is a town and municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Tønsberg.

The town of Tønsberg was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The rural municipality of Sem was merged into the municipality of Tønsberg on 1 January 1988.

The population of the entire urban area, regardless of municipality borders, and following the guidelines set by Statistics Norway, was 46,862 as of 1 January 2008, making Tønsberg the tenth most populous urban areas in Norway. Tønsberg is generally regarded as the oldest town in Norway.

General information

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was Túnsberg. The first element is the genitive case of tún (n), meaning fenced area or garden. The last element is berg (n), meaning mountain. The name originally referred to the fortifications on Slottsfjellet. The old spelling has been retained in the name of the diocese, Tunsberg bispedømme..

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is an old city seal from as far back as 1349. The seal shows Tønsberg Fortress surrounded by a ring wall on a mountain with the sea in front. There is also a longship in the water in front of the fortress. Around the seal are the words (in Latin): This is the seal of Tunsberg.

History

According to Snorri Sturluson, Tønsberg was founded before the Battle of Hafrsfjord, which, according to Snorri, took place in 871. What year the battle took place is disputed, however, and most current historians believe the battle took place closer to 900. However, if the battle did in fact take place in 871, this would make Tønsberg the oldest present Scandinavian town. However, archeological excavation seem to show that Tønsberg is established in the last part of the 11th century. The first time the town is mentioned by a contemporary writer is in year 1130.

Slottsfjellet ( ), north of the city centre, makes for a near impregnable natural fortress. During the civil war era of the 12th century, it was fortified by the Baglers. The Birkebeiners besieged it for 20 weeks in the winter of 1201 before the Baglers surrendered. In the 13th century, King Haakon Haakonson set up a castle in Tønsberg, Tønsberg Fortress. The town was destroyed by fire in 1536, but Tønsberg remained one of the most important harbour towns in Norway.

During the German occupation of Norway in World War II, the Berg concentration camp was constructed near Tønsberg. In 1948, Tønsberg became the cathedral city of the Diocese of Tunsberg (Tunsberg bispedømme), created when the counties of Buskerud and Vestfold were separated from the Diocese of Oslo.

Economy

Tønsberg is still an industrial and maritime centre, with such diverse concerns as metal shops, shipyards, paper mills, leather processing, and breweries. It is noted especially for its silverware.

Tourist sites include ruins of the Tønsberghus, St. Michael's Church, the Royal Castle, Sem Church, and the Vestfold Museum. Tønsberg is also the site of Oseberghaugen, the location of a Viking era grave site (haugen from the Old Norse Word haugr meaning mound). The Oseberg ship was found near the city in 1904. The longship is now in the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo.

Perhaps the most important landmark in the town is the tower standing on the hill. It was erected in 1888 as a memorial to the old fortress, of which just fragmentary ruins remain today. Several streets in the town are named after old kings of Norway.

The city is served by the railway line Vestfoldbanen, which runs in a loop through the city before reaching Tønsberg Station.

Population

As of 1 January 2009, the population of Tønsberg municipality was 38,914. The population of the urban area, Norway's tenth most populous, was 46,091. 30,061 lived in Tønsberg municipality, while 16,030 lived in Nøtterøy municipality. The urban area extends from Eik in the north, to Tolvsrød, Vallø and Ringshaug in the east and Borgheim on Nøtterøy in the south. Tønsberg municipality contains four additional urban areas: Sem, with 2,147 inhabitants of which 2,100 live in Tønsberg and 47 live in Stokke; Barkåker, with 1,292 inhabitants; Åsgårdstrand, with 2,847 inhabitants of which 2,794 in Horten and 53 in Tønsberg; and Vear, with a population of 3,502 of which 2,263 live in Stokke and 1,239 live in Tønsberg.

Notable residents

• Hjalmar Andersen, three time European (1950-1952) and World champion (1950-1952) as well as 1952 Winter Olympics champion in speedskating
• Anders Aukland, the six-time winner of the world championship in cross-country skiing, was born in the Husvik area in Tønsberg in 1972.
• Odd Børretzen, a Norwegian writer and artist lives outside Tønsberg.
• Ronny Johnsen, professional footballer (Manchester United), lives in Tønsberg
• Lise Karlsnes, a Norwegian singer from the band Briskeby
• Lene Nystrøm, singer of Aqua, was born here.
• Marion Raven, a Norwegian singer, lived outside Tønsberg with her parents
• DJ Ravi is born and raised in the town.
• Seigmen, a Norwegian alternative rock band, comes from Tønsberg.
• Jahn Teigen, the lead singer of Popol Ace , came from Tønsberg.
• Tonje Larsen, handball player, is born and raised here.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Tønsberg:

References

External links

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
• Municipality website