Tønsberg (pronounced [ˈtœ̂nsbær(ɡ)] ; locally [ˈtœ̂nsbææʁ]) is a municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Jarlsberg. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tønsberg which was established in the 9th century. Other larger population centres in the municipality include Barkåker, Bergsåsen, Brekkeåsen, Eik, Fon, Gretteåsen, Husøy, Husvik, Linnestad, Ramnes, Rånerudåsen, Revetal, Sem, Svinevoll, Teie, and Vear.
The 329-square-kilometre (127 sq mi) municipality is the 254th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Tønsberg is the 16th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 60,246. The municipality's population density is 184.7 inhabitants per square kilometre (478/sq mi) and its population has increased by 16.7% over the previous 10-year period.
Tønsberg Municipality is home to Tønsberg Fortress on Castle Mountain, which includes ruins from Castrum Tunsbergis, Norway's largest castle in the 13th century. Tønsberg is also home of Oseberg Mound, where the 9th-century Oseberg Ship was excavated. The large city 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.
Contents
General information
Administrative history
The formannskapsdistrikt law of 1837 created a system of local government in Norway by establishing each town (ladested or kjøpstad) and each Church of Norway prestegjeld as a civil municipality. On 1 January 1838, the kjøpstad of Tønsberg was established as Tønsberg Municipality.
On 1 January 1877, the growing Tønsberg Municipality was enlarged by taking an area from Sem Municipality (population: 61) and another area from Nøtterøy Municipality (population: 102). On 1 January 1980, an unpopulated area of Nøtterøy Municipality was transferred to the town of Tønsberg.
On 1 January 1988, the large Sem Municipality (population: 21,948) was dissolved and merged with Tønsberg Municipality (population: 8,896) to form a much larger Tønsberg Municipality. On 1 January 2017, the village of Vear was transferred from Stokke Municipality to the neighboring Tønsberg Municipality.
In 2020, there were many municipal and county mergers across Norway due to the work of the Solberg cabinet. On 1 January 2020, the large Re Municipality (population: 9,730) was dissolved and merged with Tønsberg Municipality (population: 45,976) to form a larger Tønsberg Municipality. Historically, this municipality was part of Vestfold county. Also, on 1 January 2020, the municipality became a part of the newly-formed Vestfold og Telemark county (after Telemark and Vestfold counties were merged). The merger was shortlived, and on 1 January 2024, the merger was undone and this municipality became part of Vestfold county once again.
Name
The municipality is named after the old town of Tønsberg (Old Norse: Túnsberg) since the first Tønsberg Church was built there centuries ago. The first element is the genitive case of tún (n) which means "fenced area", "garden", or "field around a dwelling". The last element is berg (n) which means "mountain" or "rock". The name originally referred to the fortifications on Slottsfjellet. The old spelling of the name has been retained in the name of the local diocese, Tunsberg bispedømme.
Coat of arms
For a long time, the city and municipality did not have a formal coat of arms, but instead an old medieval seal dating back to 1349 was used in its place. The blue and white circular seal shows the Tønsberg Fortress surrounded by a ring wall on a mountain with the sea in front. There is also a longship in the water in front of the fortress. Around the seal are the Latin words SIGILLVM BVRGENSIVM D'TVNESBER which means "This is the seal of Tunsberg".
In preparation for the merger of Re Municipality and Tønsberg Municipality, a new coat of arms was adopted in 2018 for use starting on 1 January 2020. The blazon is "Per pale argent a longship stem azure and azure a seedling argent". This means the arms are divided with a vertical line. The field (background) to the right of the line has a tincture of azure. To the right of the line, the field has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. There are two charges on the arms. The charge on the left side is a longship stem, symbolizing the one on the Oseberg Ship and the great Viking Age history in the area. This stem has a tincture of azure. The charge on the right side is a seedling, symbolizing local agriculture. This seedling or sprout has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used.
Churches
The Church of Norway has nine parishes (sokn) within Tønsberg Municipality. It is part of the Tønsberg domprosti (arch-deanery) in the Diocese of Tunsberg.
History
The city of Tønsberg has existed for centuries. On 1 January 1838, the formannskapsdistrikt 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 by Sem 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 the administrative centre of the new municipality. In 2017, the village of Vear was transferred into Tønsberg Municipality from Stokke Municipality. In 2020, the neighboring Re 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.
Economy
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 was spruce.
The city of Tønsberg 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 in Sem (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 the Nøtterøy side. Important industrial areas are also found along the Oslofjord from Husøy and northwards to Vallø and Slagentangen. There is also a lot of summer tourism along the coast.
Government
Tønsberg Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Vestfold District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.
Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Tønsberg Municipality 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 political party.
Mayors
The mayor (Norwegian: ordfører) of Tønsberg Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
Geography
Tønsberg is a municipality in Vestfold County, on the western shore of the Oslofjord. Tønsberg lies north of Færder Municipality, west and south of Horten Municipality, and east of Sandefjord Municipality. Most of the municipality lies on the mainland plus a small area on the north end of the island of Nøtterøy. Just south of Tønsberg are the islands of Nøtterøy and Tjøme (both in Færder Municipality), which are tourist destinations. The highest point in the municipality is the 399.97-metre (1,312.2 ft) tall mountain Snippane, located just east of the border with Larvik Municipality.
The bedrock 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 of Vivestad. 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 the Tønsbergfjorden.
Twin towns – sister cities
Tønsberg has sister city agreements with the following places:
Covarrubias, Spain
Évora, Portugal
Ísafjörður, Iceland
Joensuu, Finland
Lamia, Greece
Linköping, Sweden
Ravenna, Italy
Waterford, Ireland