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Porsgrunn

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Porsgrunn Municipality
Porsgrunn kommune
Municipality
Coat of arms of Porsgrunn Municipality
Coat of arms
Porsgrunn within Telemark
Porsgrunn within Telemark
CountryNorway
CountyTelemark
DistrictGrenland
Administrative centrePorsgrunn
Government
 • Governor (2003)Øystein Beyer (Ap)
Area
 • Total165 km2 (64 sq mi)
 • Land161 km2 (62 sq mi)
 • Rank#352 in Norway
Population
 (2006)
 • Total33,550
 • Rank#22 in Norway
 • Density2,653/km2 (6,870/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
Increase +6.4%
Official language
[1]
 • Norwegian formNeutral
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-0805[2]
WebsiteOfficial website
Data from Statistics Norway

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Porsgrunn is a town and municipality in the county of Telemark, Norway.

Porsgrunn was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The town of Brevik, and the rural district of Eidanger, were merged with Porsgrunn January 1, 1964.

Porsgrunn borders the municipalities of Skien and Siljan to the north, Bamble in the west and Larvik in the east. It is part of a cluster of municipalities south in Telemark that constitute the Grenland area of Norway. The town is situated at the mouth of the river Telemarksvassdraget, also called Porsgrunnselva or The River of Porsgrunn in English, and is an important center of industry. Originally an industrial park, the peninsula of Herøya, south-east of the city, has today grown into a suburb of Porsgrunn.

The name

The place is first mentioned in 1576 ("Porsgrunn") by the writer Peder Claussøn Friis in his work Concerning the Kingdom of Norway (see the article on Norwegian literature). He writes: "Two and a half miles from the sea, the Skien river flows into the fiord, and that place is called Porsgrund." The name was probably given during medieval times to the then swampy area by the nuns of Gimsøy monastery, who went here to collect the shrub pors (Myrica gale), and the Norwegian word grunn meaning 'ground'. Until 1931 the name was written "Porsgrund".

History

The river flowing through the town

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 Telemarksvassdraget 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[3]. Moving the Customs House from Skien to Porsgrunn in 1653 added to the flourishing harbor activity, and Porsgrunn became a thriving market town. In the 18th century, it was the home of some of Norway's most influential families at the time, such as the Aalls, Cappelens, Løvenskiolds, and Deichmans, and in this period Porsgrunn was considered the cultural centre of Norway. On the ecclestiastical side, Porsgrunn was separated from the ancient rural parishes of Eidanger, Solum, and Gjerpen in 1764 to become a prestegjeld with its own minister. It was granted limited city status in 1807, but this was expanded to full city status in 1842.

Porsgrunn vs. Skien rivalry

Located literally on the doorstep of the ancient city of Skien, the emergence of Porsgrunn as a city in its own right is quite peculiar. Naturally, the inhabitants of Skien saw the flourishing neighbour as a threat to their own power and economy, and tried to circumscribe the growth of Porsgrunn in several ways. As an example, Skien protested strongly against a bridge connecting the Eastern and Western parts of Porsgrunn, on the alleged grounds of hindering the seaborne traffic to Skien, and prevented the bridge from being built until 1890. This rivalry is even today very much part of the patriotic makeup of the populations of either city.

Industry

Porsgrunn has a long history of heavy industry.
Important industries in Porsgrunn include:

Transport

Transport links from Porsgrunn:

Famous people from Porsgrunn

See also People from Porsgrunn (category)

References

Books

  • Harald Hals (1968). Eidanger bygdehistorie. Brødrene Kjaer Boktrykkeri.
  • Johan N. Tønnessen (1956-1957). Porsgrunns historie.
  • Ole Georg Moseng (2006). Porsgrunns historie . Bind I . Byen i emning .
  • Ellen Schrumpf (2006). Porsgrunns historie . Bind II . Byen ved elva.

Footnotes

  1. ^ "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
  2. ^ Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (2023-01-26). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget.
  3. ^ ""Historien vår" - byhistorisk utstilling". Porsgrunn.Kommune.no. Retrieved 2007-06-16.
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