The 329-square-kilometre (127 sq mi) municipality is the 254th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Tønsberg is the 17th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 58,561. The municipality'spopulation density is 179.6 inhabitants per square kilometre (465/sq mi) and its population has increased by 16.6% over the previous 10-year period.[5][6]
Tønsberg Municipality is home toTønsberg Fortress on Castle Mountain, which includes ruins fromCastrum Tunsbergis, Norway's largest castle in the 13th century. Tønsberg is also home ofOseberg Mound, where the 9th-centuryOseberg Ship was excavated. The largecity of Tønsberg was founded in the 9th century, one of the oldest cities in Norway, and it is also the 9th largest city in Norway.
The town ofTønsberg was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (seeformannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1877, the growing town of Tønsberg was enlarged by taking an area fromSem Municipality (population: 61) and another area fromNøtterøy Municipality (population: 102). On 1 January 1980, an unpopulated area ofNøtterøy Municipality was transferred to the town of Tønsberg. On 1 January 1988, the town of Tønsberg (population: 8,896) was merged withSem Municipality (population: 21,948) to form a new, much larger Tønsberg Municipality.[7]
On 1 January 2017, the village ofVear was transferred fromStokke Municipality to the neighboring Tønsberg Municipality.[8] On 1 January 2020, Tønsberg Municipality merged with the neighboringRe Municipality to form a much larger municipality.[9]
The municipality is named after the old town ofTønsberg (Old Norse:Túnsberg) since the firstTønsberg Church was built there centuries ago. 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 and municipality 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".[4][11][12]
In preparation for the merger of Re and Tønsberg Municipalities, a newcoat of arms was adopted in 2018 for use starting on 1 January 2020. Theblazon is"Per paleargent alongshipstemazure andazure aseedlingargent". This means the arms are divided with a verticalline. Thefield (background) to the right of the line has atincture ofazure. To the right of the line, the field has a tincture ofargent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. There are twocharges on the arms. The charge on the left side is alongshipstem, symbolizing the one on theOseberg Ship and the greatViking Age history in the area. This stem has atincture ofazure. The charge on the right side is aseedling, symbolizing localagriculture. This seedling or sprout has a tincture ofargent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used.[4][13][14]
The city ofTønsberg has existed for centuries. On 1 January 1838, theformannskapsdistrikt law went into effect, making all cities and rural parishes across Norway into civil municipalities with self-governing councils. The city of Tønsberg was surrounded bySem Municipality for many years until 1988 when Sem Municipality and the city of Tønsberg were merged, creating a new Tønsberg Municipality with a much larger size and population than the city was before the merger. The city continued on as theadministrative centre of the new municipality. In 2017, the village ofVear was transferred into Tønsberg Municipality fromStokke Municipality. In 2020, the neighboringRe Municipality was merged with Tønsberg Municipality, more than doubling its size again. The new Tønsberg Municipality included much more rural area than urban area, with most of the urban settlements in and around the city of Tønsberg in the far southern part of the newly merged municipality.[4]
Since the municipality was enlarged, Tønsberg is now the largest agricultural municipality, with an agricultural area of about 117,000 decares (117 km2; 45 sq mi) (2018). Cereal cultivation dominates, but vegetable production is significant. Tønsberg is the municipality in Vestfold that has the highest number of cattle (both dairy and meat cows). In forestry, 43,000 cubic metres (1,500,000 cu ft) of trees were harvested in 2018, about 80% of which wasspruce.[4]
The city ofTønsberg has long traditions in shipping, industry, and trade. Today, the municipal business-base is predominantly small and medium-sized companies. The most important industries are the food industry, including a large slaughterhouse (Nortura) and a large dairy (Tine), as well as a flatbread factory. The workshop industry is also significant, particularly the metal goods industry.Esso's refinery at Slagentangen was closed in 2021. There is also a large silverware factory and the country's only bell foundry at Nauen inSem (Olsen Nauen Bell Foundry). The most important industrial areas are located along the Canal and the adjacent areas of Byfjorden, both on the mainland and theNøtterøy side. Important industrial areas are also found along the Oslofjord fromHusøy and northwards toVallø and Slagentangen. There is also a lot of summer tourism along the coast.[4]
Note: The municipal borders were changed in 1988 and 2020, causing a significant change in the population. Source:Statistics Norway[15][16] and Norwegian Historical Data Centre[17]
Themunicipal council(Kommunestyre) of Tønsberg is made up of 43 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by politicalparty.
Thebedrock in the municipality consists entirely of igneous rocks. The landscape is characterized by slightly hilly, elongated and wooded hills with crevasse valleys running north-south and with heights in the western part of the municipality reaching as high as the 400-metre (1,300 ft) tall Snippane, just west ofVivestad. Streams and rivers follow the north-south running valleys. The Storelva river, which flows centrally through the municipality from north to south, and the Merkedamselva river in the west unite and become the river Aulielva which then flows into theTønsbergfjorden.[4]
