Sarpsborg ( or ), historically Borg, is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and

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 city of Sarpsborg. Sarpsborg is part of the fifth largest urban area in Norway when paired with neighbouring

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 ...

. As of 1 January 2018, according to

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 ...

these two municipalities have a total population of 136,127 with 55,840 in Sarpsborg and 81,278 in Fredrikstad. Statistics for 2021, say that the city has a population where 19% of the children belong to families that have "low-income in the long-term"; that is the highest level for a city (in Norway); the national level is 11.3%.

General information

Name

In Norse times the city was just called ''Borg'' (from ''borg'' which means "

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

"). The background for this was the

fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

built by Olav Haraldsson (see History section). Later, 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 the name of the

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

''Sarpr'' ( Sarp Falls) was added. It's unclear how Sarpsborg received this part of its name, though two interpretations are the most prevalent. The first comes from the Icelandic word ''Sarpr'' which means

birdcage A birdcage (or bird cage) is a cage (enclosure), cage designed to house birds as pets. Antique (or antique-style) birdcages are often popular as collectors' items or as household decor but most are not suitable for housing live birds, being to ...

in English. The other interpretation is that ''Sarpr'' means "the one who swallows", probably referring to the local waterfall. In Norse times Østfold county was called ''Borgarsýsla'' which means "the county (sýsla) of Borg" and the law district of southeast Norway was called ''Borgarþing'' meaning "the thing/court of Borg". The old name has been revived in the diocese of Borg (1968) and Borgarting Court of Appeal (1995).

Coat of arms

The

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 ...

is from modern times and was granted on 13 November 1991. It is based on a coat of arms dating from 1556 and shows a bear above a castle. The bear was introduced as early as some time in the 13th century, by the

earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...

of Sarpsborg ''(Comes de Saresburgh)'', Alv Erlingsson. He used the bear to symbolise his strength. The castle symbolises the fortress (borg) that gave the city its original name.

History

The city was founded as ''Borg'' by the Viking King Olav Haraldsson (Saint Olaf) in 1016. It was burned to the ground by Swedish invaders in 1567 during the

Northern Seven Years' War The Northern Seven Years' War (also known as the ''Nordic Seven Years' War'', the ''First Northern War,'' the ''Seven Years' War of the North'' or the ''Seven Years War in Scandinavia'') was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden (1523–1611), K ...

. Half the population was evacuated down the river to what is today known as Fredrikstad, about downstream. Much of the rebuilt town disappeared into the river

Glomma The Glomma or Glåma is Norway's longest and most voluminous river. With a total length of , it has a drainage basin that covers 13% of Norway's surface area, all in the southern part of the country. Geography At its fullest length, the river r ...

during a 1702

mudslide A mudflow, also known as mudslide or mud flow, is a form of mass wasting involving fast-moving flow of debris and dirt that has become liquified by the addition of water. Such flows can move at speeds ranging from 3 meters/minute to 5 meters/ ...

. Again Borg was rebuilt, and it was recreated as a city in 1839, and separated from Tune as a municipality of its own. The rural municipalities of Tune,

Skjeberg Skjeberg is a district of Sarpsborg, Østfold County, Norway. Skjeberg was formerly a municipality in Østfold County. The last administrative centre was at Borgenhaugen. As of 2018, Skjeberg has a population of 1,397. The parish of Skjeberg ...

, and Varteig were merged with the city on 1 January 1992. The population is steadily growing, and during the summer of 2005 it reached 50,000 inhabitants. In 2016 the town celebrated its 1,000th anniversary, and the entire year was commemorated by a special programme that encouraged historic preservation within the town. Historically, the sawmill and timber shipping industry has been Sarpsborg's most important sources of income, however since the

industrialisation Industrialisation ( UK) or industrialization ( US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive reorganisation of an economy for th ...

in Norway, more specifically Sarpsborg and the establishment of local manufacturing businesses during the late 1800s, the biggest being Borregaard, Sarpsborg has changed from its traditional timber-based economy and

pre-industrial society Pre-industrial society refers to social attributes and forms of political and cultural organization that were prevalent before the advent of the Industrial Revolution, which occurred from 1750 to 1850. ''Pre-industrial'' refers to a time befor ...

to a more manufacturing and refining-based economy and

industrial society In sociology, an industrial society is a society driven by the use of technology and machinery to enable mass production, supporting a large population with a high capacity for division of labour. Such a structure developed in the Western world ...

. In modern times Sarpsborg has moved away from being a city based on the local manufacturing and refining industry, with only around ten percent employed within the local manufacturing industry, coinciding with Norway's general shift towards a

post-industrial society In sociology, the post-industrial society is the stage of society's development when the service sector generates more wealth than the manufacturing sector of the economy. The term was originated by Alain Touraine and is closely related t ...

. Despite this, the city is still widely regarded by Norwegians both unofficially and officially, to be an industrial city.

Economy

Borregaard Industries is, and always has been, the most important industry in the city. The city is also the home of Borg Bryggerier, part of the Hansa Borg Bryggerier, which is Norway's second largest

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...

-group.

City districts

Sport

During the 1950s and 1960s, Sarpsborg was famous for its

football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

team, Sarpsborg FK, but is now more known for its

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, Sparta Warriors. In football,

Sarpsborg 08 FF Sarpsborg 08 Fotballforening, commonly known as Sarpsborg 08 or simply Sarpsborg (), is a Norwegian professional football club based in Sarpsborg, playing in Eliteserien. Sarpsborg 08 and its predecessors played in 1. divisjon from 2005 to 2010. ...

has taken over the local throne, currently playing at the highest national level. On 6 November 2009, they sent arch-rival FFK down from the top division in a play-off game in Fredrikstad stadion. Sarpsborg 08 has a women's football team that was promoted to the women's Division 1 at the end of 2011, at the same time as the club's under-19 girls reached the Junior Cup Final. Sarpsborg BK plays in the highest

bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The playin ...

division. Sarpsborg is famous for its two elite leagues teams in floorball, Sarpsborg IBK and Greåker IBK.

Climate

Sarpsborg 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 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), depending on winter threshold used ( or ). The all-time high was recorded in July 2018. The all-time low was set in December 2002. Since the weather station was incepted in 1991, the records may not be representative of a longer time frame. The average date for the last overnight freeze (low below ) in spring is 20 April and average date for first freeze in autumn is 22 October giving a frost-free season of 184 days (1981-2010 average).

Musical artists and bands

Notable residents

Public service

* Zacharias Mellebye (1781 in Skjeberg – 1854) farmer, military officer and rep. 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 ...

* Harald Dahl (1863–1920), father of the British writer

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime Flying ace, fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies ...

came from Sarpsborg *

Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegians, Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Am ...

(1872-1928) explorer, first person to reach the South Pole, came from Borge * Oscar Torp (1893 in Skjeberg – 1958) former

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 ...

, 1951-1955 * Carl Fredrik Wisløff (1908–2004) theologian and Christian preacher, grew up in Sarpsborg * Øistein Strømnæs (1914 in Sarpsborg – 1980) head of XU, the WWII intelligence organization * Torbjørn Sikkeland (1923 in Varteig – 2014) chemist, nuclear physicist and radiation biophysicist * Thorvald Gressum (1932–2008) a politician and Mayor of Sarpsborg 1984 to 1995 * Kai Eide (born 1949 in Sarpsborg) a diplomat and writer; roles with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

* Erik Varden (born 1974), a Roman Catholic spiritual writer and Bishop-Prelate of

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

The Arts

Nils Ole Oftebro som konge i spelet 1992

* Julius Fritzner (1828 in Skjeberg – 1882) a restaurateur and hotelier in Christiania * Bjarne Bø (1907 in Skjeberg – 1998) a Norwegian actor * Arne Arnardo, (1912 in Sarpsborg – 1995) circus performer and owner, ''"Circus King of Norway"'' * Walther Aas, (Norwegian Wiki) (1928–1990),

neo-romantic The term neo-romanticism is used to cover a variety of movements in philosophy, literature, music, painting, and architecture, as well as social movements, that exist after and incorporate elements from the era of Romanticism. It has been used ...

artist; lived in Sarpsborg from 1954 * Kjell Karlsen (1931 in Sarpsborg – 2020) band leader, composer, jazz pianist and organist * Nils Ole Oftebro (born 1944 in Sarpsborg) a Norwegian actor and illustrator * Jan Groth (born 1946 in Greåker) vocalist, songwriter, artist with Aunt Mary and other bands * Ketil Gudim (born 1956 in Sarpsborg) a Norwegian dancer and actor * Einstein Kristiansen (born 1965 in Greåker) a cartoonist, designer and TV-host * Kåre Christoffer Vestrheim (born 1969 in Sarpsborg) record producer, musician and composer *

Stephan Groth Stephan Groth (born 10 August 1971) is a Danish-Norwegian singer. He is the man behind Apoptygma Berzerk, an electronic body music act that plays in styles such as synthpop and futurepop. Groth was born in Odense but relocated with his family ...

(born 1971) musician with

Apoptygma Berzerk Apoptygma Berzerk (; commonly abbreviated to APB or APOP) is a Norwegian band that produces a style of electro rock, industrial rock, synth-pop and ballads backed with electronic rhythms, commonly known within the scene as "futurepop". Apoptygm ...

; lived in Sarpsborg since 1986 * Ulrikke Brandstorp (born 1995 in Sarpsborg) singer, songwriter and musical actress Thomas Myhre 04

Sport

* Therese Bertheau (1861 in Skjeberg – 1936) a pioneering female Norwegian mountaineer * John Anderson (1873 in Sarpsborg – 1949) US

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player for 15 seasons * Bjørn Spydevold (1918 in Sarpsborg – 2002) a footballer with 37 caps for

* Bent Skammelsrud (born 1966 in Sarpsborg) footballer, with 366 club caps, mainly for

Rosenborg BK Rosenborg Ballklub, commonly referred to simply as Rosenborg () or RBK, is a Norwegian professional association football, football club from Trondheim that plays in Eliteserien (football), Eliteserien. The club has won a record 26 league titles ...

and 38 for

* Thomas Myhre (born 1973 in Sarpsborg) goalkeeper with 346 club caps and 56 for

* Raymond Kvisvik (born 1974 in Sarpsborg) footballer, with 425 club caps and 11 for

* Jens Arne Svartedal (born 1976 in Sarpsborg), cross-country skier, team silver medallist at the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...

* Per-Åge Skrøder (born 1978 in Sarpsborg),

player with men's national team * Marianne Skarpnord (born 1986 in Sarpsborg) pro. golfer, plays on Ladies European Tour * Jonas Holøs (born 1987 in Sarpsborg),

player with men's national team * Marie Solberg (born 1988 in Sarpsborg) a sailor, bronze medallist at the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Sum ...

* Sander Skogli (born 1993 in Sarpsborg), ice hockey player * Mohamed Elyounoussi (born in 1994), football player

Twin towns - Sister cities

Sarpsborg has several

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 ...

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Cities and towns in Norway Municipalities of Østfold Populated places on the Glomma River