Tønsberg () is a

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

Vestfold Vestfold () is a county and a current electoral district in Norway. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it borders Buskerud and Telemark counties. The county administration is located in Tønsberg, Norway's oldest city, and the larg ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. 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 name translates as "Earl's Hill". The former countships of Jarlsberg and Larvik were merged into a county in 1821. Jarlsberg and Larvik's County (''Jarl ...

. The

administrative centre An administrative centre 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 the administrative language, such as Belgi ...

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, Eik, Fon, Gretteåsen, Husøy,

Husvik Husvik is a former whaling station on the north-central coast of South Georgia Island South Georgia is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of Sout ...

, Linnestad,

Ramnes Ramnes 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 northwest of the village of Linnestad, about to the southwest of the villages of ...

, Rånerudåsen,

Revetal Revetal 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 northwest of the village of Linnestad, about to the south of the village of Bre ...

, Sem,

Svinevoll Svinevoll is a village in Tønsberg Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The village is located about to the west of the village of Brekkeåsen, about east of the village of Fon, and about to the north of the village of Revetal. Histor ...

Teie Teie is a village on the island of Nøtterøy in Vestfold county, Norway. The village is located within the city of Tønsberg and it straddles the border between Tønsberg Municipality and Færder Municipality. The village area is located at t ...

, and

Vear Vear is a village in Tønsberg Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The village is located along the border with Sandefjord Municipality and along the Tønsbergfjorden, about to the southwest of the city of Tønsberg and about to the sou ...

. 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 (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

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 List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tønsberg Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located about south-southwest of the capital city of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near ...

was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () was the name of a Norwegian self-governing municipality. The name was used from the establishment these municipalities in 1838 until the name fell out of use in 1863. The municipalities had their legal basis from two laws enacted on 14 Jan ...

law). On 1 January 1877, the growing town of Tønsberg was enlarged by taking an area from

Sem Municipality Sem is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1988. The area is now part of Tønsberg Municipality. The administrative centre was the ...

(population: 61) and another area from

Nøtterøy Municipality Nøtterøy is a former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The island municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution on 1 January 2018. The area is now part of Færder Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Borgh ...

(population: 102). On 1 January 1980, an unpopulated area of

was transferred to the town of Tønsberg. On 1 January 1988, the town of Tønsberg (population: 8,896) was merged with

(population: 21,948) to form a new, much larger Tønsberg Municipality. On 1 January 2017, the village of

was transferred from

Stokke Municipality Stokke is a former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution on 1 January 2017. The area is now part of Sandefjord Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Stokke. Othe ...

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

() 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 ca ...

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, prov ...

, 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 last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

, 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, a type of specialised Viking ship, Scandinavian warships, 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 th ...

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 an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

is ''" Per pale

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 most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

azure Azure may refer to: Color * Azure (color), a hue of blue ** Azure (heraldry) ** Shades of azure, shades and variations Arts and media * ''Azure'' (Art Farmer and Fritz Pauer album), 1987 * Azure (Gary Peacock and Marilyn Crispell album), 2013 * ...

and

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. 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 ...

. 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 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 (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

history in the area. This stem has a

. The charge on the right side is a

, symbolizing local

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. 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 (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

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 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 residence of ...

) in the

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

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

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

. 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 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

. 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 in Os ...

) 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" (from the phon ...

'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 () is a Norway, Norwegian Bellfounding, 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 Nauen fam ...

). 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 a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The island municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution on 1 January 2018. The area is now part of Færder Municipality. The admini ...

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 (2 ...

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

Population

Government

Tønsberg Municipality is responsible for

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

(through 10th grade), outpatient

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

senior citizen Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

services,

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

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. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

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

economic development In economics, economic development (or 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 object ...

, and municipal

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

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, borough cou ...

of directly elected representatives. The

mayor 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 responsibilitie ...

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 o ...

by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Vestfold District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

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 Hospitality, 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 oft ...

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 responsibilitie ...

() 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 ( 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) * 1995-2001:

Hans Kristian Hogsnes Hans Kristian Hogsnes (17 October 1954 – 30 December 2010) was a Norwegian journalist and politician for the Conservative Party. He was born in Tønsberg, finished his secondary education here in 1973 before attending Rønningen Folk High Schoo ...

( H) * 2001-2003: Harald Haug Andersen ( Ap) * 2003-2009: Per Arne Olsen ( FrP) * 2009-2019: Petter Berg ( H) * 2019-2023: Anne Rygh Pedersen ( Ap) * 2023-present: Frank Pedersen ( H)

Geography

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

Oslofjord The Oslofjord (, ; ) is an inlet in southeastern Norway. The fjord begins at the small village of Bonn in Frogn, Frogn Municipality and stretching northwards to the city of Oslo, and then curving to the east and then south again. It then flows s ...

. Tønsberg lies north of

Færder Municipality Færder is a municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Borgheim. Other villages in the municipality include Årøysund, Bj ...

, west and south of

Horten Municipality Horten () is a municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Jarlsberg. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Horten. Other population centers in Horten Municipality include the t ...

, and east of

Sandefjord Municipality Sandefjord () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Sandefjord ...

. 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 a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The island municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2018. The area is now part of Færder Municipality. The administrative ce ...

, which are tourist destinations. The

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

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 Tønsbergfjorden is a fjord in Vestfold county, Norway. The long fjord runs between the mainland (Sandefjord Municipality) and the islands of Tjøme and Nøtterøy (Færder Municipality). The fjord has a number of islands located within it inclu ...

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway (, 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 year on its web site. All rele ...

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