Kunstmuseum Tønsberg Norway june 2014 minnebauta

Haugating was a Thing in medieval

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. Haugating served as an assembly for the regions around

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered th ...

and the area west of

Oslofjord The Oslofjord (, ; en, Oslo Fjord) is an inlet in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the and lighthouses and down to in the south to Oslo in the north. It is part of the Skagerrak strait, connecting the Nor ...

. It was located at Tønsberg in

, Norway.

Background

Although it was not as recognized nationally as the Øreting in

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denmar ...

, Haugating did play an important role in the history of Norway as a site for the proclamation of kings. At various times, Harald Gille, Sigurd Magnusson, Magnus Erlingsson and

Jon Kuvlung Jon Ingesson Kuvlung (died 1188) was a pretender to the Royal Crown during the civil war era in Norway. He was a rival of the reigning King Sverre of Norway. Background Jon Ingesson was claimed to be a son of former King Inge I of Norway, althoug ...

were all proclaimed there to be contenders to the throne of Norway. Haugating was seated in Tønsberg at Haugar (from the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

word ''haugr'' meaning hill or burial mound). During the Civil war era in Norway (between 1130-1240), Tonsberg was one of the area where the

Bagler The Bagli Party or Bagler (Old Norse: ''Baglarr'', Norwegian Bokmål: ''Bagler'', Norwegian Nynorsk: ''Baglar'') was a faction or party during the Norwegian Civil Wars. The Bagler faction was made up principally of the Norwegian aristocracy, clerg ...

faction and other rebel bands stood strong in the battle against the

Birchleg The Birkebein Party or Birkebeinar (; no, Birkebeinarane (nynorsk) or (bokmål)) was the name for a rebellious party in Norway, formed in 1174 around the pretender to the Norwegian throne, Eystein Meyla. The name has its origins in propagand ...

. Several rebel bands hailed their royal subjects from Haugating. A memorial stone was erected on the site during 1954.

Haugar Vestfold Kunstmuseum

Haugar Vestfold Art Museum (''Haugar Vestfold Kunstmuseum'') is located at the site of the former Haugating. The museum opened to the public 1995 and since 2009 has been associated with Vestfold Museum (''Vestfoldmuseene''). This is an art museum with exhibitions principally featuring Norwegian contemporary art. The museum features works by Odd Nerdrum and

Frans Widerberg Frans Widerberg (8 April 1934 – 7 April 2017) was a Norwegian painter and graphic artist. Widerberg was born in Oslo to Nicolai Magnus Widerberg and Ingrid Christine Blom. He made his exhibition debut in Oslo in 1963. Among his works is the wo ...

as well as works by Kjartan Slettemark among others. The museum is associated with Vestfold Museum (''Vestfoldmuseene''). Haugar Vestfold Art Museum took over the former premises of Tønsberg Navigation School (''Tønsberg Navigasjonsskole''). The building was built 1918-1921 and designed by architects Andreas Bjercke and Georg Eliassen. Their design was awarded the

Houen Foundation Award The Houen Foundation Award ( no, Houens fonds diplom) is Norway's most important award for architecture. It was established in 1893 by Anton Christian Houen (1823–1894). A successful merchant and businessman, Houen established several phila ...

in 1925. The building is adorned with twelve caryatid which were created by the sculptor

Wilhelm Rasmussen Wilhelm Rasmussen (15 June 1879 – 6 December 1965) was a Norwegian sculptor. Wilhelm Robert Rasmussen was born in Skien in Telemark county, Norway. He studied under Norwegian sculptors Brynjulf Bergslien and Lars Utne (1862–1922), and late ...

between 1920-1922.

References

Other sources

*Orning, Hans Jacob (2008) ''Unpredictability and Presence: Norwegian Kingship in the High Middle Ages'' (Leiden: BRILL)

External links

Haugar Vestfold Kunstmuseum website Vestfoldmuseene websiteTønsberg Viking Festival
Legal history of Norway Thing (assembly) Law of Norway

Background

Haugar Vestfold Kunstmuseum

References

Other sources

Related Reading

External links