- The first house we know of in the center of Risør was right over there, at the bend in the street almost opposite the reception of Det Lille Hotel, says Thomas Juell.

He usually offers free guided tours in Risør Kirke, but today he has agreed to present something even more extensive - and imaginative:

On the occasion of Risør's 300th anniversary in 2023, today's theme is the entire history of the city.

Dutchman's Shear

When the tiny log cabin in the bend gets the honor of being included in Juell's representation, it is because it forms the foreground of a painting by Allaert van Everdingen from 1644.

Whether the house really was the city's first is, however, far from certain. The white town by the Skagerrak became a loading dock 14 years before the artist's visit, in 1630. By then the Dutch had already used the bay here as a shipping port for timber for around 200 years.

The harbor was so important that the Italian cartographer Giacomo Gastaldi drew Risør on the map of Europe in 1556 - as the only southern town. And in 1660, Risør was Agder's largest settlement.

The most remarkable thing about the painting is the nature anyway. In van Everdingen's motif, the archipelago goes all the way past the cafe where we are now sitting. And the "secret" outdoor area Hollenderhagen, one entrance door beyond us, is located on a reef.

- Large parts of today's city center were then sea. The houses here are built on rafts and stilts, says Thomas as we trudge up the alley that forms the continuation of Havnegata, Trekta.

The old church pier has been found under the asphalt in Kirkegata. And during the Vinmonopolet, he himself has seen old moorings in the cellar.

Being a city literally in the middle of the water was not completely problem-free.

- The canal here was full of sewage, and it smelled! So when King Oscar II visited Risør in 1891, the town bought 200 liters of lemon perfume which they poured into the water to drown out the stench, smiles Thomas.

The miracle of the Church

In the notes, which he now carries in a yellow Prix bag, Risør's history is systematically listed in chronological order. In practice, the chronicle becomes far more messy - and entertaining.

The fact that the town exists at all is a sign of defiance: In 1686, the Danish-Norwegian King Frederik IV imposed a double tax on Risør's citizens for refusing forced relocation to Kristiansand, and forbade the construction of new houses. In 1723, the Danish king had to crawl to the cross. He gave Risør city status - and permission to build again.

Geographically, the white-painted wooden city's past is also full of peculiar antics. Like the church.

- It was actually supposed to be on "Hukken" next to the cemetery, approximately where the old town hall is located, he begins and continues:

- They laid down the cornerstones to mark the church's position. But when they were about to start building, they couldn't find the stones! They searched throughout the city, and finally found them where the church is today, over 400 meters away.

- No one admitted to having moved them. Since rice trout were both God-fearing and righteous, it had to be God who was behind it. And now we know it's true. Since the church was completed in 1647, the town has burned three times at Hukken. But the church stands, states Thomas Juell with a twinkle in his eye.

The Spot and the Ghost Ship

Risør church is in many ways the child of his heart. Not only is he a guide there. The church's altarpiece is a gift from his eight times great-great-grandparents: Dorthe Engvoldsdatter and the man Norwegian Biographical Lexicon calls "Risør's father", Isak Lauritssøn Falck.

The painting was originally going to Riga, but ended up in Risør when the schooner carrying it was found adrift without a living person on board in 1667. Dorthe bought both the schooner and the cargo at auction, completely unaware that there was a painting in the cargo.

- Since it was too big to keep at home in the living room, she and her husband gave it to the church, he says.

According to Thomas, the altarpiece is "world famous in Risør". But it is not the city's most famous painting. That honor goes to Risørflekken, a crag east of Urheia that has been whitewashed ever since 1641. This makes the rock one of Southern Norway's oldest sailing marks, visible 12 nautical miles from land.

The sailing ship town and the town fire

For many sailors, Risørflekken showed the way home. The safe harbor made the city a maritime greatness - around 1800 it was Norway's fourth largest export port, and at most 52 ship and boatyards were located here.

A summer night in 1861 gave an abrupt - and hot - start to the decline. And it all started at Øvregate 25.

- Here the city fire started, where 70 percent of the city's houses burned down. And what follows now is gossip, Thomas Juell begins.

Then follows the story of the printer who lived in the house, and what any true crime fan will think was insurance fraud. Not only had the printer checked whether the insurance was in order a couple of weeks before the fire. He also came out of the burning house wearing his best Sunday clothes, with the printing plates in his hands - even though it was the middle of the night.

- In addition, he explained that the fire broke out because the tiled stove overturned. But he really fired the oven at four o'clock in the morning, in June. And could his stove really topple over on its own? says Thomas, adding that nothing could be proven.

The printer was acquitted, but for Risør the town fire had major consequences.

Shipping had good times when the city burned, and was rebuilt quickly. With wide, straight streets in the center and stately Empire-style houses along Solsiden - painted white, as it was the most expensive paint and thus signaled prosperity.

- The problem was that the transition from sail to steamship came soon after. And then none of the Risør shipowners had the capital to keep up, says Thomas Juell.

A very alive 300-year-old

If the shipping companies became fewer, the seamen's town lived on. In Risør, the men went to sea. Anyone who has joined the city's guards on a walk will hear that as they zigzag through the labyrinths in the working-class district of Kamphaug.

In today's eyes, it is perhaps an advantage that sailors did not provide the same prosperity as shipowners: the recession meant that the city could not afford to replace the white wooden houses with "modern" brick colossuses.

And today it is precisely the wooden town that is regarded as the heirloom silver from the city's golden age of sailing ships. Together with the wooden boat environment on Moen, the lovely church, the viewpoints Branntårnet, Risørflekken and Urheia, Kastellet and the many galleries, it makes the city a gem to visit - and live in.

- We are going to celebrate the 300th anniversary every single day, all year, states Thomas Juell.