Tønsberg
From Free net encyclopedia
| ||
| County | Vestfold | |
| District | Viken | |
| Municipality | NO-0704 | |
| Administrative centre | Tønsberg | |
| Mayor (2004) | Per Arne Olsen (FrP) | |
| Official language form | Bokmål | |
| Area - Total - Land - Percentage | Ranked 381 107 km² 106 km² 0.03 % | |
| Population - Total (2004) - Percentage - Change (10 years) - Density | Ranked 21 36,046 0.79 % 10.1 % 340/km² | |
| Coordinates | Template:Coor dm | |
| www.tonsberg.kommune.no | ||
Tønsberg is a town and municipality in the county of Vestfold, Norway. Tønsberg municipality has 36,452 inhabitants as of January 1, 2005. The population of the entire city, regardless of municipality borders, and following the guidelines sat by the national statistician agency, the SSB, was 44,959 as of January 1, 2005, making Tønsberg the tenth most populated city of Norway. The municipality of Tønsberg covers 106 km² and includes today also the former municipality Sem.
According to Snorri Sturluson, Tønsberg was founded before the Battle in Hafrsfjord. This makes Tønsberg the oldest Nordic town, founded in 871. In the 1200s, king Haakon Haakonson set up a castle here, Tønsberg Fortress. His daughter was known as princess Kristina of Tønsberg. She was married to the Spanish Prince of Castilla, but died shortly thereafter. The town was destroyed by fire in 1536, but Tønsberg remained one of the most important harbour towns in Norway.
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. The Oseberg ship was found near the city in 1904. The longship is now in the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo.
The maybe most important landmark in the town is the tower standing on the hill. It was erected in 1888 as a memory of the old fortress, of which just fragmentaric ruins remains today. Many streets in the town are named after old kings of Norway.
Tønsberg is also known for its toll ring, which was opened in February 2004, against the will of the majority of the citizens. Unlike other toll roads in the world, the motorists in Tønsberg have to pay toll before any new roads are built and before the politicians have decided were the new roads shall go.
Jahn Teigen, the lead singer of Popol Ace (formerly Popol Vuh), was also born in Tønsberg. Teigen was the first person in history to receive a score of nil points in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978. Seigmen also came from Tønsberg.
| Municipalities of Vestfold | Image:Vestfold vapen.png |
|---|---|
|
Andebu | Hof | Holmestrand | Horten | Lardal | Larvik | Nøtterøy | Re | Sande | Sandefjord | Stokke | Svelvik | Tjøme | Tønsberg | |
Template:25 biggest cities of Norwayda:Tønsberg de:Tønsberg es:Tønsberg it:Tønsberg nl:Tønsberg no:Tønsberg nn:Tønsberg pl:Tønsberg pt:Tønsberg sv:Tønsberg