Porsgrunn
Town/City[1]
View of the town
View of the town
Coat of arms of Porsgrunn
Coat of arms
Porsgrunn is located in Telemark
Porsgrunn
Porsgrunn
Location of the town
Porsgrunn is located in Norway
Porsgrunn
Porsgrunn
Porsgrunn (Norway)
Coordinates: 59°07′54″N 9°38′48″E / 59.13166°N 9.64665°E / 59.13166; 9.64665
CountryNorway
RegionEastern Norway
CountyVestfold og Telemark
DistrictGrenland
MunicipalityPorsgrunn Municipality
Established as 
Ladested1653
Kjøpstad1807
Elevation
[2]
44 m (144 ft)
Demonym(s)Porsgrunnsmann
Porsgrunnkvinne
Porsgrunnfolk
Porsgrunning
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Post Code
3916 Porsgrunn

Porsgrunnⓘ is a town and the administrative centre of Porsgrunn Municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The town is located at the mouth of the Porsgrunn river where it joins the Frierfjorden. The town of Skien lies immediately to the north of the town of Porsgrunn. The town of Brevik lies about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to the south of Porsgrunn, just north of Heistad. The European route E18 highway passes through the southern part of the town of Porsgrunn.

The town is part of the Porsgrunn/Skien metropolitan area, so Statistics Norway does not track the population of the town separately. The portion of the urban area within Porsgrunn Municipality is 20.99-square-kilometre (5,190-acre) and it has a population (2022) of 34,291 with a population density of 1,634 inhabitants per square kilometre (4,230/sq mi).[3]

History

Painting of Porsgrunn (c. 1800)
Map of the town of Porsgrunn (1900)
Porsgrunn harbour

Porsgrunn has been an important harbor town in the Grenland area since the late 16th century. In 1653, the Customs House was moved further down the Skien river from Skien to Porsgrunn mainly because industrial waste such as sawdust and mud made the river too shallow to allow boats to go any further up the river.[4] Moving the Custom House to Porsgrunn added to the flourishing harbor activity and Porsgrunn became a thriving market town with a ladested status.[5][6][7]

In the 18th century, Porsgrunn was the home of some of Norway's most influential families at the time, such as the Aalls, Cappelens, Løvenskiolds, and Deichmans. Also in this period, Porsgrunn was considered the cultural centre of Norway. On the ecclesiastical side, Porsgrunn was separated from the ancient rural parishes of Eidanger, Solum, and Gjerpen in 1764 to become a prestegjeld with its own minister. Churches within the Porsgrunn prestegjeld include Østre Porsgrunn Church and Vestre Porsgrunn Church. The city was granted limited city status as a kjøpstad in 1807, but this was expanded to full city status in 1842.[5][6][7]

On 1 January 1838, the seaport of Porsgrunn was established as a municipality (see formannskapsdistrikt law). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, there was a major municipal merger where the following areas were merged to form a new Porsgrunn Municipality.[8]

Porsgrunn was once home to Skomvær, the country's largest sailing ship. In 1985, the sculpture Amphitrite, the wave and the sea birds was unveiled in Porsgrunn. The sculpture, which is one of Jørleif Uthaug's best known works, has a nautical theme in honor of Porsgrunn's maritime history.

Government

From its establishment, the town had some self-governing ability. Under the formannskapsdistrikt law of 1838 it received full local self-government control similar to all other municipalities of Norway. It maintained this authority until 1 January 1964 when the town became part of the larger Porsgrunn Municipality. Prior to 1964, the town was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives Norwegian: Bystyre. The town mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.[9]

During its time as a self-governing town, Porsgrunn used a coat of arms that was approved for use on 16 January 1905 until the municipal merger on 1 January 1964. The new Porsgrunn Municipality adopted the same arms that the town had previously used.[10]

Industry

Porsgrunn is an important center of industry and has a long history of heavy industry. Important industries in Porsgrunn include:

See also

References

  1. ↑ In the Norwegian language, the word by can be translated as "town" or "city".
  2. ↑ "Porsgrunn by". yr.no. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  3. ↑ Statistisk sentralbyrå (1 January 2022). "Urban settlements. Population and area, by municipality".
  4. ↑ ""Historien vår"-byhistorisk utstilling" (in Norwegian). Porsgrunn Kommune. Retrieved 16 June 2007.
  5. 1 2 Tønnessen, Johan N. (1956–1957). Porsgrunns historie (in Norwegian).
  6. 1 2 Moseng, Ole Georg (2006). Porsgrunns historie . Bind I . Byen i emning (in Norwegian). ISBN 9788299738811.
  7. 1 2 Schrumpf, Ellen (2006). Porsgrunns historie . Bind II . Byen ved elva (in Norwegian). ISBN 9788299738804.
  8. ↑ Jukvam, Dag (1999). Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. ISBN 9788253746845.
  9. ↑ Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (20 September 2022). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  10. ↑ "Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World. 20 August 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.

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