Berg is a former parish and municipality which now forms part of

Halden Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a town and a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, Rakkestad to the north and Aremark to the east, as well as the Swedish m ...

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 sid ...

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 ...

. The rural municipality was (together with Idd) was merged with the city of

on January 1, 1967.

History

Berg was the main parish in a district which included Rokke and Halden until 1721. Halden subsequently became the main parish in the district. By a royal proclamation in 1769, Berg became the head of its own district with Rokke and Asak as annexes. The parish of Berg was established as a municipality January 1, 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 Janua ...

). The

Østfold Line The Østfold Line ( no, Østfoldbanen) is a railway line which runs from Oslo through the western parts of Follo and Østfold to Kornsjø in Norway. It continues through Sweden as the Norway/Vänern Line. The northern half is double track and th ...

was built through Berg in 1879 and

Berg Station Berg Station ( no, Berg stasjon) is a closed railway station on the Østfold Line located at Berg in Halden, Norway. It is situated from Oslo Central Station (Oslo S). Although disused as a passenger station, Berg still serves as a passing loop ...

was opened to serve it.''Berg parish'' (Østfold kirkebøker parish records)
/ref>

The name

The municipality (originally the parish) was named after the farm Berg (

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 ...

''Berg''), since the first church was built on its ground. The name is identical with the word ''berg'' meaning 'rocky hill; mountain'.

Berg Church

Berg stone church (''Berg steinkirke'') dates from ca. 1100. The edifice is in Romanesque style and built of brick with natural stone in the corners. The medieval era building has an oblong nave and a smaller square choir. The pulpit is from 1592. In the nave hangs a painting of the

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Cartha ...

and a copy of an epitaph on a plaque from 1601. The original is located at the

Norwegian Museum of Cultural History Norsk Folkemuseum (Norwegian Museum of Cultural History), at Bygdøy, Oslo, Norway, is a museum of cultural history with extensive collections of artifacts from all social groups and all regions of the country. It also incorporates a large open ...

. To the right of the choir hangs a tablet with figures of the

twelve apostles In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minis ...

dating from the 1600s. After a new church was built on the site in 1878, the old medieval church was partially demolished in 1882. The church was rebuilt in 1970.

Gallery

File:Berg kirke ved Halden.JPG, Berg steinkirke File:Bauta Berg kirke Halden 2012.JPG, Monument to

John Hansen Sørbrøden John Hansen Sørbrøden (3 May 1775 – 8 December 1857) was a Norwegian farmer, lay preacher and politician. He was born of the Sørbrøden in Berg parish in Østfold, Norway. He grew up within a farm family which figured prominently in the ...

and

Peter Ulrik Magnus Hount Peter Ulrik Magnus Hount (1769 – 17 July 1815) was a Norwegian priest and representative at the Norwegian Constitutional Assembly. Peter Ulrik Magnus Hount was born at Nørre Sønderborg on the island of Als in the Region of Southern Denm ...

File:Halden Berg kirke IMG 7414.JPG, Arched doorway File:Halden Berg kirke IMG 7392.JPG, Chapel File:Halden Berg kirke IMG 7420.JPG, Side window

References

External links

Historic pictures of Berg
Former municipalities of Norway Halden {{Østfold-geo-stub