Famous
people from
Svelvik
- Lalla Carlsen - Elias Krammer – Frode Hagen – Betsy Kjelsberg –
Christin Grillstad Prøis
By Tømmerås skole
Lalla Carlsen was born in Svelvik as the daughter of shipmaster
Carl Alfred Christensen and Laura Nilsson. The family moved to
Christiania when she was ten years old. She married composer,
pianist and kapellmeister Casten Carlsen in 1917, and adopted
the name Lalla Carlsen.
She studied at the music
conservatory in Oslo from 1909 to
1913, as a soprano singer. She made
her professional debut in the musical
comedy Høstmanøver in 1914. She
performed at the cabaret Chat Noir
from 1915 to 1947, and also
appeared at the revue stages Casino
and Carl Johan Teatret. Her husband
Carsten Carlsen was kapellmeister at
Chat Noir, and her regular
accompanist.
Lalla Carlsen became an honorary member of the Norwegian
Actors' Equity Association in 1958. She was honoured with a
statue at her birth place Svelvik in 1989.
By Mikaela Petrovic 5th grade.
Elias Kræmmer
Anthon Bernhard Elias Nilsen (1855–1936) was a Norwegian
businessman and politician for the Conservative Party. He also
wrote novels, under the pseudonym Elias Kræmmer.
He was born in Svelvik. A small town, Svelvik nonetheless played
an important role, being the nearest port of the larger town
Drammen when the Drammensfjord inlet was frozen over
during the winter. Nilsen later moved to Drammen, and in 1879
he established a company to export pulp and paper products as
well as lumber. The company, named Anth. B. Nilsen & Co from
1912, was taken over by his sons in the 1930s. It still exists
today, under the name Anthon B Nilsen AS. Mainly emphasizing
investment, it owns several Norwegian colleges.
By Lise, 5th grade
Frode Hagen
Frode Hagen is from Svelvik.
Frode Hagen is a Norwegian handball player.
He played 188 matches and scored 574 goals
for the Norway national handball team
between 1994 and 2008. He participated at
the 2001 and 2005 World Men's Handball
Championship.
By Lise, grade 5.
Betsy Kjelsberg
Betzy Alexandra Kjelsberg (November 1st 1866 – 1950), born Betzy
Aleksandra Børresen, was a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party,
being the first female board member of the party, Norway's first
female factory inspector from 1910–1936, and a member of the
feminist movement. Kjelsberg was born in Svelvik, Vestfold. Her father
was Norwegian, while her mother was from Scotland. After her father
died, the family moved to Drammen, where Betzy's mother married a
merchant from the town. However, he had to close his shop, forcing
them to move to Christiania (today Oslo).
While living there, she started her examen
artium as one of the first women in
Norway to do so, but she never actually
finished it due to the poor economy of her
stepfather. Instead, she fell in love with
Oluf Fredrik Kjelsberg, a jurist, with whom
she had six children. Kjelsberg is the
great-grandmother of Siv Jensen, the
leader of the Norwegian Progress Party.
Lise, 5 grade
Christin Grilstad Prøis
Christin Grilstad Prøis, (born 14th October 1965) is a Norwegian musician, actress and writer. She is settled
in Svelvik.
As a writer she is most famous for the books about Cornelia. She has also write a lot of childrensbooks and
plays.
Christin Grilstad Prøis is famous for her musical about the good witch, Heksagon. Summer 2011 she put on
a play called Svelvikspelet.
She has also been in "Den store reisen" on NRK and the series "Forbindelser" on the channel FEM where
she taped her everyday life.
The Svelvikspelet it is a musical about life in Svelvik during the 19th century. Life was hard, and most of the
people worked either by the currant - dragging boats through -, sailors, farmers or military.
http://www.dengodehensigt.no/