Onsøy kirke, Fredrikstda kommune, Østfold

Onsøy is a peninsula and a former municipality in

Østfold Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other side ...

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 the ...

. The administrative centre was Gressvik.

History

The parish of ''Onsø'' was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). A part of Onsøy with 170 inhabitants was moved to the neighboring municipality

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the ...

on 1 January 1968. On 1 January 1994 the rest of Onsøy was incorporated into Fredrikstad. Prior to the merger Onsøy had a population of 12.923.

Etymology

The

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

form of the name was ''Óðinsøy''. The first element is the genitive case of the name of the god Odin, the last element is ''øy'' meaning 'island'. The former island was later turned into a peninsula because of

post-glacial rebound Post-glacial rebound (also called isostatic rebound or crustal rebound) is the rise of land masses after the removal of the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, which had caused isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound ...

Onsøy Church

Onsøy Church (''Onsøy kirke'') was built in 1877. The architect was Henrik Thrap-Meyer. The church is of Gothic Revival style and constructed of brick with has 375 seats. Onsøy Church is located in Fredrikstad parish. Jens Bjelke was buried in the churchyard.

Elingaard Manor

Elingaard Manor (''Elingaard herregård'') is a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

located on Onsøy. The current main building was erected in the Renaissance style and was completed early in 1749. The building was constructed on two floors and consists of a main wing and two side wings. Outside is a garden laid out by English model. The manor house was developed by Chancellor Jens Ågessøn Bjelke (1580–1659). Jens Bjelke, one of the wealthiest men in Norway, was the grandson of Jens Tillufssøn Bjelke and the father of Jørgen Bjelke. His elder son Admiral

Henrik Bjelke Henrik Bjelke (13 January 1615 – 16 March 1683) was a Norwegian military officer who served as Admiral of the Realm of Denmark-Norway from 1662 to 1679. He was in command of the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy from 1657 to 1679. Early life and ...

(1615–83) inherited Elingaard Manor. Elingaard manor is currently operated as a museum.''Elingaard herregård'' (Norway.com)
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References

Other sources

*Borges, Grethe (2007) Elingaard : et gammelt herresete (Fredrikstad] : Fredrikstad museum) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Onsoey Populated places established in 1838 Populated places disestablished in 1994 Former municipalities of Norway Fredrikstad Manor houses in Norway 1838 establishments in Norway