Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and 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' ...

Østfold Østfold () is a county in Eastern Norway, which from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2023 was part of Viken. Østfold borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other ...

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

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 ...

. The municipality borders

Sarpsborg Sarpsborg ( or ), historically Borg, is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg. Sarpsbor ...

to the northwest,

Rakkestad Rakkestad is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rakkestad. It is divided into the parishes of Rakkestad, Degernes, and Os, Øst ...

to the north and

Aremark Aremark is a municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Fosby. Aremark was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The new municipality of Øymar ...

to the east, as well as the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

municipalities

Strömstad Strömstad is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Strömstad Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 6,288 inhabitants in 2010. For historical reasons, Strömstad is called a Stad (Sweden), ''city'' despite its small popu ...

, Tanum and

Dals-Ed Dals-Ed Municipality () is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden, on the border to Norway. Its seat is located in the town of Ed. The present municipality was formed during the local government reform of 1952 through the ...

respectively to the southwest, south and southeast. The seat of the municipality, Halden is a

border town A border town is a town or city close to the boundary between two countries, states, or regions. Usually the term implies that the nearness to the border is one of the things the place is most famous for. With close proximities to a different coun ...

located at the mouth of the

Tista Tista, also called Tistedalselva or Tistakanalen, is a river in Halden municipality, in Østfold county, Norway. It is the main river in the Haldenvassdraget system and flows from Femsjøen lake to Iddefjorden fjord. The river is less than 5&nb ...

river on the

Iddefjord Iddefjord ( or Idde Fjord; ); ) is a classic fjord with a narrow watercourse and steep natural formations on both sides. It runs along the Sweden-Norway border, Norwegian-Swedish border from the Singlefjord ().''A Brief Geographical and Hydro Gra ...

, the southernmost border crossing between Norway and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. The town of Halden is located about south of

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, north of

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, and west of the border crossing at

Svinesund Svinesund is a sound separating the Swedish municipality of Strömstad in the province of Bohuslän in the county of Västra Götaland from the Norwegian municipality of Halden in the county of Østfold. Two bridges, the old and new Svinesun ...

History

Evidence of early human settlements in this region of Norway have been found, particularly in the

area of the municipality where evidence of early settlements from the

Nordic Bronze Age The Nordic Bronze Age (also Northern Bronze Age, or Scandinavian Bronze Age) is a period of Scandinavian prehistory from . The Nordic Bronze Age culture emerged about 1750 BC as a continuation of the Late Neolithic Dagger period, which is root ...

have been found. Named after a small farm ''Hallen'' () first mentioned in 1629, "Halden", became the city of ''Fredrikshald'' in 1665, named after

Frederick III of Denmark Frederick III (; 18 March 1609 – 9 February 1670) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death in 1670. He also governed under the name Frederick II as diocesan administrator (colloquially referred to as prince-bishop) of the ...

. The ''Gud med oss'' (''God be with us'')

coat-of-arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achiev ...

created in 1665 shows a

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

standing on a mountain, yellow on a blue background, and was inspired by the bravery of the citizens of the city in the

Dano-Swedish War (1658–1660) The Dano-Swedish War of 1658–1660 was a war between Denmark–Norway and Sweden, with the former backed by the Dutch Republic and Poland. It is known in Denmark as the Second Karl Gustav War (), in Norway as Bjelkes Feud () in Sweden as Karl G ...

. Swedish forces unsuccessfully attempted to invade the town six times between 1658 and 1814. As a reference to the town's citizens burning their own houses to prevent them being taken on 4 July 1716 by the forces of King

Charles XII Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII () or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.), was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of ...

of Sweden, Halden is one of only two cities mentioned in Norway's national anthem. In 1718, the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

ended when Charles XII was shot and killed at the

Fredriksten Fredriksten is a fortress in the city of Halden in Norway. History This Fortresses was constructed by Denmark-Norway in the 17th century as a replacement for the border fortress at Bohus, which had been lost when the province of Bohuslän was ...

fortress. The fortress had been erected in the 17th century as a replacement for the

Bohus Fortress Bohus Fortress lies in Kungälv, Bohuslän, Sweden, north east from Hisingen where the Göta river splits into two branches ( north of Gothenburg). It commands the surrounding area from a cliff high, with the river forming a natural moat arou ...

lost at the

Treaty of Roskilde The Treaty of Roskilde was negotiated at Høje Taastrup Church and was concluded on 26 February ( OS) or 8 March 1658 ( NS) during the Second Northern War between Frederick III of Denmark–Norway and Karl X Gustav of Sweden in the Danish ci ...

in 1658 when

Bohuslän Bohuslän () is a Provinces of Sweden, Swedish province in Götaland, on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea to the ...

was ceded to Sweden. Halden has never been captured by force by any invading army, although it was occupied by

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

forces in

WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In an 1835

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Fredrikshald was the seventh largest town or city in Norway, with 4,921 inhabitants. In 1838, Fredrikshald became a

city 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 gov ...

(), and in 1928, the name was changed back to Halden.

Tistedalen Tistedalen is a part of Halden in Østfold, Norway. Originally located four kilometers from the city center, the area started growing up around the sawmill industry and has now been engulfed by Halden, although it still maintains some separate ide ...

, which is east of Halden, was part of the city from 1686 to 1967, until it was separated from Halden. At the same time, the area of Halden, Tistedalen, and the rural municipalities of

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * General Berg (disambiguation) * Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer, born 1963), Ninimbergue dos Santos Guerra, Brazilian footba ...

and

Idd Idd is a parish and former municipality in Halden, Østfold county, Norway. The parish of ''Id'' was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The rural municipality was (together with Berg) merged with the city o ...

, became the Halden municipality on 1 January 1967.

Politics

The political situation in Halden has become infamous in Norway for conflicts between individual politicians and between local political parties. The municipality is governed by the Conservative Party, the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, the

Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...

, the Centre Party, and the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

Economy

The slogan, ''Halden, IT- og Miljøbyen'' (Halden, IT and Environment City), is a reference to Halden's relatively large number of

information technology Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...

companies. In the late 1960s, the most powerful

mainframe computer A mainframe computer, informally called a mainframe or big iron, is a computer used primarily by large organizations for critical applications like bulk data processing for tasks such as censuses, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise ...

in Norway at the time was located at the

Institute for Energy Technology Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) was established in 1948 as the Institute for Nuclear Energy (IFA). The name was changed in 1980. Its main office is at Kjeller, Norway, and slightly under half of the institute’s activities are based in Ha ...

's facilities in Halden. From the 1960s-1980s, Halden was infamous for high levels of industrial

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...

, largely originating from the

Norske Skog Saugbrugs Norske Skog Saugbrugs AS is a pulp mill and paper mill located in Halden, Norway, which produces supercalender (SC) magazine paper. Located in the river Tista in Tistedalen, the mill produces 550,000 tonnes per year in three paper machines. Pulp ( ...

paper mill (part of

Norske Skog Norske Skog ASA, formerly Norske Skogindustrier ASA, which translates as ''Norwegian Forest Industries'', is a Norwegian pulp and paper company established in 1962. The company has long been one of the world's leading manufacturers of newsprint ...

since 1989). As a result of projects initiated by both Norske Skog-Saugbrugs and the city authorities, the polluted fjords and

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

s of Halden have been cleaned up and the city was dubbed Norway's Environment City in 1996. One of Norway's two

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a Nuclear fission, fission nuclear chain reaction. They are used for Nuclear power, commercial electricity, nuclear marine propulsion, marine propulsion, Weapons-grade plutonium, weapons ...

s under decommissioning is located in Halden. The Halden Boiling Water Reactor is a research reactor located within Månefjell, adjacent to the Saugbrugs paper mill. The OECD Halden Reactor Project is one of the world's longest running international research collaborations and is the largest international research project in Norway. While the reactor closed in 2018, safety-oriented research collaboration for the nuclear power industry has continued, focusing primarily on human-technology-organisation research. In 2024, Halden municipality took part in the creation of Halden Kjernekraft AS and initiated investigation for the possible construction of a

Small Modular Reactor The small modular reactor (SMR) is a class of small nuclear fission reactor, designed to be built in a factory, shipped to operational sites for installation, and then used to power buildings or other commercial operations. The term SMR refers t ...

; a location has since been identified. IFE's Man-Technology-Organisation Lab facility in Os Alle was opened by the Prince Regent in 2004 and houses the most recent incarnations of the Halden Man-Machine Laboratory (HAMMLAB) and Halden

Virtual Reality Virtual reality (VR) is a Simulation, simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video gam ...

Centre's (HVRC) VR laboratory. IFE also has advanced robotics and cybersecurity labs in Halden. The Halden Project at IFE has ensured a steady influx of international guest scientists to the city, many of whom made Halden their permanent homes.

Nexans Nexans S.A. is a global company in the cable and optical fibre industry headquartered in Paris, France. The group is active in four main business areas: buildings and territories (construction, local infrastructure, smart cities / grids, e-mobi ...

has a large cable factory in Halden. The main products from this factory are

submarine power cable A submarine power cable is a transmission cable for carrying electric power below the surface of the water.umbilical cable An umbilical cable or umbilical is a cable and/or hose that supplies required consumables to an apparatus, like a rocket, or to a person, such as a diver or astronaut. It is named by analogy with an umbilical cord. An umbilical can, for example, ...

s for

subsea Subsea technology involves fully submerged ocean equipment, operations, or applications, especially when some distance offshore, in deep ocean waters, or on the seabed. The term ''subsea'' is frequently used in connection with oceanography, marin ...

installations, and cable systems for heating of subsea

pipelines A pipeline is a system of pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countries around the world. The Un ...

Rød Herregård

Rød Herregård in Halden is one of the best preserved manor houses in Norway. The property features well-preserved buildings, a

Baroque garden The Baroque garden was a style of garden based upon symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. The style originated in the late-16th century in Italy, in the gardens of the Vatican and the Villa Borghese gardens in Rome and in the ...

and an

English landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (, , , , ), is a style of "landscape" garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal ...

. The buildings have their oldest origins of the late 1600s, but were largely built during the last half of the 1700s. The main building contains authentic furnishings including period furniture, hunting trophies, an extensive collection of art and a large weapons collection. Rød Herregård was owned and inhabited by members of the Tank and Anker families from 1733 including

Carsten Tank Carsten Tank (24 April 1766 – 28 January 1832) was a Norwegian businessman and politician who served as Norwegian councilor of government of the 1st Ministry (finance and taxes, March–November 1814), and later councilor of state of the same ...

and

Nils Otto Tank Nils Otto Tank (March 11, 1800 – May 4, 1864) was a Norwegian born, Moravian Church missionary and teacher. He was a pioneer settler in Wisconsin. Background Nils Otto Tank was born near Halden in Østfold, Norway. He was the son of a wealthy ...

as well as Peter Martin Anker and

Nils Anker Nils Anker (14 June 1836 – 1 October 1893 ) was a Norwegian businessman, landowner and politician. He was born at Rød herregård in Halden, Østfold, Norway. He was a son of Peter Martin Anker and his second wife, Cathrine Olava Nicoline Gl ...

. The manor house and estate complex was owned by the Tank family through three generations, from 1733 to 1829. Both Danish Crown Prince regent Christian Frederik and Swedish Crown Prince and Regent Charles John were guests at the mansion. The estate was visited by English economist

Thomas Robert Malthus Thomas Robert Malthus (; 13/14 February 1766 – 29 December 1834) was an English economist, cleric, and scholar influential in the fields of political economy and demography. In his 1798 book ''An Essay on the Principle of Population'', Mal ...

during his European tour in 1799. In 1961, two foundations were established to maintain the historic property. Rød Manor Foundation (''Stiftelsen Rød Herregård'') is responsible for the manor house, buildings and gardens. Ankerske Foundation Collections (''Stiftelsen De Ankerske Samlinger'') is responsible for the contents and the rich archives related to the property.

Notable sights

Halden sights include the

Halden Canal The Halden Canal near Halden, Norway, began construction in 1852. The canal allows boats to travel parallel to the Swedish border of 75 km from Tistedal to Skulerud. Engebret Soot (1786 - 1859) was responsible for this canal, as well as the ...

system, the two

bridges, and Høiåsmasten, a partially guyed TV tower. The fortress of

has historical museums, and the

Østfold University College Østfold University College (, HiØ) is a University college (Scandinavia), university college in Østfold, Østfold county, Norway. It has campuses in Fredrikstad and Halden, and has around 7000 students (as of 2017) and 550 employees (as of 20 ...

(''Høgskolen i Østfold'') is in Halden which offer

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

social sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...

foreign language A foreign language is a language that is not an official language of, nor typically spoken in, a specific country. Native speakers from that country usually need to acquire it through conscious learning, such as through language lessons at schoo ...

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

and

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

Petroglyphs A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

(rock carvings) dated from the

are found around town, some locally, but more impressive are ones found along ''Oldtidsveien'', the historical road between Halden and

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

some north, and around Tanum in Sweden, some to the south. Jellhaugen, a major

tumulus A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found through ...

(grave mound) is found west of town, situated only 120 feet away from the site of the later discovered Gjellestad Ship.

Nature

Halden is surrounded by

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s and water, so hiking and fishing locations can easily be found.

Deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

and

elk The elk (: ''elk'' or ''elks''; ''Cervus canadensis'') or wapiti, is the second largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. ...

are a common sight, and

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

have also been observed in the district along the border with

Raspberries The raspberry is the edible fruit of several plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the Rosaceae, rose family, most of which are in the subgenus ''Rubus#Modern classification, Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Ras ...

blackberries BlackBerry is a discontinued brand of handheld devices and related mobile services, originally developed and maintained by the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM, later known as BlackBerry Limited) until 2016. The first BlackBerry device ...

blueberries Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' with the genus ''Vaccinium''. Commercial blueberries—both wild (lowbush) ...

, wild cranberries, and many varieties of

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing Sporocarp (fungi), fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom. The standard for the n ...

can be found in the woods in the early autumn. Popular destinations for hikers and other nature lovers include Prestebakke and Kornsjø. Halden's meteorological station is at Buer.

Gjellestad ship burial

The Gjellestad () ship, also spelt Jellestad, is the remains of a

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 ...

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 ...

found at the farm of Gjellestad in Halden municipality in Norway in 2018 by the archeologists Lars Gustavsen and Erich Nau. A 2019 examination by the University of Oslo has dated it to earliest AD 733. Originally interred beneath a

burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

, in the present day the ship lies 40 centimetres below the topsoil due to years of

ploughing A plough or ( US) plow (both pronounced ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses but modern ploughs are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden, ...

. Due to extensive

fungus A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

damage to the hull caused by field drainage, drought and exposure to the air, archaeologists called for an immediate dig to save the ship. Excavation of the ship at Gjellestad began in June 2020, and is led by Christian L. Rødsrud of the Museum of Cultural History. It is estimated to be over 20 metres long, although only parts of the keel have survived. This would mean that the boat is of a similar size to the

Gokstad ship The Gokstad ship is a 9th-century Viking ship found in a burial mound at Gokstad in Sandar, Norway, Sandar, Sandefjord, Vestfold, Norway. It is displayed at the Viking Ship Museum (Oslo), Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, Norway. It is the largest pr ...

. The identity of the boat's occupant has not yet been confirmed, but experts have speculated that it may have belonged to a king or queen.

Culture

Outdoor concerts are frequently held at the fortress while the local churches, pubs, and student union are regular venues for indoor concerts. Musicians recorded by the Hitsville and Athletic Sound studios in the Halden region include

Motorpsycho Motorpsycho may refer to: * Motorpsycho (band) Motorpsycho is a Norwegian rock band from Trondheim. Their music can generally be defined as progressive or psychedelic rock, but they also mix in elements from alternative, jazz, post-rock, po ...

, Madrugada,

Morten Harket Morten Harket (; born 14 September 1959) is a Norwegian singer who is the lead vocalist of the synth-pop band A-ha. A-ha has released 11 studio albums as of 2024, and topped the charts internationally after their breakthrough hit "Take On Me" i ...

, and

Kurt Nilsen Kurt Erik Nilsen () (born 29 September 1978) is a Norwegian pop/country singer. He won the first season of the Norwegian reality show ''Idol'', which aired on TV 2 in May 2003. He then won a one-off international version of ''Pop Idol'' called ...

. The city's intimate theatre hosts frequent plays by national and local theatre groups, and occasionally serves as a concert hall. Halden festivals include Tons of Rock (hard rock and metal) in June each year (from 2014 before the festival was moved to

in 2019) and a vegetarian food festival in August. Artists born in Halden that are represented in the Norwegian National Gallery in

include Thomas Fearnley (1802–1842) and Jacob Mathias Calmeyer (1802–1883). Fearnley is locally exhibited at the

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 usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

Rød Herregård. Other significant artists that lived in Halden, but were not born there, include Johannes Fintoe (1786–1870) and Heinrich August Grosch (1763–1843). Grosch's son,

Christian Heinrich Grosch Christian Heinrich Grosch (21 January 1801 – 4 May 1865) was a Norwegian architect. He was a dominant figure in Norwegian architecture in the first half of the 1800s. Biography Christian Heinrich Grosch was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. ...

(1801–1865), who moved with his parents to Halden at the age of ten, became an influential architect, whose works include seventy-eight churches (including Immanuel Church in Halden), the

Bank of Norway Norges Bank (, , ) is the central bank of Norway. It is responsible for managing the Government Pension Fund of Norway, which is the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, as well as the bank's own foreign exchange reserves. History The histor ...

, the

Oslo Stock Exchange Oslo Stock Exchange () (OSE: OSLO) is a stock exchange within the Nordic countries and offers Norway's only regulated markets for securities trading today. The stock exchange offers a full product range including equities, derivatives and fixed ...

, and the original university buildings in Oslo. Current archaeological excavations includes Jellestadskipet (Gjellestadskipet) located a stone's throw from Jellhaugen; it was first photographed in 2018.

Sports

The Halden VBK

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

club plays in the Premier Division, and while the local

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team Comet did play in the GET-league (Norway's highest ice hockey division) for some years, but they ran into some financial problems in 2008/2009, and is now in division 1. Halden also has many football clubs, the biggest of them,

Kvik Halden FK Kvik Halden FK is a Norwegian football club, founded on 19 June 1906. The club plays in the 2. divisjon after their promotion from the 2018 3. divisjon. In 2010 they contested a playoff to win promotion, and succeeded by beating Eik-Tønsberg ...

, plays in the Norwegian Second Division. The two handball clubs, Tistedalens TIF in the first division and HK Halden, have teams for children, youth and adults. One of Norway's few

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...

centres lies in Halden. Halden Curling Center is host to East-Norway 1 division. In addition there is a separate amateur league with two divisions. Several curlers from Halden have won Norwegian championships and competed internationally. Halden's forests are a good place for

orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that involve using a map and compass to navigation, navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specia ...

; and

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

ing, boating,

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

, and

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

are also popular sports amongst Halden's population.

Halden's prison

Halden fengsel Halden Prison () is a maximum-security prison in Halden, Norway. It has three main units and has no conventional security devices. The third-largest prison in Norway, it was established in 2010 with a focus on rehabilitation; its design simulates ...

is one of Norway's highest-security jails. It has acquired a “reputation as the world's most humane prison.” The architectural design of this prison is not like other prisons. The conditions inside the prison have been made as much like life outside the walls as possible. It is in fact to create an environment “as unprisonlike as possible.” This reflects the flagship of the Norwegian justice system, which focuses on rehabilitation rather than punishment. To explore what makes

incarceration in Norway Incarceration in Norway is one of the main forms of punishment, rehabilitation, or both, for the commitment of indictable offenses. Norway's criminal justice system focuses on the principles of restorative justice and the rehabilitation of pris ...

different from being imprisoned in other countries, British journalist Raphael Rowe spent a week at

Halden Prison Halden Prison () is a maximum-security prison in Halden, Norway. It has three main units and has no conventional security devices. The third-largest prison in Norway, it was established in 2010 with a focus on rehabilitation; its design simulate ...

for the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

documentary ''

Inside the World's Toughest Prisons ''Inside the World's Toughest Prisons'' is a television documentary series produced by London-based Emporium Productions and available on Netflix. The documentary shows life in various prisons around the world, mostly from the prisoner perspectiv ...

'' (Season 3, Episode 4).

Notable residents

Public Service & public thinking

Ivar Huitfeldt Iver Huitfeldt (5 December 1665 – 4 October 1710) was a Danish-Norwegian naval officer who was killed in action, when he commanded the ship '' Dannebroge'' during the Great Northern War. Biography Iver Huitfeldt was born in the Norwegian town ...

(1665 in Halden – 1710) naval commander in the

Dano-Norwegian Dano-Norwegian (Danish language, Danish and ) was a Koine language, koiné/mixed language that evolved among the urban elite in Norwegian cities during the later years of the union between the Denmark–Norway, Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway (1 ...

fleet *

Ove Gjerløw Meyer Ove Gjerløw Meyer (c. 1742 – 4 November 1790) was a Norwegian jurist and government official, best known for founding the Norwegian Society. Career He was born around 1742, probably in Frederikshald (now Halden in Østfold, Norway). His father ...

(ca.1742 in Fredrikshald – 1790) jurist, founded the

Norwegian Society The Norwegian Society (''Norske Selskab'') was a literary society for Norwegian students in Copenhagen active from 1772 to 1813. Its members included authors, poets and philosophers. The Norwegian Society was formed in 1772 by Ove Gjerløw Meye ...

* Peter Anker (1744 in Fredrikshald – 1832) a diplomat, military officer and colonial general * Hans Jacob Arnold Jensen (1777 - 1853 in Fredrikshald) a military officer and politician * Carl von und zu Mansbach (1790 in Halden – 1867) Hessian-Norwegian army officer & diplomat *

(1800 near Halden – 1864) a

Moravian Church The Moravian Church, or the Moravian Brethren ( or ), formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestant denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohemian Reformation of the 15th century and the original ...

religious leader in Wisconsin *

(1801–1865) an architect, lived in Fredrikshald from 1811 *

Christian August Selmer Christian August Selmer (16 November 1816 – 1 September 1889) was a Norwegian lawyer and a magistrate. He served as a member of the Norwegian Parliament, Minister of Defense and Minister of Justice. He was the prime minister of Norway in ...

(1816 in Fredrikshald – 1889) a Norwegian lawyer and a magistrate;

Prime Minister of Norway The prime minister of Norway (, which directly translates to "minister of state") is the head of government and chief executive of Norway. The prime minister and Cabinet of Norway, Cabinet (consisting of all the most senior government departme ...

1880 to 1884 * Carl Frederik Fearnley (1818 in Fredrikshald - 1890) a Norwegian astronomer *

Torkel Halvorsen Aschehoug Torkel Halvorsen Aschehoug (27 June 1822 – 20 January 1909) was a prominent Norwegian professor, legal scholar, historian and social economist. He also served as a conservative politician and Member of the Norwegian Parliament. Biography Tor ...

(1822 in Idd – 1909) legal scholar, historian and social economist *

Peter Ludwig Mejdell Sylow Peter Ludvig Meidell Sylow () (12 December 1832 – 7 September 1918) was a Norwegian mathematician who proved foundational results in group theory. Sylow processed and further developed the innovative works of mathematicians Niels Henrik Abel ...

(1832–1918) mathematician, headmaster in Halden 1858 to 1898 * Herman Anker (1839 at Rød Manor – 1896) a Norwegian school teacher and educationalist *

Christian August Anker Christian August Anker (9 August 1840 – 30 September 1912) was a Norwegian industrialist. He played an important role in the early mining industry in Norway and was also a pioneer in the wood-processing industry. He was born in the town of F ...

(1840 in Halden – 1912) developed mining and wood-processing * Ragnvald Bødtker (1859–1946) an engineer, director of log driving in Halden for 42 years * Jens Andersen (1866 in Idd – 1937) a shoemaker and shoe factory owner * Andreas Tostrup Urbye (1869 in Fredrikshald – 1955) a civil servant, lawyer and politician * Theodor Haagaas (1873 in Tistedalen – 1961) a mathematician and private school owner * Birger Braadland (1879 in Idd – 1966) a politician,

foreign minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

1931 to 1933 * Alf Whist (1880 in Fredrikshald – 1962) a Norwegian politician for

Nasjonal Samling The Nasjonal Samling (, NS; ) was a Norway, Norwegian far-right politics, far-right political party active from 1933 to 1945. It was the only legal party of Norway from 1942 to 1945. It was founded by former minister of defence Vidkun Quisling a ...

Carl Frølich Hanssen Carl Frølich Hanssen (8 January 1883 – 6 January 1960) was a Norwegian military officer and sports executive. He was head of the Norwegian Nazi Labour Service during the Second World War. He born in Fredrikshald (Halden). Before the Sec ...

(1883 in Halden – 1960) head of the Norwegian Nazi Labour Service * Niels Larsen Bruun (1893 in Fredrikshald – 1970) an officer in the

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy () is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for navy, naval operations of Norway, including those of the Norwegian Coast Guard. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 i ...

Eva Kolstad Eva Severine Lundegaard Kolstad (born Eva Severine Lundegaard Hartvig; 6 May 1918 – 26 March 1999) was a Norwegian politician and government minister for the Liberal Party. A major figure in the history of liberal feminism and the development o ...

(1918 in Halden – 1999) politician and strong promoter of gender equality *

Rolf B. Wegner Rolf Benjamin Wegner (born 27 October 1940 in Ålesund (town), Ålesund) is a Norwegian lawyer, civil servant and former chief of police. He is one of the most well known and popular policemen in Norway. Background He grew up in Halden (town), Hal ...

(born 1940) a lawyer and former chief of police, grew up in Halden * Christen Ager-Hanssen (born 1962 in Halden) an internet entrepreneur & venture capitalist *

Håkon Wium Lie Håkon Wium Lie (born July 26, 1965) is a Norwegian web pioneer, a standards activist, and the chairman of YesLogic, developers of Prince CSS-based PDF rendering software. He is best known for developing Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) while work ...

(born 1965 in Halden) a Norwegian web pioneer and standards activist 71775 Egil Hjorth-Jensen

The Arts

* Thomas Fearnley (1802 in Fredrikshald – 1842) a Norwegian romantic painter * Jacob Calmeyer (1802 in Fredrikshald – 1883) a Norwegian painter * Annette Abigael Hamilton (1806 in Fredrikshald - 1879) a fairy-tale collector and author *

Henriette Wienecke Sigrid Ingeborg Henriette Wienecke née ''Stadfeldt'' ( March 13, 1819 – April 18, 1907) was a Norwegian-Danish composer. She produced over 140 psalms and musical pieces. Biography Wienecke was born in Frederikshald, Norway to Asgeir Johns ...

(1819 in Fredrikshald -1907), a composer * Alvilde Prydz (1846 near Fredrikshald – 1922) a Norwegian novelist *

Oscar Borg Oscar Borg (11 June 1851 – 29 December 1930) was a Norway, Norwegian composer and conductor. He is best known for his compositions of march (music), marches for wind bands. Alfred Oscar Johannessen Borg was born in Halden, Norway. His f ...

(1851 in Halden – 1930) composer of marches for wind bands and conductor *

Gustav Fredrik Lange Gustav Fredrik Lange (February 22, 1861 – February 11, 1939) was a Norwegian violinist, violin teacher, theory teacher, and composer. During his time, he was considered one of Norway's best in his field. Lange was born in Halden. He was the ...

(1861 in Halden – 1939) a violinist, violin teacher and composer * Karl Ouren (1882 in Halden – 1943) an American artist of landscapes with winter and snow *

Sven Elvestad Sven Elvestad (7 September 1884 – 18 December 1934) was a Norwegian journalist and author. He is best known for his detective stories, which were published under the pen name Stein Riverton and translated into several languages, including Germ ...

(1884 in Fredrikshald – 1934) a Norwegian journalist and author of crime novels * Mon Schjelderup (1870 in Fredrikshald – 1934) a Norwegian composer and pianist *

Egil Hjorth-Jenssen Egil Hjorth-Jenssen (18 April 1893 – 8 November 1969) was a Norwegian actor and theatre director, playwright, children's writer and translator. Personal life Hjorth-Jenssen was born in Fredrikshald as a son of editor Gunnar Olaves Jenssen ...

(1893 in Fredrikshald – 1969) actor, theatre director and playwright *

Pehr Qværnstrøm Pehr Adolf Qværnstrøm (February 8, 1878 – December 12, 1949) was a Norwegian actor, film director, and scriptwriter. Filmography As an actor *1911: '' Bondefangeri i Vaterland'' as the farmer *1911: '' Fattigdommens forbandelse'' *1912: '' ...

(1878 in Halden – 1949) an actor, film director and scriptwriter *

Gunnar Olram Gunnar Carl Andreas Olram (19 December 1908 – 12 January 2001) was a Norwegian actor and stage instructor. Early life Olram was born in Halden on 19 December 1908. Professional career He made his stage debut at Centralteatret in 1930. ...

(1908 in Halden – 2001) a Norwegian actor and stage instructor * Henning Kvitnes (born 1958 in Tistedalen) Singer/songwriter (Rock/roots) *

Knut Nærum Knut Nærum (born 3 March 1961) is a Norwegian comedian, author, comics writer and TV entertainer. He is best known for being one of the permanent panelists in the Norwegian show '' Nytt på nytt'' ("News Anew"). On 23 April 2015, Nærum announc ...

(born 1961 in Halden) comedian, author, comics writer and TV-entertainer *

Harald Rønneberg Harald Johnstein Rønneberg (born 11 August 1973) is a Norwegian television personality. He was born in Halden, and is an economist by education. He worked in the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation in the early 2000s before switching to TV 2 i ...

(born 1973 in Halden) a Norwegian television personality

Sport

* Andreas Hagelund (1881 in Fredrikshald – 1967) a gymnast, team gold medallist at the

1906 Summer Olympics The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games (), held from 22 April 1906 to 2 May 1906, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Kingdom of Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were re ...

Erik Anker Erik Anker (15 October 1903 – 15 August 1994) was a Norwegian sailor and businessperson. Early life and Olympics He was born in Berg, Østfold as a son of Johan Anker. He was a brother of Christian August Anker, and a stepson of Nini Roll ...

(1903 in Berg – 1994) a sailor, Olympic team gold medallist and businessperson. *

Johan Anker Johan August Anker (26 June 1871 – 2 October 1940) was a Norwegian sailor and yacht designer who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics, in the 1912 Summer Olympics, and in the 1928 Summer Olympics. Personal life He was born at Refne in Berg, � ...

(1871 at Refne in Berg – 1940) a Norwegian sailor and yacht designer, competed in three Summer Olympics *

Thor Martinsen Thor Kristian "Mr Frisk" Martinsen (born 12 July 1945) is a Norwegian ice hockey player who played for the Norwegian national ice hockey team. He participated at the Winter Olympics in 1964, 1968, 1972 and 1980. On 18 April 2009, he was appointed ...

(born 1945 in Halden) an ice hockey player, competed in 4 Summer Olympics *

Svein Grøndalen Svein Grøndalen (born 8 February 1955) is a Norwegian former Football (soccer), footballer. He was born in Halden, and as a youngster, he lived in Halden, Drammen, Halden again, and Hunndalen. He played youth football for Kvik Halden FK, Kvik H ...

(born 1955 in Halden) a former footballer with 77 caps for

Jørgen Strand Larsen Jørgen Strand Larsen (, born 6 February 2000) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a forward or right winger for La Liga club RC Celta de Vigo, and the Norway national team. Early life Jørgen Strand Larsen was born on 6 Febr ...

(born 2000 in Halden) a footballer who currently plays for

RC Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta Vigo, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), the club was fou ...

Ole Michael Holth OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Com ...

(born 1988 in Halden) a would-be professional footballer if it wasn't for his knee injury. Currently plays for

Trainor Elsikkerhet AS Trainor is a surname of British origin, prevalent in English-speaking countries. It may refer to the following notable people: *Bernard E. Trainor (1928–2018), American journalist and marine officer *Bobby Trainor (1934 – 2020), Northern Iris ...

Twin towns – sister cities

Halden is twinned with: *

Ringsted Ringsted is a city located centrally in the Danish island of Zealand. It is the seat of a municipality of the same name. Ringsted is situated approximately from Copenhagen. History Ringsted was the site of ''Sjællands Landsting'' (lit. ''Z ...

, Denmark *

Sastamala Sastamala () is a town in Finland, located in the Pirkanmaa region. Sastamala lies on both sides of River Kokemäenjoki in the southwest corner of Pirkanmaa. The population of Sastamala is approximately , while the South Western Pirkanmaa, sub-reg ...

, Finland *

Skövde Skövde () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and urban centre in Skövde Municipality and Västra Götaland County, in the Västergötland, Västergötland (Western Gothland region) in central southern Sweden. Skövde is situated around 150 k ...

, Sweden

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 ...

{{Authority control Municipalities of Østfold Cities and towns in Norway