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Biography
Isak Lauritssøn Falck (1601 – 9 March 1669) was a Norwegian land owner and timber merchant. He is associated with the development of the seaport ofRisør in Aust-Agder, Norway.
He was born in Sandeherred (now Sandefjord) in Vestfold, Norway. He was the son of merchant Laurits Kristoffersen, a lumber merchant in Tønsberg. He settled in Risørduring the 1620s. He acquired several farms with significant forests, started saw mills, and established a shipyard on the island of Badskjærholmen (now Holmen). In the 1650s, he bought the farm Randvik at Søndeled in Aust-Agder, which included the harbour of Risør and surrounding areas.
In 1630, Risør became a privileged port (ladested) where citizens had the right to engage in trade and commodity importing, especially with lumber. Traders and merchants from the Netherlandswere the principal recipients of the timber export. Risør operated as a port under the jurisdiction of Skienfrom 1630 andunder Kristiansand from 1641. In 1659, the port built a customhouse.