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Porsgrunn

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Porsgrunn Municipality
Porsgrunn kommune
Municipality
Coat of arms of Porsgrunn Municipality
Coat of arms
Telemark within Norway
Telemark within Norway
Porsgrunn within Telemark
Porsgrunn within Telemark
CountryNorway
CountyTelemark
DistrictGrenland
Administrative centrePorsgrunn
Government
 • Mayor (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%
DemonymPorsgrunning[1]
Official language
[2]
 • Norwegian formNeutral
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-0805[3]
WebsiteOfficial website
Data from Statistics Norway

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Porsgrunnⓘ is a town and municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Porsgrunn.

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

General information

Name

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

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 16 January 1905. The arms were divised in 1905 when the town needed a new city hall. The silver bend is the small river running through the town. The upper half shows a silver-colored branch of bog myrtle on a red background and is thus a canting symbol. The silver anchor on a blue background symbolizes the importance of the local harbor.[4]

History

Porsgrunn City Hall

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.[5] Moving the Custom 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. Also 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.

Transportation

Transportation links from Porsgrunn:

Geography

The river flowing through the town

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 in southern Telemark that constitute the Grenland area of Norway. The town is situated at the mouth of the river Telemarksvassdraget or 'Porsgrunnselva (English: Porsgrund river) , and is an important center of industry. Originally an industrial park, the peninsula of Herøya, southeast of the city, has today grown into a suburb of Porsgrunn.

Industry

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

2

Notable residents

Main category: People from Porsgrunn
2

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Norway

Twin towns — Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Porsgrunn:[6]

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. ^ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
  2. ^ "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
  3. ^ Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (2023-01-26). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget.
  4. ^ Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". Retrieved 2009-01-17.
  5. ^ ""Historien vår"-byhistorisk utstilling". Porsgrunn Kommune. Retrieved 2007-06-16. Template:No icon
  6. ^ "Vennskapskommuner for Porsgrunn og Brevik". Porsgrunn kommune. Retrieved 2009-01-17. Template:No icon
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