Risor

Risor is called the white town by the Skagerrak, and the description holds: the harbour is enclosed by a bowl of hillsides covered in white-painted timber houses, most of them built after a great fire in 1861 left only 85 houses and the church of 1647 standing; the town was rebuilt with wider streets, and white was chosen because it was an expensive paint that showed prosperity. Since 1982 the Risor wooden boat festival has been held each August, filling the harbour with traditional craft, several hundred boats, and drawing tens of thousands of visitors to a municipality of under seven thousand people. A chamber music festival runs in late June. Small ferries go out to the islands, including Stangholmen with its lighthouse and summer restaurant.

History

Risør was a small fishing village when Dutch ships began calling to buy timber around 1570; by 1607 two inns served Dutch sailors, it became a ladested in 1630 and gained town status in 1723, and by the end of the 18th century its merchants owned 96 sailing vessels, making it the sixth largest shipping town in Norway. In 1861 a great fire left only 85 houses and the church of 1647 standing, and the town was rebuilt with wider streets (Wikipedia, Risør Municipality).

What you'll find

• The white bowl - hillsides of timber houses enclosing the harbour.
• The wooden boat festival - hundreds of traditional craft each August.
• Stangholmen - an island lighthouse with a summer restaurant.
• The harbour quays - a working and guest harbour at the town centre.

When to go

June to August; the wooden boat festival in early August is the peak, when the town is at its fullest and accommodation must be booked far ahead. Late June brings the chamber music festival.

Before you go

Festival weeks overwhelm the town's capacity and prices rise sharply. Outside summer Risor is very quiet with limited services. The town is small and can be walked in an hour or two.

Nearby

Jomfruland and Kragero lie northeast; Arendal and Raet National Park are southwest.

Key facts