Moss is a coastal

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 administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Moss. The city of Moss 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 ...

) and City in 1720. The rural municipality of Jeløy was merged with the city on 1 July 1943. The former municipality of Rygge was merged into it on 1 January 2020. Its administrative district covers areas east of the town, such as the island of Dillingøy in the lake Vansjø. Parts of the town are located on the peninsula of Jeløy. The city of Moss has 30,723 inhabitants (2012).

Name

The

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was 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 ...

form of the name was . It may be derived from an old root ''mer-'' which means to "divide" or "split". The adjacent topography shares similar etymology: * , Mosse-"marsh-river-border"+ (see , , Old Norse for river). The name is thought to be very old and the meaning of it is not clear. * , Mosse-"marsh-river-border"+ (Moss channel). * , Mosse-"marsh-river-border"+ -"court" akin to ''hort''(''us,en''), "garden," from PIE *ghr-ti-, from base *gher- "to grasp, enclose" (see yard) Actually "Moss county".

History

Archeological finds suggest that there were settlements in the area more than 7,000 years ago and continuously through the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

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 ...

, through to modern times. During the Viking era, the place was known as ''Varna'' (from the Old Norse , or protection) and was the site of a cooperative for battleships held by local warlords on behalf of the king. The first literary reference to the name ''Mo(u)ſs(ß)'' is from Bishop Eystein Aslaksson's Red book (NRA AM fol. 328) from 1396, and by then the town had become a commercial center with craftsmen and mills. By the 16th century, the town's port was significant enough to warrant its own customs official. Liquor distilleries became one of the dominant industries, and it was not until 1607, after the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, that the town got its own church. By 1700, Moss had become a hub for both ship and land traffic between

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

and Christiania, and in 1704 Moss Jernverk (Moss Ironworks) was established just north of the city center. By 1720 it received its charter as a merchant town, with its own official. This may have had background in an important battle in 1716 that was fought in the town square in Moss in which Norwegian troops commanded by Vincent Budde prevailed over invading Swedish forces, sent by

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 ...

to capture

Akershus Fortress Akershus Fortress (, ) or Akershus Castle ( ) is a medieval castle in the Norwegian capital Oslo that was built to protect and provide a royal residence for the city. Since the Middle Ages the fortress has been the namesake and centre of the ...

. In 1767 a local resident built a "pleasure pavilion" near the town, which survives as the Hotel Refsnes Gods. In 1814, Moss became the site for the signing of the

Convention of Moss The Convention of Moss (''Mossekonvensjonen'') was a ceasefire agreement signed on 14 August 1814 between the King of Sweden and the Norwegian government. It followed the Swedish-Norwegian War due to Norway's claim to sovereignty. It also beca ...

, which effectively put an end to 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 ...

kingdom. This set the stage for economic development that has persisted to this day. On the morning of 14 July 2006, a

bolide A bolide is normally taken to mean an exceptionally bright meteor, but the term is subject to more than one definition, according to context. It may refer to any large Impact crater, crater-forming body, or to one that explodes in the atmosphere. ...

exploded above the nearby town of Rygge - moments later, several stony

meteorite A meteorite is a rock (geology), rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical ...

s fell over Moss. A number of meteorites were recovered by local residents and visiting meteorite hunters, which after analysis and classification, were found to be a rare type of

carbonaceous chondrite Carbonaceous chondrites or C chondrites are a class of chondritic meteorites comprising at least 8 known groups and many ungrouped meteorites. They include some of the most primitive known meteorites. The C chondrites represent only a small propo ...

Seal and coat-of-arms

Moss became a separate city in 1786 and received its first seal the same year. The seal showed a church under some clouds, placed within a circle. Above the circle were

fasces A fasces ( ; ; a , from the Latin word , meaning 'bundle'; ) is a bound bundle of wooden rods, often but not always including an axe (occasionally two axes) with its blade emerging. The fasces is an Italian symbol that had its origin in the Etrus ...

, the late 19th century symbol of freedom. A later seal, dating from around 1829, shows the same composition, but with six birds flying around the church. In the 1930s the city wanted to adopt a

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 ...

and the birds were chosen as a possible symbol. The original birds were likely

dove Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...

s, a symbol of peace. In 1934, the idea of the

crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly, a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not linked scientifically to any certain trait but is rathe ...

was launched. The residents of Moss have long been referred to as crows. An old tale tells of a number of birds, thought to have been crows, swarming around the church spire due to a fire that started when lightning struck a birds' nest in the spire. The fire was quickly put out; birds became a motif in the city seal (and later coat-of-arms) for that reason. The coat-of-arms was granted on 2 April 1954 and shows a yellow crow on a red background. It was designed by Christian Stenersen.

Norwegian lady statues

Moss and

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. It is the sixth-most populous city in the ...

in the United States are

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is International relations, a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there ar ...

. On Good Friday, 27 March 1891, the Norwegian bark ''Dictator'', whose home port was Moss, was lost in the treacherous waters of the

Graveyard of the Atlantic Graveyard of the Atlantic is a nickname for the treacherous waters and area of numerous shipwrecks off the Outer Banks of North Carolina, United States, which are due to the coast's shifting sands and inlets. To a lesser degree, this nickname has a ...

. The ship had been en route to England from

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

with a cargo of Georgia Pine

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

. After being caught and disabled in a storm, she was headed for port at

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond, and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point near whe ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

to make repairs when she encountered another storm just off Virginia Beach. Working in the high winds and seas, lifesaving crews from shore were able to save some of the 17 persons aboard. However, Captain J. M. Jorgensen's pregnant wife, Johanne, and their 4-year-old son Carl were among the 7 persons who drowned. The ship's wooden female

figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a practice of who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet '' de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that ...

had washed ashore. It was placed in a vertical position facing the ocean near the

boardwalk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway typically built with wooden planks, which functions as a type of low water bridge or small viaduct that enables pedestrians to ...

as a memorial to those who died in the

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. It results from the event of ''shipwrecking'', which may be intentional or unintentional. There were approximately thre ...

. It was a landmark there for more than 60 years, but gradually became weathered and eroded. In 1962, Norwegian sculptor Ørnulf Bast was commissioned to create two nine-foot bronze replicas of the original figurehead by the City of Moss. The Norwegian Lady Statues were unveiled on 22 September 1962. One was presented as a gift to Virginia Beach, and an exact duplicate was erected in Moss to unite the two sister cities. Each statue gives the appearance of facing the other across the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. On 13 October 1995,

Queen Sonja of Norway Sonja (born Sonja Haraldsen; 4 July 1937) is Queen of Norway as the wife of King Harald V. Sonja and the then Crown Prince Harald had dated for nine years prior to their marriage in 1968. They had kept their relationship a secret due to the ...

visited the Norwegian Lady statue in Virginia Beach, and placed memorial flowers.

Geography

Moss is located on the eastern shore of

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 ...

, 60 km south of Oslo. The municipality also includes some islands, like Jeløya. The Raet goes through the municipality. The area is forested lowland, the highest point is 140 m asl. 84% of the population is located in the town Moss.

Climate

Moss has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(Dfb), or a temperate

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(Cfb) if the original threshold in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

is used. The weather station at Moss Airport Rygge (40 m) started recording temperature in 1955. The all-time high was recorded August 1982, and the all-time low in February 1985. 10 of the record lows are from before 1990, and only the December record low is from after 2000. Rygge airport is located more inland and will have colder lows in winter and autumn than the town. The average date for first overnight freeze (below ) in autumn is 7 October (1981-2010 average) at Rygge.

Industry

The town is known for

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...

s, as well as

metalworks Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals in order to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term, it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on e ...

and other factories. Dillingøy is known as a place for alternative non-military

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

. Moss is mentioned since the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

and was the site of the signing of the Convention of Moss in 1814, which solidified the union with Sweden. The headquarters of textile producer Helly Hansen were located in Moss until 2009. The maker of international hotel keycards, Trio Ving, also has their headquarters here. AquaFence, a manufacturer of reusable temporary flood and hurricane barriers, is headquartered here.

Transport

The railway Østfold Line runs through Moss, stopping at Moss Station, which is the southern terminus of one service of the

Oslo Commuter Rail Oslo Commuter Rail () is a commuter rail centered in Oslo, Norway, connecting the capital to six counties of Norway, counties in Eastern Norway. The system is operated by Vy (formerly NSB) and its subsidiary Vy Gjøvikbanen, using NSB Class 69, C ...

and an intermediate stop for regional trains. Moss connects across the

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

via the Moss–Horten Ferry. There are also bus-lines to

Oslo Airport, Gardermoen Oslo Airport () , alternatively referred to as Oslo Gardermoen Airport or simply Gardermoen, is an international airport serving Oslo, the capital and most populous city of Norway. The airport is the second largest in Scandinavia and the Nord ...

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 ...

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 ...

in addition to local bus lines. Moss port is one of the top 3 busiest container ports in Norway (measured in TEUs).

Health care

Together with Østfold Kalnes Hospital, Østfold Moss Hospital covers general health care services for the municipality. The hospital is a modern unit for planned operations. There is a large outpatient and inpatient activity in a number of disciplines, in the field of

somatics Somatics is a field within bodywork (alternative medicine), bodywork and movement studies which emphasizes proprioception, internal physical perception and experience. The term is used in movement therapy to signify approaches based on the soma, ...

and mental health care as well as an operation department for both inpatient and day surgery. There is an eye department, imaging services, blood sampling and blood bank and more. The municipality also has three health stations - City center, Bredsand and Kambo health stations.

Sport

Moss FK are the town's football club. They play in the First Division, and have played in the Norwegian Premier League as recently as 2002.

Notable people

; people from Moss are known locally as ''"Mossinger"'' *

Ari Behn Ari Mikael Behn (; , or ; 30 September 1972 – 25 December 2019) was a Norwegian author, playwright, and visual artist, best known for his marriage to Princess Märtha Louise of Norway from 2002 to 2017. He held no title or special status, an ...

(1972–2019), author and playwright; former husband of Princess Märtha Louise of Norway; brought up in Moss * Tina Bru (born 1986 in Moss), politician and government minister * Palle Rømer Fleischer (1781 in Moss – 1851), representative at the Norwegian Constitutional Assembly * Gregers Gram (1846 in Moss – 1929), Norwegian prime minister in Stockholm, 1889 to 1891 * Christopher Hansteen (1822 in Moss – 1912), judge, associate justice on the

Supreme Court of Norway The Supreme Court of Norway ( Norwegian Bokmål: ; Norwegian Nynorsk: ; lit. 'Highest Court') is the highest court in the Norwegian judiciary. It was established in 1815 on the basis of section 88 in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway, ...

, 1867 to 1905 * Eyvind Hellstrøm (born 1948 in Moss), gourmet chef and TV personality * Knut Jacobsen (1910–1971), actor and costume designer * Gretha Kant (born 1945), politician, mayor of Moss, 1995 to 2003 * Jorunn Kristiansen, Miss Norway 1959 * David Menkin (born 1977 in Moss), film, TV and voice actor * Jon Michelet (1944 in Moss – 2018), novelist, author of crime novels, newspaper columns, and children's books * Grynet Molvig (born 1942 in Rygge), Norwegian actress and singer * Hanna Paulsberg (born 1987 in Rygge), jazz musician (tenor saxophone) and composer * Johan Scharffenberg (1869 in Moss – 1965), psychiatrist, politician, speaker, and writer * Per Schwenzen (1899 in Moss – 1984), writer of screenplays and librettos for operettas * Arild Sibbern (1785 in Rygge – 1863), representative at the

Norwegian Constituent Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly ( or ) is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised the dissolution of the union with Denmark. The meetings took place at the Eidsvoll Manor in th ...

Georg Sibbern Georg Christian Sibbern (29 March 1816 – 4 October 1901) was a Norwegian diplomat who served as the Prime Minister of Norway. Background He was born at Rygge in Østfold. He was the son of Valentin Sibbern (1779–1853) and Anne Cathrine de ...

(1816 in Rygge – 1901),

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 ...

1858/61 and 1861/1871 * Torgrim Sørnes (born 1956 in Moss), physician, historian, and author * Brede Bøe (born 1969, grew up in Moss), actor and politician

Sports

Einar Jan Aas Einar Jan Aas (born 12 October 1955) is a Norwegian former footballer who played as a centre-back. He was the first Norwegian to play professionally in England and Germany. Club career Aas started his career in Moss FK in 1973. In 1976, they we ...

(born 1955 in Moss), former footballer with 35 caps for

Agnete Carlsen Agnete Synnøve Carlsen (born 15 January 1971) is a former Norwegian professional footballer who played as a midfielder. With the Norway women's national team, Carlsen won the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup and an Olympic bronze medal in 1996 ...

(born 1971 in Moss), former footballer with 97 caps with Norway women * Erik Holtan (born 1969 in Moss), retired football goalkeeper with 330 club caps * Rune Pedersen (born 1963 in Moss), former football referee * Thomas Myhre (born 1973, grew up in Moss), retired football goalkeeper with 56 caps for

* Erland Johnsen (born 1967, grew up in Moss), retired footballer with 24 caps for

* Gabriel Setterblom (born 1997, grew up in Moss), handball player at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

, with 16 caps for

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Moss: * Aguacatán, Guatemala *

Blönduós Blönduós () is a town and former municipality in the north of Iceland with a population of 895 in 2018. Like many towns and villages around Iceland, Blönduós did not emerge as a village until the late 19th century. The town is situated on Rou ...

, Iceland *

Horsens Horsens () is a city on the east coast of the Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 64,418 (1 January 2025) and the municipality's population is 97,921 (), making it the List of cities and ...

, Denmark *

Karlstad Karlstad (, ) is the 20th-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Karlstad Municipality, the capital of Värmland County, and the largest city in the province Värmland in Sweden. The city proper had 67,122 inhabitants in 2020 with 97,233 inhabitan ...

, Sweden *

Nokia Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...

, Finland *

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

, Russia *

, United States

Use of preposition with ''Moss''

"In Moss" is translated ''i Moss''. In the 1800s one said n Moss''på Moss''.

In popular culture

*A traditional expression, he hay scale at Moss''høyvekta på Moss'', means "something that you can not trust". *Moss is known throughout Norway for the local "dish" "Pølse i Vaffel" - sausage in waffle. The dish consists of a

Vienna Sausage Vienna sausage (; Viennese/Austrian German: or ; Swiss German: ; Swabian: or ) is a thin parboiled sausage traditionally made of pork and beef in a casing of sheep's intestine, then given a low-temperature smoking. The word is German fo ...

served in a Scandinavian style waffle with ketchup and mustard. The dish was most likely created in the 1960s, but this is widely discussed. Eyvind Hellstrøm - who later became a Michelin-star chef - and his brother Jan are often referred to as the creators. Eyvind Hellstrøm has not denied this in interviews.

Gallery

File:Storgata i Moss sett fra krysset ved Jeløgata og Jernbanegata, 2015-07-03.jpg , Storgata (street) in Moss File:Moss Tollboden Moss.jpg , Cultural heritage building in Moss File:Moss, the Venetian part - panoramio.jpg , Bridge over the canal between Moss and Jeløy File:Moss railway station, with intercity train.jpg , Moss railway station, 2019 File:Moss kirke, Moss kommune, Østfold.jpg , Moss Church File:Hotell Refsnes Gods.jpg , Hotel Refsnes Gods

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 ...

*
Municipal website

Municipal website

Foto-Moss.com

Mossby.no
*
Moss Avis
local newspaper
Short historical summary of Moss

"Mofs Avis", parodic local newspaper
{{Authority control Municipalities of Østfold Cities and towns in Norway