Høyjord is a village in Sandefjord Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The village is located about 8 km to the northwest of the village of Andebu and about 10 km to the west of the village of Revetal. The 0.4 km2 village has a population (2022) of 381 and a population density of 941 PD/km2. The village is most notable for the Høyjord Stave Church which is located at the north end of the village. The medieval stave church in Høyjord is the only stave church in Vestfold county and it is one of three remaining center post churches (midtmastkirke) in Norway. The stave church is commonly dated to around the year 1300, however, parts of the church were constructed in the 1100s and in 1275. The village of Høyjord is also home to an elementary school, kindergarten, and various sports and youth organizations. The nearby lake Illestadvannet is used for recreation and swimming.

History

Høyjord was historically part of the former municipality of Andebu which existed until 1 January 2017 when it became part of Sandefjord Municipality. Leading up to the merger, some Høyjord residents wanted the village transferred to the neighbouring Re Municipality, but ultimately it became part of Sandefjord.

Name

The village (originally the parish) is named after the old Høyjord farm since the old Høyjord Stave Church was built there. The first element comes from the plural genitive case of the word which means "cairn" or "burial mound". The last element is which means "fenced field". Thus it means something like "a fenced-in land of several burial mounds." Høyjord, locally pronounced "Høyjol". The spelling of the name has changed over the centuries. It was previously written Haughagiaurdi (in 1374), Haughagiorde (1400), Haagiord and Haajord (1593), and later Høijord and Høyjord.