Sætre is the administrative centre of the old Hurum municipality, located on the west side of the inner Oslofjord, about 45 km south of Oslo.
The village has a surprising industrial past. In 1865, Nitroglycerin Compagniet was established, and in 1876 a dynamite and nitroglycerin factory started production at Engene near Sætre. For nearly a century, explosives were manufactured here. By the late 1950s, most production moved to Gullaug in Lier, and by 1964 almost nothing remained. An explosives museum operated from 1983 but was closed in 2007 due to safety concerns, which is perhaps fitting for a museum about things that blow up.
The factory never fully left, though. Today Chemring Nobel still produces rocket fuel and explosive chemicals at Engene, and the site is at the centre of a heated local controversy. The company has plans to massively expand production, backed by Norway's defence ministry, which considers it critical for NATO ammunition supply. A new factory is proposed in Hurummarka, which would fence off 4.4 square kilometres of forest. Locals and environmental groups are fighting it. There have been chemical spills into the Oslofjord, including thousands of litres of acetic acid, and a permit to increase nitrogen emissions from 41 to 200 tons per year. A school, residential areas, and roads sit within the evacuation zone of the existing factory. In 2025, residents reported heavy black smoke rising from the site.
Beyond the explosives, Sætre is a small town with shops, a harbour, and access to the coastal paths along the Hurum peninsula.
The village has a surprising industrial past. In 1865, Nitroglycerin Compagniet was established, and in 1876 a dynamite and nitroglycerin factory started production at Engene near Sætre. For nearly a century, explosives were manufactured here. By the late 1950s, most production moved to Gullaug in Lier, and by 1964 almost nothing remained. An explosives museum operated from 1983 but was closed in 2007 due to safety concerns, which is perhaps fitting for a museum about things that blow up.
The factory never fully left, though. Today Chemring Nobel still produces rocket fuel and explosive chemicals at Engene, and the site is at the centre of a heated local controversy. The company has plans to massively expand production, backed by Norway's defence ministry, which considers it critical for NATO ammunition supply. A new factory is proposed in Hurummarka, which would fence off 4.4 square kilometres of forest. Locals and environmental groups are fighting it. There have been chemical spills into the Oslofjord, including thousands of litres of acetic acid, and a permit to increase nitrogen emissions from 41 to 200 tons per year. A school, residential areas, and roads sit within the evacuation zone of the existing factory. In 2025, residents reported heavy black smoke rising from the site.
Beyond the explosives, Sætre is a small town with shops, a harbour, and access to the coastal paths along the Hurum peninsula.