Commander Captain Søren Adolph Bille forgot his whip on the ferry. This resulted in the commission spending a little longer here than planned.

It was when they really got to know the place – the proximity to the fjord, seeing the natural harbor and understanding the proximity to the capital – that it became clear: Everything was in place. This was where Norway's new naval base would be.

Three years later, by royal decree in 1818, Horten was elected.

In the decades that followed, fields and forests were replaced by shipyards, docks, workshops, boathouses, magazines, fortifications, homes and a church. Frigates, schooners and paddle steamers were built and equipped. From the mid-19th century, approximately 3-4,000 people lived and worked at the naval base and shipyard. This provided fertile ground for the emergence of merchants, businesses, police and schools outside the naval base at Karljohansvern. In 1907, Horten was granted city status and we have just kept going since.

* This is a simplified version, if you want the whole story, visit the Naval Museum at Karljohansvern.