TøNSBERG

is a town and municipality in the county of Vestfold, Norway.
The town of Tønsberg was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The rural municipality of Sem was merged with Tønsberg January 1, 1988.
The population of the entire city, regardless of municipality borders, and following the guidelines set by the national statistician agency, the SSB, was 46,091 as of January 1, 2007, making Tønsberg the tenth most populated city of Norway. Tønsberg is generally regarded as the oldest town in Norway.

Contents

History

Economy

The name

Coat-of-arms

Famous residents

Friendship town

History

According to Snorri Sturluson, Tønsberg was founded before the Battle of Hafrsfjord. Although this is disputed by modern-day historians, it would make Tønsberg the oldest present Scandinavian town. In the 1200s, King Haakon Haakonson set up a castle here, Tønsberg Fortress. His daughter was known as Princess Kristina of Tønsberg. She was married to the Spanish Prince of Castilla, but died shortly thereafter. The town was destroyed by fire in 1536, but Tønsberg remained one of the most important harbour towns in Norway.
During the German occupation of Norway in World War II, the Berg concentration camp was constructed near Tønsberg.

Economy

Tønsberg is still an industrial and maritime centre, with such diverse concerns as metal shops, shipyards, paper mills, leather processing, and breweries; it is noted especially for its silverware. Tourist sites include ruins of the Tønsberghus, St. Michael's Church, the Royal Castle, Sem Church, and the Vestfold Museum. The Oseberg ship was found near the city in 1904. The longship is now in the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo.
Maybe the most important landmark in the town is the tower standing on the hill. It was erected in 1888 as a memorial to the old fortress, of which just fragmentary ruins remain today. Many streets in the town are named after old kings of Norway.
The city is served by the Vestfoldbanen railway line which runs in a loop through the city before Tønsberg Station.

The name

The Norse form of the name was ''Túnsberg''. The first element is the genitive case of ''tún'' n 'fenced area', the last element is ''berg'' n 'mountain'. The name originally referred to the fortifications on Slottsfjellet.
The old spelling has (since 1948) been retained in the name ''Tunsberg bispedømme'' ('diocese of Tunsberg').

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is a seal from the Middle Ages. It shows Tønsberg Fortress.

Famous residents

★ Anders Aukland has won the world championship in cross country skiing six times. He was born in Tønsberg in 1972, in the Husvik area - where Stine B. Haug also lived from 1982-2006. She is locally known for her excitement and deep voice.

★ Jahn Teigen, the lead singer of Popol Ace (formerly Popol Vuh), came from Tønsberg. Teigen was the first person in history to receive a score of nil points in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978.

★ Lene Nystrøm, formerly of Aqua was born and raised here. Norwegian alternative rock band Seigmen also came from Tønsberg. Tønsberg is famous for its black metal community which the Hammerslagfestival represents. This festival is held each year in an old church around Christmas in the center of the town.

Friendship town

Tønsberg and Covarrubias in Spain have entered a friendship agreement as the result of an old connection through Princess Kristina of Norway. hei