Prior to the municipal merger in 1964, Hvittingfoss was in Ytre
Sandsv�r. Hvittingfoss borders Lardal and Hof. Hvittingfoss is located
about 30 kilometers from Kongsberg. The river Numedalsl�gen runs through
the village. The village population (2005) is 1,016.
Industrial
development was driven by the falls of Hvittingfoss as far back as the
1600s. In 1651, there were reportedly five sawmills in the northern
waterfall, called Nord-fossen. The royal privileges of Vittingfossen was
given to the counts in Jarlsberg and Larvik. Industrialist Christian
August Anker (1840-1912) developed H�nefoss Tr�sliberi which started its
production of wood pulp in 1881.
The pulp and paper group Edward
Lloyd Limited, owner of Lloyd's Illustrated London Newspaper and the
Daily Chronicle in London, operated huge paper mills inKemsley, England.
The firm bought H�nefoss Tr�sliberi in 1902 in order to obtain a ready
supply of wood pulp. In 1906, the Lloyd company built a paper mill on
Hvittingfoss with a capacity of approx. 2000 ton press of thin paper for
the Asian market. In 1916, the Lloyd firm sold all plants and
waterfalls rights to a consortium led by a Captain Hjalmar Johansen. The
Lloyd interests reserved the right to lease and operate the plants for
14 years. In 1932 the Lloyd company completed its business on
Hvittingfoss after 30 years of operation
