Tønsberg () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

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 ...

county,

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 ...

. It is located in the traditional district of

Jarlsberg Jarlsberg was a former countship that forms a part of today's Vestfold county in Norway. The former countships of Jarlsberg and Larvik were merged into a county in 1821. Jarlsberg and Larvik's County (''Jarlsberg og Larviks amt'') were renamed ...

. The

administrative centre An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

of the municipality is the city of Tønsberg which was established in the 9th century. Other larger population centres in the municipality include Barkåker, Bergsåsen,

Brekkeåsen Brekkeåsen is a residential area in Re municipality in 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 Tele ...

, Eik, Fon, Gretteåsen, Husøy,

Husvik Husvik is a former whaling station on the north-central coast of South Georgia Island. It was one of three such stations in Stromness Bay, the other two being Stromness and Leith Harbour. Husvik initially began as a floating, offshore factory sit ...

Linnestad Linnestad is a village in Tønsberg Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The village is located about to the northwest of the city of Tønsberg, about to the southeast of the village of Ramnes, and about to the southeast of Revetal. The ...

Ramnes Ramnes is a village in Tønsberg municipality, and former municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The village of Ramnes was the administrative centre of the municipality. Summary The parish of ''Ramnæs'' was established as a muni ...

, Rånerudåsen,

Revetal Revetal was the administrative centre of Re municipality, Norway, until the municipality was merged into Tønsberg. Together with the nearby housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a grou ...

, Sem, Svinevoll,

Teie Teie is a part of the urban area of Tønsberg, located on the island of Nøtterøy, as well as in Nøtterøy municipality, Norway. It is located at the northern end of the island, near Vestskogen. The newspaper ''Øyene ''Øyene'' (the Islands) ...

, and

Vear Vear is a village in Vestfold, Norway, located in the municipality of Tønsberg. It had a population of 3,520 in 2005. Vear lies near the border between Stokke (Sandefjord) and Tønsberg. It lies along Norwegian County Road 303 between Sandefjor ...

. The municipality is the 254th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Tønsberg is the 17th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 58,561. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

is and its population has increased by 16.6% over the previous 10-year period. Tønsberg Municipality is home to

Tønsberg Fortress Tønsberg Fortress (''Tunsberghus festning'') was a medieval fortress and castle, located in Tønsberg, Norway which was defended by the fortress for over 300 years. It includes ruins from ''Castrum Tunsbergis'', Norway's largest castle in the 13 ...

on Castle Mountain, which includes ruins from ''Castrum Tunsbergis'', Norway's largest castle in the 13th century. Tønsberg is also home of Oseberg Mound, where the 9th-century '' Oseberg Ship'' was excavated. The large city of Tønsberg was founded in the 9th century, one of the oldest cities in Norway, and it is also the 9th largest city in Norway.

General information

The town of

Tønsberg Tønsberg , historically Tunsberg, is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, eastern Norway, located around south-southwest of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near its mouth onto the Skagerrak. The administrative ce ...

was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () is the name for Norwegian local self-government districts that were legally enacted on 1 January 1838. This system of municipalities was created in a bill approved by the Parliament of Norway and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January ...

law). On 1 January 1877, the growing town of Tønsberg was enlarged by taking an area from Sem Municipality (population: 61) and another area from Nøtterøy Municipality (population: 102). On 1 January 1980, an unpopulated area of Nøtterøy Municipality was transferred to the town of Tønsberg. On 1 January 1988, the town of Tønsberg (population: 8,896) was merged with Sem Municipality (population: 21,948) to form a new, much larger Tønsberg Municipality. On 1 January 2017, the village of

was transferred from Stokke Municipality to the neighboring Tønsberg Municipality. On 1 January 2020, Tønsberg Municipality merged with the neighboring Re Municipality to form a much larger municipality.

Name

The municipality is named after the old town of

( non, Túnsberg) since the first Tønsberg Church was built there centuries ago. The first element is the

genitive case In grammar, the genitive case (abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can al ...

of ( n) which means "fenced area", "garden", or "field around a dwelling". The last element is ( n) which means "mountain" or "rock". The name originally referred to the fortifications on Slottsfjellet. The old spelling of the name has been retained in the name of the local

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

, Tunsberg bispedømme.

Coat of arms

For a long time, the city and municipality did not have a formal

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

, but instead an old medieval seal dating back to 1349 was used in its place. The blue and white circular seal shows the

surrounded by a ring wall on a mountain with the sea in front. There is also a

longship Longships were a type of specialised Scandinavian warships that have a long history in Scandinavia, with their existence being archaeologically proven and documented from at least the fourth century BC. Originally invented and used by the Nors ...

in the water in front of the fortress. Around the seal are the Latin words which means "This is the seal of Tunsberg". In preparation for the merger of Re and Tønsberg Municipalities, a new

was adopted in 2018 for use starting on 1 January 2020. The

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

is ''"

Per pale In heraldry, the field (background) of a shield can be divided into more than one area, or subdivision, of different tinctures, usually following the lines of one of the ordinaries and carrying its name (e.g. a shield divided in the shape of a ...

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

stem Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...

azure and azure a

seedling A seedling is a young sporophyte developing out of a plant embryo from a seed. Seedling development starts with germination of the seed. A typical young seedling consists of three main parts: the radicle (embryonic root), the hypocotyl (embry ...

"''. This means the arms are divided with a vertical

line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...

. The

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

(background) to the right of the line has a

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

of azure. To the right of the line, the field has a tincture of

which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. There are two

charges Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

on the arms. The charge on the left side is a

, symbolizing the one on the Oseberg Ship and the great

Viking age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ger ...

history in the area. This stem has a

of azure. The charge on the right side is a

, symbolizing local

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

. This seedling or sprout has a tincture of

which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...

has nine parishes () within the municipality of Tønsberg. It is part of the Tønsberg domprosti (arch-

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

) in the

Diocese of Tunsberg Tunsberg is a diocese of the Church of Norway. It includes parishes located within the counties of Vestfold and Buskerud, with the cathedral located in Tønsberg. The Diocese of Tunsberg consists of the cathedral deanery and 9 rural deaneries. Hi ...

History

The city of

has existed for centuries. On 1 January 1838, the

law went into effect, making all cities and rural parishes across Norway into civil municipalities with self-governing councils. The city of Tønsberg was surrounded by Sem Municipality for many years until 1988 when Sem Municipality and the city of Tønsberg were merged, creating a new Tønsberg Municipality with a much larger size and population than the city was before the merger. The city continued on as the

of the new municipality. In 2017, the village of

was transferred into Tønsberg Municipality from Stokke Municipality. In 2020, the neighboring Re Municipality was merged with Tønsberg Municipality, more than doubling its size again. The new Tønsberg Municipality included much more rural area than urban area, with most of the urban settlements in and around the city of Tønsberg in the far southern part of the newly merged municipality.

Economy

Since the municipality was enlarged, Tønsberg is now the largest agricultural municipality, with an agricultural area of about (2018). Cereal cultivation dominates, but vegetable production is significant. Tønsberg is the municipality in Vestfold that has the highest number of cattle (both dairy and meat cows). In forestry, of trees were harvested in 2018, about 80% of which was

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...

. The city of

has long traditions in shipping, industry, and trade. Today, the municipal business-base is predominantly small and medium-sized companies. The most important industries are the food industry, including a large slaughterhouse (

Nortura Nortura is a Norwegian agricultural cooperative that operates slaughterhouses and other processing plants related to meat and eggs. The company was created as a merger between Gilde Norsk Kjøtt and Prior Norge in 2006, and has head offices i ...

) and a large dairy ( Tine), as well as a flatbread factory. The workshop industry is also significant, particularly the metal goods industry.

Esso Esso () is a trading name for ExxonMobil. Originally, the name was primarily used by its predecessor Standard Oil of New Jersey after the breakup of the original Standard Oil company in 1911. The company adopted the name "Esso" (the phonetic p ...

's refinery at Slagentangen was closed in 2021. There is also a large silverware factory and the country's only bell foundry at Nauen in Sem (

Olsen Nauen Bell Foundry The Olsen Nauen Bell Foundry ( no, Olsen Nauen Klokkestøperi) is a Norwegian bell foundry located in the municipality of Tønsberg. The foundry was established in 1844 by Ole Olsen, and it is headed today by the sixth generation of the Olsen ...

). The most important industrial areas are located along the Canal and the adjacent areas of Byfjorden, both on the mainland and the

Nøtterøy Nøtterøy is an island and a former municipality in the present-day municipality of Færder in Vestfold and Telemark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Borgheim. The parish of ''Nøtterø'' was estab ...

side. Important industrial areas are also found along the Oslofjord from Husøy and northwards to

Vallø Vallø was a municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') in the former Roskilde County on the east coast of the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in East Denmark. The municipality covered an area of 84 km2, and had a total population of 10,337 (200 ...

and Slagentangen. There is also a lot of summer tourism along the coast.

Population

Government

Tønsberg Municipality is responsible for

primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wiktionary:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physical and menta ...

senior citizen Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

services,

welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

and other

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

zoning Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...

, and municipal

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

s and utilities. The municipality is governed by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

directly elected Direct election is a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the persons or political party that they desire to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are cho ...

representatives. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

indirectly elected An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office (direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the old ...

by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the

Vestfold District Court Vestfold District Court ( no, Vestfold tingrett) is a district court located in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. This court is based at three different courthouses which are located in Tønsberg, Larvik, and Horten. The court serves the eas ...

and the

Agder Court of Appeal The Agder Court of Appeal ( no, Agder lagmannsrett) is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the town of Skien. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Vestfold og Telemark and Agder (except for Si ...

Municipal council

The

of Tønsberg is made up of 43 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...

Mayors

The

mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities ...

( no, ordfører) of Tønsberg: * 1838-1839: Jacob Jacobsen * 1840-1840: Peter Ambrosius Bruun * 1841-1841: Jacob Jacobsen * 1842-1842: Thomas Hvistendahl * 1843-1843: Nicolai Bruun * 1844-1844: Hans Falkenberg Hovbrender * 1845-1845: Georg Daniel Barth Abel * 1846-1846: Fredrik Severin Lorentzen * 1847-1847: Samuel Foyn * 1848-1848: Hans Hansen * 1849-1849: Wilhelm Christian Lied * 1850-1850: Henrich Holst * 1851-1851: Johan Henrik Dietrichs * 1852-1852: Brede Thurmann * 1853-1853: Lauritz Bodin * 1854-1854: Ole Christophersen Berrum * 1855-1855: Christian Fredrik Røsch * 1856-1866: Nils Magnus Bugge * 1867-1877: Riulf Erlandsen * 1878-1878: Jens Bernhard Rode * 1879-1883: Johannes Winding Harbitz ( H) * 1884-1884: Georg Johan Knap ( H) * 1885-1887: Johannes Winding Harbitz ( H) * 1888-1888: Georg Johan Knap ( H) * 1889-1893: Johannes Winding Harbitz ( H) * 1894-1894: Wilhelm Wilhelmsen ( H) * 1895-1904: Anders Larsen ( H) * 1905-1905:

Christopher Knudsen Christopher Knudsen (4 October 1843 – 28 July 1915) was a Norwegian priest and politician for the Conservative Party. He was Minister of Education and Church Affairs from 1905 to 1906. Knudsen was born in Drammen as a son of railroad worker Kn ...

( H) * 1905-1907: Peder Thoresen ( H) * 1908-1910: Anders Larsen ( H) * 1911-1913: John Søyland ( H) * 1914-1916: Peder Thoresen ( H) * 1917-1919: Anders Rørholt * 1920-1922: Johan Henrik Christiansen ( H) * 1923-1928: Odd Nerdrum * 1929-1933: Haagen Cappelen ( H) * 1933-1934: Sylfest Muldal * 1935-1936: Arne Aas ( H) * 1936-1937: Trygve Sverdrup ( H) * 1937-1937: Gunnar Eliassen ( H) * 1938-1940: Leif Helberg ( H) * 1941-1942: Eivind Bjerk ( NS) * 1945-1945: Knut D. Christiansen * 1945-1945: Leif Helberg ( H) * 1946-1952: Georg Martinsen ( Ap) * 1953-1953: Emil Stang Lund ( H) * 1954-1955: Georg Martinsen ( Ap) * 1956-1963: Thorvald B. Olsen ( Ap) * 1963-1975: Kolbjørn Hogsnes ( Ap) * 1976-1993: Erik Carlsen ( H) * 1993-1995: Jørn Olav Hagen (

KrF The Christian Democratic Party ( nb, Kristelig Folkeparti, nn, Kristeleg Folkeparti, se, Risttalaš Álbmotbellodat, , KrF) is a Christian-democratic political party in Norway founded in 1933. The party is an observer member of the European Pe ...

) * 1995-2001: Hans Kristian Hogsnes ( H) * 2001-2003: Harald Haug Andersen ( Ap) * 2003-2009:

Per Arne Olsen Per Arne Lodding Olsen (21 February 1961 – 18 November 2022) was a Norwegian politician who served as a Member of Parliament for the Progress Party, where he held the position as second deputy leader. He served as the Governor of Vestfold from ...

( FrP) * 2009-2019: Petter Berg ( H) * 2019-2023:

Anne Rygh Pedersen Anne Rygh Pedersen (born 28 June 1967 in Larvik) is a Norwegian politician. She is a member of the Labour Party. She served in the position of deputy representative to the Norwegian Parliament from Vestfold during the term 2001–2005. Rygh P ...

( Ap) * 2023-present: Frank Pedersen ( H)

Geography

Tønsberg is a municipality in Vestfold County, on the western shore of the

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 ...

. Tønsberg lies north of

Færder Municipality Færder is a municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Borgheim. The municipality was established in 2018 by the unification of the former municipalities of ...

, west and south of Horten Municipality, and east of

Sandefjord Municipality Sandefjord () is a city and the most populous municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The municipality of Sandefjord was established on 1 January 1838. The municipality of Sandar was merged into Sandefjord on 1 January 1969. On 1 ...

. Most of the municipality lies on the mainland plus a small area on the north end of the island of Nøtterøy. Just south of Tønsberg are the islands of

and

Tjøme Tjøme () is an island in Færder, and a former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Tjøme. The parish of ''Tjømø'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see f ...

, which are tourist destinations. The

bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid Rock (geology), rock that lies under loose material (regolith) within the crust (geology), crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface mater ...

in the municipality consists entirely of igneous rocks. The landscape is characterized by slightly hilly, elongated and wooded hills with crevasse valleys running north-south and with heights in the western part of the municipality reaching as high as the tall Snippane, just west of Vivestad. Streams and rivers follow the north-south running valleys. The Storelva river, which flows centrally through the municipality from north to south, and the Merkedamselva river in the west unite and become the river Aulielva which then flows into the Tønsbergfjorden.

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every yea ...

* {{use dmy dates, date=February 2024 Municipalities of Vestfold 1838 establishments in Norway