Arendal | |
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 View of the city centre | |
  Arendal Location of the city Show map of Agder Arendal Arendal (Norway) Show map of Norway | |
| Coordinates:58°27′40″N8°46′01″E / 58.4612°N 08.7669°E /58.4612; 08.7669 | |
| Country | Norway |
| Region | Southern Norway |
| County | Agder |
| District | Østre Agder |
| Municipalities | Arendal,Grimstad |
| Established as | |
| Ladested | 1610 |
| Kjøpstad | 1723 |
| Area | |
• Total | 27.14 km2 (10.48 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 15 m (49 ft) |
| Population (2019)[1] | |
• Total | 37,815 |
| • Density | 1,393/km2 (3,610/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Post Code | 4836 Arendal |
Arendal (Urban East Norwegian pronunciation:[ˈɑ̂ːɳɖɑːɫ]ⓘ) is acity inAgder county,Norway. The city is theadministrative centre of the municipality ofArendal and the seat of theCounty Governor of Agder. The city also includes a small area in the neighbouring municipality ofGrimstad as well.[3] In Norway, Arendal is considered aby which can be translated as either a "town" or "city" in English.
The 27.14-square-kilometre (6,710-acre) city has a population (2019) of 37,815 and apopulation density of 1,393 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,610/sq mi). The city does cross municipal boundaries due to its growth over the years. In 2019, 0.09 square kilometres (22 acres) of the city with 112 residents were located in neighbouring Grimstad municipality. This area was mostly north of theFevik area in Grimstad, south of the city centre.[1]
The offices ofUNEP/GRID-Arendal are located in the town of Arendal. There are several churches in the city of Arendal includingTrinity Church,Bjorbekk Church,Barbu Church andStokken Church.
The village of Arendal was established in the middle of the 16th century, and was then calledDen Galeste Uggu. Initially, it had no formal town status. It was part of theprestegjeld ofØyestad going back for centuries. In 1610, the village was declared aladested, a port of loading with special trading rights.[4] The village sat at the mouth of the riverNidelva and timber was floated down the river from the vast inland forests and it was loaded onto boats and shipped elsewhere at Arendal.
When the town ofChristianssand was founded by KingChristian IV in 1641, he granted those citizens a monopoly on all trade inNedenæs andLister og Mandal counties (including the area of Arendal). This grant, intended to subsidise Christianssand and its fortifications, placed existing towns and ports in those counties in a difficult position. Both towns and the peasants in the rural countryside protested the hardships this caused. As a result, Arendal received royal permission in 1622 to continue as a loading-place for timber until a means could be found to transfer its trade to Christianssand, but Arendal had to pay a special tax of 750riksdaler each year for this special privilege.[4]
The town of Arendal was givenkjøpstad privileges on 1 May 1723, giving it full "town status" along with all the trading privileges as other towns. However the peasants in the surrounding district, who by law were to sell their goods only at Arendal, continued to smuggle their goods out on cutters and sell them inDenmark, in theBaltic, and inBritain.[citation needed]
This continued until 1735, when some laws were changed and that, combined with the Danish imposition of a monopoly on grain imports, caused greatpoverty and starvation among the peasants in the surrounding districts, leading to several famous rebellions.[citation needed]
As a result of the rebellions, the age of privileges for towns like Christianssand and Arendal came to an apparent end in 1768 by royalproclamation. But the problems did not end then; a farmer,Christian Jensen Lofthuus, in nearbyVestre Moland, led a rebellion in 1786 which resulted in the government actually remedying some of the most repressive trade policies, but Lofthuus died in prison. The charges against Lofthuus were that he dealt in grain and other commodities to the detriment of Arendal's privileges.
Shipping,shipbuilding, andtimber trade as well asmining andironworks were important branches of industry in Nedenæs county for many centuries, especially in the Arendal region. Frequent contacts with the world abroad put their mark on its culture and traditions. In 1880, it was the country's biggest port in terms of tonnage handled. At the end of the 19th century Arendal was recognised as a major shipping centre with many wealthy shipowners. However, this came to an end following the 1886Arendal crash, in whichAxel Nicolai Herlofson had defrauded many bank customers in the city, leading to bankruptcies and extreme unemployment.[5]
Around the turn of the twentieth century, when thousands of Norwegians sought to take advantage of the more stable economic climate of theUnited States by emigrating from a ship namedThomas Gundersen, many of those from Arendal took their economic traditions with them. In New York City and the surrounding areas, a great deal of Americans who claim Norwegian ancestry can trace their roots to Arendal, as a great deal of Norwegian sailors, trimmers, shipbuilders and carpenters from Arendal settled in areas of New York such asBrooklyn,Port Richmond (Staten Island), and several industrial centres in northernNew Jersey such asJersey City,Bayonne,Perth Amboy, andElizabeth. In 1939, Arendal had the 4th largest Norwegiantanker fleet; onlyOslo,Bergen, andStavanger were larger.
During the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940,Arendal was captured by the German torpedo boatGreif.[6]
Today, the town has small boat manufacturing, mechanical industry, electronics industry, as well as one of the world's largestsilicon carbide refining plants.[citation needed]
The town of Arendal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (seeformannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1875, a small area with 22 inhabitants was transferred from the town to the neighbouring municipality ofØstre Moland and another small area with 52 residents was transferred to the neighbouring municipality ofØyestad.[7]
On 1 January 1902, the rural municipality ofBarbu (population: 6,787) was merged into the town of Arendal. In 1944, a small area ofMoland with a population of 21 inhabitants was transferred to Arendal as well. On 1 January 1992, the town was vastly expanded. The neighbouring rural municipalities ofHisøy (pop: 4,026),Moland (pop: 8,148),Tromøy (pop: 4,711), andØyestad (pop: 8,679) were all merged with the town of Arendal which had a population of 12,478, bringing the total population of the new municipality of Arendal to 38,042.[7]
TheOld Norse form of the name was probablyArnardalr. The first element is thegenitive case ofǫrn which means "eagle" and the last element isdalr which means "valley" or "dale", thus meaning the "eagle valley".[8]
In the middle of the town centre is an area with wooden houses dating back to the 17th century. This area is called Tyholmen, and is what is left of buildings from before the 19th century. The inner harbour of Arendal is called "Pollen", where the fish market, pubs, and restaurants are located.Trinity Church dominates the skyline of this area.[citation needed]
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As of 1 January 2024, according toStatistics Norway[1] | ||
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