Lauer is a small island in the Hvaler

Hvaler

Hvaler is a municipality that is a group of islands in the southwestern part of Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skjærhalden, on the island of Kirkeøy. The only police station in the municipality is located in Skjærhalden...

 municipality in South-East Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. The Hvaler islands are located in the Oslofjord

Oslofjord

The Oslofjord is a bay in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the Torbjørnskjær and Færder lighthouses and down to Langesund in the south to Oslo in the north....

, not far from the border with Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

.

The name "Lauer" is derived from Old Norse "Laufey

Laufey

Laufey or Nál is a figure from Norse mythology, the mother of Loki. Eddic poetry refers to Loki by the matronym Loki Laufeyjarson rather than with a patronymic....

", "the leafy island". Laufey was a giantess.

The island was first settled in the 17th century. Today, there are around 30 homes on Lauer, used as vacation homes in the summer only. Up until the 1980s, the island was inhabited all year round. There is a cottage for hire on the island.

There is ferry

Ferry

A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

 service operated Hollungen

Hollungen

Hollungen AS is a company that operates passenger ferries in Hvaler, Norway. The ships MF Hvalerfergen II, MB Hollungen og MB Olava are used on the route Skjærhalden–Lauer–Herføl–Nedgården–Nordre Sandøy–Gr.sund–Makø–Skjærhalden...

 to Lauer from the mainland port of Skjærhalden

Skjærhalden

Skjærhalden is the administrative centre of Hvaler municipality, Norway. It is located on the island Kirkeøy. Its population is 642....

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