Tønsberg Tunsberg(historic name) | |
|---|---|
 View of the town | |
| Nickname: Sagabyen (Town ofSagas) | |
  Tønsberg Location of the town Show map of Vestfold Tønsberg Tønsberg (Norway) Show map of Norway | |
| Coordinates:59°16′03″N10°24′27″E / 59.26753°N 10.40763°E /59.26753; 10.40763 | |
| Country | Norway |
| Region | Eastern Norway |
| County | Vestfold |
| District | Jarlsberg |
| Municipality | Tønsberg Municipality |
| Established as | |
| Kjøpstad | c. 871 |
| Area | |
• Total | 26.31 km2 (10.16 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 10 m (33 ft) |
| Population (2023)[2] | |
• Total | 55,387 |
| • Density | 2,105/km2 (5,450/sq mi) |
| Demonyms | Tønsbergensar Tønsbergenser |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Post Code | 3111 Tønsberg |
Tønsberg (pronounced[ˈtœ̂nsbær(ɡ)]ⓘ), historicallyTunsberg, is acity[1] inTønsberg Municipality inVestfold county,Norway. It is located about 102 kilometres (63 miles) south-southwest of the capital city ofOslo on the western coast of theOslofjord near its mouth onto theSkagerrak. The city is the most populousmetropolis in Vestfold county. Tønsberg also serves as theadministrative centre for Vestfold county and the seat of theCounty Governor of Vestfold og Telemark.[4]
Tønsberg is generally regarded as the oldest city in Norway, founded in the 9th century.[5][6][7]Snorri Sturluson mentions the town inHarald Hårfagre's saga (written around 1220) before the battle at Hafrsfjord, which historians have traditionally dated to the year 872, therefore the town was in existence by 871 at the latest. This dating is again based onAre Frode's book,Íslendingabók. Using this information, Tønsberg celebrated its one-thousandth anniversary in 1871 and its 1100th anniversary in 1971. Archaeological findings confirm that there was a farm settlement in Tønsberg at the end of the 8th century, which likely developed into a town during the early 9th century.[4]
The 26.31-square-kilometre (6,500-acre) city has a population (2023) of 55,387 and apopulation density of 2,105 inhabitants per square kilometre (5,450/sq mi). The city has actually grown to the south onto theisland of Nøtterøy, so 10.37-square-kilometre (4.00 sq mi) of the city and 17,979 residents are actually located inFærder Municipality.[2]
The city of Tønsberg was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (seeformannskapsdistrikt law). The ruralSem Municipality was merged with the city of Tønsberg on 1 January 1988, creating a much largerTønsberg Municipality. The neighboringRe Municipality was merged into Tønsberg on 1 January 2020.[4]
The city is home toTønsberg Fortress on Slottsfjellet ("Castle Mountain"), which includes ruins fromCastrum Tunsbergis, Norway's largest castle in the 13th century. An outdoor music festival is held at Tønsberg Fortress every July.[8][9][5] Tønsberg is also home ofOseberg Mound, where the 9th-centuryOseberg Ship was excavated.
TheOld Norse name of the town wasTúnsberg. The first element is thegenitive case oftún (n) which means "fenced area", "garden", or "field around a dwelling". The last element isberg (n) which means "mountain" or "rock". The name originally referred to the fortifications onSlottsfjellet. The old spelling of the name has been retained in the name of the localdiocese,Tunsberg bispedømme.[10]
For a long time, the city did not have a formalcoat of arms, but instead an old medieval seal dating back to 1349 was used in its place. The blue and white circular seal shows theTønsberg Fortress surrounded by a ring wall on a mountain with the sea in front. There is also alongship in the water in front of the fortress. Around the seal are the Latin wordsSIGILLVM BVRGENSIVM D'TVNESBER which means "This is the seal of Tunsberg". The seal was also used forTønsberg Municipality until 2020.[4][11][12]
Tønsberg is the oldest city in Norway,[13][14]: 230 [15][16] founded byHarald Fairhair in the 9th century.[17] It was also an ancient capital of Norway.[18] The first time the town was mentioned by a contemporary writer was in 1130. According toSnorri Sturluson, Tønsberg was founded before theBattle of Hafrsfjord, which, according to Snorri, took place in 871. The year of the battle is disputed and most current historians believe it was closer to 900. If it took place in 871, this makes Tønsberg one of the oldest presentScandinavian cities. It was based upon this that the city's 1000 years jubilee was celebrated in 1871, and 1100 years jubilee in 1971. The archaeological excavations conducted in 1987–88 underneath the monastery ruins revealed several Viking graves which have served to confirm the earlier age of the original settlement.[19]
The King or hisombudsman resided in the old Royal Court atSæheimr, today theJarlsberg Manor (Norwegian:Jarlsberg Hovedgård), and on the farmHaugar, (from theOld Norse wordhaugr meaning hill or burial mound), which can be assumed to have been Tønsberg's birthplace. Haugar became the seat for theHaugating, theThing for Vestfold and Norway's second most important place for the proclamation of kings. The site had probably been named after twoViking Age mounds, which tradition links to two sons of KingHarald I,Olaf Haraldsson Geirstadalf, who was king inVestfold, and his half-brother, Sigrød Haraldsson, King ofTrondheim. Both are presumed to have fallen in battle at Haugar against their half-brotherEric Bloodaxe and to have been buried on the same spot.[20]
Slottsfjellet (Castle Mountain), north of the city centre, made for a near impregnable natural fortress. During thecivil war era of the 12th century, it was fortified by theBaglers. TheBirkebeiners besieged it for 20 weeks in the winter of 1201 before theBaglers surrendered. In the 13th century, KingHaakon Haakonson set up a castle in Tønsberg,Tønsberg Fortress. The town was destroyed by fire in 1536, but Tønsberg remained one of the most important harbour towns in Norway.[21]James VI of Scotland stopped in Tønsberg on his way to meetAnne of Denmark in Oslo, andDavid Lindsay gave a sermon on 16 November 1589. The event was recorded by a painted inscription in the church, which survives in the museum.[22]
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The center of the world'smodern whaling industry was concentrated in the cities of Tønsberg and neighboringSandefjord andLarvik, all of which were the dominant whaling towns in Norway.[23]: 25 While whalers from Sandefjord established the first whaling station in theFaroe Islands, whalers from Tønsberg initiated whaling inIceland and theHebrides.[23]: 84
During the 1850s, Tønsberg turned into a base of operation and source of expertise for whalers in theArctic andAntarctic Oceans.[24] Tønsberg has been called "the cradle of modern whaling".[23]: 26 In the 1892 publication "Handbook for Travellers in Norway" byJohn Murray, Tønsberg was described as "the centre of the Norwegian whaling and sealing industries in the Arctic Ocean."[25]
The first whaling ventures toAntarctica was led by engineerHenrik Henriksen of Tønsberg.[26]Henrik Johan Bull was another noted whaler from the city, known for his expeditions to Antarctica. Bull traveled fromAustralia to Tønsberg in order to learn from local whalerSvend Foyn, who is recognized as the pioneer of the modern whaling industry.[27]
One of the city's most prominent residents,Svend Foyn, was a pioneer who embarked on an 1847 expedition to theArctic, which led to a catch of 6,000 seals. Soon Tønsberg Harbor was home to a large fleet of sealing vessels, and the sealing industry grew further after the 1849 repeal of Britain'sNavigation Acts. The hunters turned the seals to near extinction in theArctic Ocean, and therefore turned toBottle-nosed whales during the 1870s. Norway maintained amonopoly on European whaling until 1883, first and foremost due to Svend Foyn's patent rights to whaling techniques and inventions. Over-hunting in the Arctic eventually drove the whalers to Antarctica. By the beginning of the 20th century, Tønsberg had lost its preeminence in the whaling industry to the neighboring city ofSandefjord.[23]: 60 [28] Sandefjord, which lies just southwest of Tønsberg, later became known as the world's whaling capital.[29][30][31]
During theGermanoccupation of Norway inWorld War II, theBerg concentration camp was constructed near Tønsberg. In 1948, Tønsberg became thecathedral city of theDiocese of Tunsberg (Norwegian:Tunsberg bispedømme), based at theTønsberg Cathedral. The diocese was created when the counties ofBuskerud andVestfold were separated from theDiocese of Oslo.[citation needed]
Tønsberg is a city southeastern inVestfold County, on the western shore of theOslofjord. Tønsberg lies north ofFærder, south ofHorten, and north-east ofSandefjord. It is the ninth-largest city in Norway (by population).[2] The city center lies just north ofNøtterøy Island.[4]
Tønsberg Station is 5–10 minutes walking from the main square in the city centre, known asTorvet. From the main square is a few hundred meters along Rådhusgaten to the waterfront Tønsberg Wharf ("Tønsberg Brygge"), where most cafes, bars and restaurants are located. Just south of Tønsberg are the islands ofNøtterøy andTjøme, which are tourist destinations.[32]
The highest point in the city of Tønsberg is the 75-metre (246 ft) tallFrodeåsen hill on the north side of the city.
Tønsberg and its immediate surroundings is home to five nature preserves:[4]
There is also a plant preserve atKarlsvika where the goal is the preservation of the threatened species fineleaf waterdropwort (Oenanthe aquatica), a rare species in Norway.[4]
| Climate data for Tønsberg - Kilen 1991–2020 (3 m) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −1.4 (29.5) | −1.2 (29.8) | 1.7 (35.1) | 6.2 (43.2) | 11.1 (52.0) | 15.0 (59.0) | 17.2 (63.0) | 16.8 (62.2) | 12.6 (54.7) | 7.3 (45.1) | 3.1 (37.6) | −0.7 (30.7) | 7.3 (45.2) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 73 (2.9) | 54 (2.1) | 48 (1.9) | 51 (2.0) | 71 (2.8) | 71 (2.8) | 72 (2.8) | 93 (3.7) | 86 (3.4) | 106 (4.2) | 95 (3.7) | 86 (3.4) | 906 (35.7) |
| Source: yr.no (mean, precipitation)[33] | |||||||||||||
From 1838 until 1988, the city of Tønsberg was a self-governing city within Norway. Since 1988, the city has been part of a much largerTønsberg Municipality. The city/urban area is no longer self-governing, but rather the entire municipality is governed by a mayor and municipal council.
| Historical population | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1801 | 1815 | 1825 | 1835 | 1845 | 1855 | 1865 | 1875 | 1891 | 1900 | 1910 | 1920 | 1930 | 1946 | 1951 | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 | 2000 | 2009 | 2020 | 2023 |
| Pop. | 1,543 | 1,490 | 1,907 | 1,970 | 2,245 | 2,874 | 4,541 | 5,174 | 7,215 | 8,611 | 9,769 | 12,568 | 11,997 | 11,883 | 12,208 | 12,591 | 11,284 | 9,247 | 43,346 | 47,465 | 53,018 | 55,387 |
| ±% p.a. | — | −0.25% | +2.50% | +0.33% | +1.32% | +2.50% | +4.68% | +1.31% | +2.10% | +1.98% | +1.27% | +2.55% | −0.46% | −0.06% | +0.54% | +0.34% | −1.09% | −1.97% | +8.03% | +1.01% | +1.01% | +1.47% |
| Source:Statistics Norway[34][35] and Norwegian Historical Data Centre[36] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The whole urban area of the city of Tønsberg is the 9th most populous city/urban area in Norway and the largest city inVestold County. The 26.31-square-kilometre (6,500-acre) city has a population (2023) of 55,387 and apopulation density of 2,105 inhabitants per square kilometre (5,450/sq mi). The city has actually grown to the south onto theisland of Nøtterøy, so 10.37-square-kilometre (4.00 sq mi) of the city and 17,979 residents are actually located inFærder Municipality.[2] The urban area of the city of Tønsberg extends fromEik in the north, toTolvsrød,Vallø andRingshaug in the east andBorgheim onNøtterøy in the south. The city experienced a 20.8% population growth between 2000 and 2015, compared to 14.0% for Vestfold County as a whole. Furthermore, Tønsberg has the highesturbanization rate in Vestfold. While 94.6 percent of residents in Tønsberg Municipality are residing in cities, the equivalent number for Vestfold County is 84.8 percent.[4] As of 2018, the largest minority groups were Polish (1.68%), Lithuanians (1.11%), Iraqis (1.06%), Swedes (0.75%), and Syrians (0.64%).[37]
FK Tønsberg is the premier football team in Tønsberg, currently playing in the2. divisjon as of 2017.
Tønsberg Vikings is the local hockey team, who play at theTønsberg Ishall. The club played in theGET-ligaen until 2014. TheMaier Arena Tønsberg is an outdoor ice skating arena on the same site as the Tønsberg Ishall and is used forspeed skating. It once hostedmotorcycle speedway, being the venue for the 1950Norwegian Championship.[38]
Tønsberg hosted a round of the powerboatingUIM F2 World Championship from 2014 to 2018.
Perhaps the most important landmark in the town isSlottsfjellet, the tower standing on the hill. It was erected in 1888 as a memorial toTønsberg Fortress (Tunsberg festning), the old fortress, of which just fragmentary ruins remain today. Below the mountain there is a museum dedicated to "Slottsfjellet" and Tønsberg. There are several exhibitions here aboutwhaling and the fortress, Tønsberg Fortress. Several streets in the town are named after old kings of Norway.[39]
Other notable tourist sites include:
Tønsberg is the site ofOseberg Mound, a Viking era burial mound. TheOseberg Ship was found in the Oseberg burial mound in 1904. This Viking eralongship is now in theViking Ship Museum in Oslo. Archaeological excavations in 1904 uncovered history's largest and richest example of craftsmanship from the Viking Age. In addition to the Oseberg Ship, Oseberghaugen contained the Oseberg carriage, five intricately carved bed-posts shaped like animal heads, four sledges, beds, chests, weaving-frames, household utensils and much more. Scientific examinations in 1992 now date the burial to 834 AD, and indicate a probability that it wasQueen Alvhild, the first wife ofKing Gudrød, who was buried here.[45]
When unearthed, the ship was buried in blue clay and covered with stones beneath the 6-metre (20 ft) high Oseberg Mound.[14]: 85
Tønsberg is mostly a shopping town and an administrative centre. It is also noted especially for itssilverware.
The city is served by the railway lineVestfoldbanen, which runs in a loop through the city before reachingTønsberg Station.
Tønsberg has been featured as a location in several films, most notably those set in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). It is first mentioned in the 2010 filmIron Man 2 as a location under surveillance byS.H.I.E.L.D.[46] In the 2011 filmThor, it is established that centuries ago, Tønsberg was the invasion point of theFrost Giants ofJotunheim, who sought to conquer Earth before they were defeated byOdin and the forces ofAsgard. It is then seen inCaptain America: The First Avenger, where theRed Skull acquires theTesseract from a church.[46] In the 2017 filmThor: Ragnarok, Odin chooses the town as the site of his death. InAvengers: Endgame, the town is renamed "New Asgard" and serves as a refuge for theAsgardians who survived Thanos's attack during the events ofAvengers: Infinity War, withValkyrie as its leader.[46] InThor: Love and Thunder, New Asgard has become a tourist attraction but suffers political turmoil as a result of the discrimination of Earth's governments against otherworldly beings. The Tønsberg raid by Hydra is also recreated in the first episode ofWhat If...?, albeit it occurs much later than inCaptain America: The First Avenger.
Tønsberg is also featured in the 2010 gameMount and Blade: Warband's Viking Conquest expansion as the capital of the Kingdom of Northvegr.
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The following cities aretwinned with Tønsberg:[52]
Covarrubias, Spain
Évora, Portugal
Ísafjörður, Iceland
Joensuu, Finland
Lamia, Greece
Linköping, Sweden
Ravenna, Italy
Waterford, Ireland{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link){{cite web}}:Check|url= value (help);Missing or empty|title= (help)
Vestfold travel guide from WikivoyageTønsberg travel guide from Wikivoyage
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