Frierfjord

Frier Frierfjord
View of the mouth of Frierfjord (center) with the fjord running to Herøya at upper right. Stathelle is center left and Brevik center right
Frier Location of the fjord Show map of Telemark Frier Frier (Norway) Show map of Norway
Location	Telemark county, Norway
Coordinates	59°05′58″N 9°37′06″E / 59.09931°N 9.61838°E / 59.09931; 9.61838
Type	Fjord
Primary inflows	Porsgrunn River
Primary outflows	Langesundsfjord
Catchment area	Skiensvassdraget
Basin countries	Norway
Max. length	14 kilometres (8.7 mi)
Max. width	3 kilometres (1.9 mi)
Average depth	93 metres (305 ft)
Settlements	Porsgrunn, Stathelle, Brevik, Herre

Frier or Frierfjord is a fjord in Telemark county, Norway. The 14-kilometre (8.7 mi) long fjord is located along the Skaggerak coast in the traditional district of Grenland and it forms the border with the municipalities of Bamble, Skien, and Porsgrunn. The fjord is actually an inner arm of the Langesundsfjord, and historically (well into the 1700s) this fjord was also known as the Langesundsfjord. The fjord stretches from the opening to Langesundsfjord in the south to the mouth of the Porsgrunn River in the north. The much smaller fjord of Gunneklevfjord opens into the Porsgrunn/Skien River and is separated from Frierfjorden by the peninsula of Herøya.^[1]

The Frierfjorden narrows to a width of about 300 metres (980 ft) at Breviksstrømmen, the mouth of the fjord, where the town of Brevik sits on the northern side and the town of Stathelle lies on the southern side. The Brevik Bridge crosses Breviksstrømmen between the two towns. A little further into the fjord the newer Grenland Bridge crosses the fjord, carrying the European route E18 highway across Norway's highest cable stayed bridge.

The fjord has a great deal of commercial ship traffic, including to Rafnes and Herre in Bamble, to Norsk Hydro in Porsgrunn, and formerly to Norske Skog Union in Skien.