøsund for anyone arriving by sea. Private boats can moor in Krukehavn or anchor in the bays. Some of the outer islets and skerries around Hvasser are seabird reserves with an access ban from 15 April to 15 July; keep clear of the marked reserve islets in that period. The island itself has open public access.
The pilot Severin Evensen from Hvasser took King Haakon VII in to Kristiania in 1905. When the new royal house arrived in a free Norway, it was a Hvasser pilot at the helm for the last stretch.
The wreck of the pilot boat *Gaa Paa* in 1913 cost lives just off the island. Pilotage was dangerous work in all weathers. The sculpture *Brottet* in Sandøsund, unveiled in 2005, stands in memory of those lost.
Hvasser church got its tower five years after the church itself was finished, in 1908. Rural communities often built in stages, as the money came in.
Oslo Sea Experience passes Hvasser on its private fjord trips from Tjuvholmen.
The Norwegian version notes which facts were taken from each source: Hvasser på norsk.