Historically, Bamble has been a strategic location for both land and sea traffic. The municipality is rich in historical monuments dating right back to the first Stone Age settlements.
When the ice retreated and the land rebounded, large areas of highly fertile land became accessible. Burial mounds and other finds suggest that the area was a rich one, with some powerful residents. The origin of the name Bamble is unclear: it may be related to the New Norwegian bemble, meaning ‘large stomach’, and may have been the name of a hill.
Langesund was a customs office from 1570 to 1962 and a ladested or small seaport – one with limited importing and exporting rights – from 1680, and is an old timber harbour with long traditions of shipbuilding. Stathelle was a ladested from 1774, also with trading and seafaring traditions.
Bamble’s first power station was opened at Kongens Dam at Herre in 1907. Herre’s traditions as an industrial site continued with Bamble Cellulose Factory early in the 20th century, then at the end of the 1970s, it entered the oil age with the petrochemical plants at Rafnes and Rønningen.
The European Road system was introduced in Norway in 1965, with the main road through Bamble being designated ‘European Road 18’ or, as now, just ‘E18’. It’s a straightforward drive for today’s travellers, taking approx. 15 minutes by car from crossing the Frierfjord until you pass through the municipal boundary into Kragerø.
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