Re is a municipality

Municipalities of Norway

Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...

 in Vestfold

Vestfold

is a county in Norway, bordering Buskerud and Telemark. The county administration is in Tønsberg.Vestfold is located west of the Oslofjord, as the name indicates. It includes many smaller, but well-known towns in Norway, such as Larvik, Sandefjord, Tønsberg and Horten. The river Numedalslågen runs...

 county

Counties of Norway

Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 430 municipalities...

, 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 administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Revetal

Revetal

Revetal is the administrative centre of Re municipality, Norway. Together with the nearby housing estate Bergsåsen, it has a population of 1,902.Revetal is a regional centre of trade and service, as well as some industry....

. The municipality was established in 2002 by the unification of the former municipalities of Ramnes

Ramnes, Norway

Ramnes is a village in Re municipality, and former municipality, in Vestfold county, Norway. The village of Ramnes was the administrative centre of the municipality....

 and Våle

Våle

Våle is a village in Re municipality, and former municipality, in Vestfold county, Norway. Våle is a rural, agricultural area, with Kirkevoll/Brekkeåsen, Rånerudåsen, Svinevoll, Sørby and Gretteåsen as more dense housing areas. The administrative centre was Sørby.The parish of Vaale was...

. It includes the villages of Ramnes, Våle

Våle

Våle is a village in Re municipality, and former municipality, in Vestfold county, Norway. Våle is a rural, agricultural area, with Kirkevoll/Brekkeåsen, Rånerudåsen, Svinevoll, Sørby and Gretteåsen as more dense housing areas. The administrative centre was Sørby.The parish of Vaale was...

, Undrumsdal, Fon, Vivestad (and Revetal

Revetal

Revetal is the administrative centre of Re municipality, Norway. Together with the nearby housing estate Bergsåsen, it has a population of 1,902.Revetal is a regional centre of trade and service, as well as some industry....

). The river Aulielva runs through the district.

Name

The Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

 form of the name was Ré, and it is an old district name. The name is related to the German word Reihe which means "line" and it refers to the geological formation called Raet

Vestfoldraet

Vestfoldraet is a large, visible but mostly covered ground moraine formed during the last Ice Age, which stretches through most of Vestfold county in Norway in a south-west to north-east direction...

.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms

Coat of arms

A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

 is from modern times. They were granted in August 2001. It was designed by Arvid Steen. It shows a gold-colored five point design on a green shield. The five points represent the five parishes in the municipality. The design has a long history in the area. The green was chosen to represent nature

Nature

Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...

 and agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 and the gold was chosen because it goes well with green.

History

In this area a battle took place in 1177, which is the last one mentioned in Heimskringla

Heimskringla

Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson ca. 1230...

 by Snorri Sturluson

Snorri Sturluson

Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...

. Graves and other findings from the Viking Age

Viking Age

Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...

 and even earlier can be found throughout the district.

External links

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
  Statistics Norway
  Statistics Norway is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876.Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every year on its web site. All releases are published both in Norwegian and English...