Skien | |
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.jpg) View of the town | |
| Nickname: Ibsenbyen ("Town ofIbsen") | |
  Skien Location of the town Show map of Telemark Skien Skien (Norway) Show map of Norway | |
| Coordinates:59°12′35″N9°36′32″E / 59.20961°N 9.60901°E /59.20961; 9.60901 | |
| Country | Norway |
| Region | Eastern Norway |
| County | Telemark |
| District | Grenland |
| Municipality | Skien Municipality |
| Established as | |
| Kjøpstad | 1358 |
| Area | |
• Total | 26.24 km2 (10.13 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 14 m (46 ft) |
| Population (2022)[2] | |
• Total | 50,142 |
| • Density | 1,882/km2 (4,870/sq mi) |
| Part ofPorsgrunn/Skien | |
| Demonyms | Skiensmann (male) Skienskvinne (female) Skiensfolk |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Post Code | 3715 Skien |
Skienⓘ is atown/city[1] inSkien Municipality inTelemark county,Norway. It is theadministrative centre of the municipality. The town is located along theSkienselva river, about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) to the northwest of the town ofPorsgrunn. The villages ofSkotfoss,Åfoss, andKlovholt are located about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) to the west of the town, the village ofSneltvedt lies about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to the east of the town, and the village ofHoppestad lies about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) to the northwest.
Skien andPorsgrunn are considered to be aconurbation and grouped together as part of thePorsgrunn/Skien metropolitan area. Because of this, the population and area data for this town has not been separately tracked byStatistics Norway. What is tracked, is the portion of the metropolitan area located inSkien Municipality. In 2022, the urban area of Skien measured 26.24 square kilometres (6,480 acres) it had a population of 50,142 with apopulation density of 1,882 inhabitants per square kilometre (4,870/sq mi).[2]
Skien city center is located where the river Farelva (from the lakeNorsjø) forms the lake Hjellevatnet, and it divides into a waterfall on each side of the island of Klosterøya. The harbor basin is located at the northern part of the river Skienselva. The hilly terrain makes the center of Skien crowded with a main north-south axis. The city got its current road alignment and layout after the last big city fire in 1886.
Skien is the seat of thecounty governor and theTelemark County Municipality. The town also has theTelemark Hospital Trust and a number of secondary schools. There is a prison at Rødmyr, a jogging track at Klosterskogen, and a sports and swimming hall (Skienshallen). The newspapersTelemarksavisa andVarden are published in the city.
Skien is one of Norway's oldest cities, with an urban history dating back to theMiddle Ages, and received privileges as amarket town in 1358. From the 15th century, the city was governed by a 12-member council. Skien was historically a centre ofseafaring, timber exports, and early industrialization. It was one of Norway's two or three largest cities between the 16th and 19th centuries. It was also one of Norway's most internationally oriented cities, with extensive contact with its export markets in theLow Countries, theUnited Kingdom, andDenmark. It retained its position asEastern Norway's leading commercial city until the 19th century, when it gradually started to lose importance to the emerging capital ofChristiania following theNapoleonic Wars.[4] The city was the birthplace of playwrightHenrik Ibsen, and many of his famous dramas are set in places reminiscent of early 19th-century Skien.
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Until 1979, it was thought that Skien was founded in the 14th century. However, the archaeological discovery of a carving of theSkien animal has established that its founding preceded 1000 A.D. The city was then a meeting place for inland farmers and marine traders, and also a centre for tradingwhetstones fromEidsborg (inland Telemark).Gimsøy Abbey was founded in the 12th century. Skien was given formalcommercial town rights by the Norwegian crown in 1358.Timber has historically been the principal export from Skien, and in the sixteenth century the city became the Kingdom's leading port for shipping timber. The oldest remaining building is Gjerpen church (built in approximately 1150).
From the 16th century, the city came to be dominated by a group of families known aspatricians. In an 1882 letter toGeorg Brandes,Henrik Ibsen mentions the familiesPaus, Plesner,von der Lippe,Cappelen, andBlom as the most prominent patrician families when he grew up there.[5]
The town of Skien was established as an urban municipality on 1 January 1838 (seeformannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1856, an area ofGjerpen Municipality (population: 1,286) wasannexed by the growing town of Skien. Again, on 1 July 1916, another area ofGjerpen Municipality (population: 1,332) and an area ofSolum Municipality (population: 1,042) wasannexed by the growing town of Skien. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of theSchei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the town of Skien (population: 15,805) was merged with the neighboringSolum Municipality (population: 13,706) andGjerpen Municipality (population: 15,300) plus theValebø area ofHolla Municipality (population: 259). These areas became the newSkien Municipality.[6]
A series of large fires have ravaged the town over the years: in 1652, 1671, 1681, 1732, 1766, 1777, and 1886. Most of these fires significantly damaged the city.
Frogner Manor [no] (Frogner Hovedgård) is amanor house on the outskirts of Skien. The manor house was built for shipowner and timber merchantChristopher Hansen Blom (died 1879) and his wife Marie Elisabeth (Cappelen) Blom (died 1834). The main building is influenced byItalian Renaissance architecture. The garden was laid out in English landscape style in the 1850s.[7]
The Church on Kapitelberget (Kirken på Kapitelberget) was a medieval church. Kapitelberget was a private chapel on Bratsberg farm dating to the early 1100s. It is not known when the church went out of use, but Bratsberg farm burned down in 1156. in 1576,Peder Claussøn Friis reviewed it as a ruin. The site was first excavated in 1901. In 1928,Gerhard Fischer undertook restoration and preservation. The work was completed in 1933.[8][9]
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