Jarlsberg was a county established in 1673 by Peter Griffenfeld in the central and Northern part of Vestfold, Norway. In 1821 Jarlsberg and Larvik were joined to form Jarlsberg og Larvik amt and this was renamed 'Vestfold' in 1919. It is the origin of the name of Jarlsberg cheese, a brand manufactured in the region since 1956 based on a local recipe used in the last half of the nineteenth century.