Sarpsborg

Sarpsborg kommune
—  Municipality  —
Jernbanegata in Sarpsborg

Coat of arms
Østfold within
Norway
Sarpsborg within Østfold
Coordinates:
Country Norway
County Østfold
Administrative centre Sarpsborg
Government
 - Mayor (2003) Jan O. Engsmyr (Ap)
Area
 - Total 406 km2 (156.8 sq mi)
 - Land 370 km2 (142.9 sq mi)
Area rank 238 in Norway
Population (2006)
 - Total 52,159
 - Rank 13 in Norway
 - Density 134/km2 (347.1/sq mi)
 - Change (10 years) 6.6 %
Demonym Sarping[1]
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 - Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code NO-0105
Official language form Bokmål
Website sarpsborg.com
Data from Statistics Norway
Downtown Sarpsborg (Roald Amundsens Gate)

Sarpsborg is a city and municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg.

Sarpsborg is part of the fifth largest urban area in Norway when paired with neighbouring Fredrikstad. As of 1 January 2010, according to Statistics Norway these two municipalities have a total population of 125,797 with 52,159 in Sarpsborg and 73,638 in Fredrikstad.

Borregaard Industries is and always has been the most important industry in the city. The city is also the home of Borg Bryggerier, part of the Hansa Borg Bryggerier, Norway's second largest brewery-group.

Contents

General information

Name

In Norse times the city was just called Borg (from borg which means "castle"). The background for this was the fortification built by Olav Haraldsson (see History section). Later the genitive case of the name of the waterfall Sarpr (now Sarpsfossen) was added.

In Norse times Østfold county was called Borgarsýsla which means "the county (sýsla) of Borg" and the law district of southeast Norway was called Borgarþing meaning "the thing/court of Borg".

The old name has been revived in the diocese of Borg (1968) and Borgarting Court of Appeal (1995).

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 13 November 1991. It is based on a coat-of-arms from 1556. It shows a bear over a castle. The bear was introduced as early as sometime in the 13th century, by the earl of Sarpsborg (Comes de Saresburgh), Alv Erlingsson. He used the bear to symbolize his strength. The castle symbolizes the fortress (borg) that once gave the city its original name.[2]

History

The city was founded as Borg by the Viking King Olav Haraldsson (Saint Olav) in 1016. It was burned to the ground by Swedish invaders in 1567 during the Northern Seven Years' War. Half the population was evacuated down the river to what is today known as Fredrikstad, about 15 kilometres (9 mi) downstream. Much of the rebuilt town disappeared into the river Glomma during a 1702 mudslide. Again Borg was rebuilt, and it was recreated as a city in 1839, and separated from Tune as a municipality of its own. The rural municipalities of Tune, Skjeberg, and Varteig were merged with the city on 1 January 1992. The population is steadily growing, and during the summer of 2005 it reached 50,000 inhabitants.

City districts

Sport

In the 1960s, Sarpsborg was famous for its football (soccer) team, Sarpsborg FK, but is now more known for its ice hockey team, Sparta Warriors. In football, Sarpsborg 08 FF has taken over the local throne, currently playing on the 2nd highest national level, known as the Adecco League. On 6 November 2009, they sent arch-rival FFK down from the "Tippeliga" in a play-off game in Fredrikstad stadion. Sarpsborg BK plays in the highest bandy division.

Notable residents

International relations

Twin towns - Sister cities

Sarpsborg has several sister cities:[3]

References

Notes
  1. ↑ "Personnemningar til stadnamn i Noreg" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. http://www.sprakrad.no/Sprakhjelp/Rettskriving_Ordboeker/Innbyggjarnamn. 
  2. ↑ "Vedtak om bruk av byvåpenet i den nye kommunen". Sarpsborg. http://www.sarpsborg.com/portal/page?_pageid=33,3140&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&articleId=11573&artSectionId=1246. Retrieved 2008-12-15.  (Norwegian)
  3. ↑ "Vennskapsbyer". Sarpsborg kommune. http://www.sarpsborg.com/portal/page?_pageid=33,3140&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&articleId=4271&artSectionId=1334. Retrieved 2008-12-15.  (Norwegian)
  4. ↑ "::Bethlehem Municipality::". www.bethlehem-city.org. http://www.bethlehem-city.org/Twining.php. Retrieved 2009-10-10. 

External links

Municipalities of Østfold
Aremark · Askim · Eidsberg · Fredrikstad · Halden · Hobøl · Hvaler · Marker · Moss · Råde · Rakkestad · Rømskog · Rygge · Sarpsborg · Skiptvet · Spydeberg · Trøgstad · Våler
40 most populous urban settlements (cities) of Norway
as of 2009, according to Statistics Norway [1]
1. Oslo 876,400
2. Bergen 227,800
3. Stavanger / Sandnes 189,800
4. Trondheim 157,100
5. Fredrikstad / S'borg1 101,700
6. Drammen 96,600
7. Skien / Porsgrunn 86,900
8. Kristiansand 67,500
9. Tromsø 55,100
10. Tønsberg 47,500
11. Ålesund 46,500
12. Haugesund 42,900
13. Moss 41,700
14. Sandefjord 40,800
15. Bodø 36,500
16. Arendal 32,400
17. Hamar 30,000
18. Larvik 23,900
19. Halden 23,000
20. Lillehammer 20,100
21. Harstad 19,500
22. Molde 19,400
23. Kongsberg 18,800
24. Gjøvik 18,700
25. Askøy 18,300
26. Horten 18,200
27. Mo i Rana 17,900
28. Kristiansund 17,000
29. Jessheim 15,300
30. Hønefoss 14,300
31. Narvik 13,900
32. Alta 13,600
33. Elverum 13,500
34. Askim 13,100
35. Ski 12,900
36. Drøbak 12,400
37. Nesoddtangen 11,600
38. Steinkjer 11,500
39. Leirvik 11,400
40. Vennesla 11,400
41. Kongsvinger 11,400
42. Stjørdalshalsen 10,800
1 Sarpsborg.