Østfold

coat of arms	map
Basic data
Country :	Norway
Administrative center :	Sarpsborg
Area :	4,180.7 km²
Residents :	297,520 (January 1, 2019)
Population density :	68.2 inhabitants / km²
Municipalities :	18th
ISO 3166-2	NO-01
politics
Fylkesordfører :	Ole Haabeth
Fylkesmann :	Anne Enger

Østfold is a landscape and former province ( Fylke ) in southern Norway , which became part of the newly created province of Viken on January 1, 2020 as part of the regional reform in Norway . Before that it had about 300,000 inhabitants (5% of the total population of Norway). The administrative seat was Sarpsborg . Østfold forms another constituency .

geography

The former province lies in the southeast of Norway between the Oslo Bay and Sweden, in the north on the border with Akershus (now also in Viken), in the east and south Østfold borders on Sweden . The east bank of the Oslofjord forms the west side of the province. Of the total area of 4,181  km² , 3,889 km² are land.

The landscape is characterized by moraine hills, a multitude of lakes and, on the coast, by archipelago islands that were left behind by the thawing glaciers of the last ice age around 10,000 years ago. Slavasshøgda in Rømskog Municipality is the highest peak in the province at 336 meters above sea level. The Glomma and Tistedalselva rivers flow through the area. The Vansjø, Vestvannet, Tunevann and Romsjøen are among the largest lakes in the province. In the middle of the landscape are the port cities of Fredrikstad , Sarpsborg, Halden and Moss as well as Askim and Mysen .

Historic milestone in Sarpsborg

history

The Skjeltorp dolmen , a megalithic structure, is located in Østfold.

The name Østfold is derived from the medieval landscape name Fold . At that time, Østfold and Vestfold were seen as a single landscape, either called Fold or Vik ( Viken ).

Archaeological finds, rock paintings and tumuli show that the area has been inhabited for around 7,000 years. Nowhere else in Norway have so many prehistoric and protohistoric monuments been found. Numerous rock carvings from the Stone Age and Bronze Age can be seen on the Altertumsstrasse ( Oldtidsveien ) between Sarpsborg and Fredrikstad. The oldest town in the Borg area (now Sarpsborg) was founded in 1016. Collections from the beginning of settlement to the recent past of Østfold are in the Borgarsyssel Museum in Sarpsborg.

From its establishment in 1682 to 1918, the province was called Smaalenenes Amt . It was one of 20 "districts" and belonged to the Christiania Stift (Christiania diocese). The office was divided into the bailiwicks Idd og Marker , Moss and Rakkestad . The administrative seat at that time was Moss .

Organizationally, it belonged to the district of the Higher Regional Court "Borgarting and Agder", which had its own court in Smaalenene.

The province of Østfold is Norway's fortress region. Defenses on the border with Sweden were built here for several centuries, many of which were demolished after Norway gained independence. The forts in Halden ( Fredriksten ) and Fredrikstad ( Fredrikstad Festning ) are among the best preserved to this day .

Due to the abundance of forests and waterfalls, a developed timber industry has developed since the Middle Ages , which has been dominated by cellulose and paper production since the end of the 20th century . Numerous testimonies from the time of lumberjacks such as the raftsman tunnel ( Tømmertunnelen ) in Eidet can still be found today.

Østfold provided decisive impulses for Norway's independence. This is where the Moss Convention was concluded in 1814 and the last military clashes with Sweden took place in 1905, which ended with the dissolution of the union with Sweden. Today the region is one of the most dynamically developing areas in Norway.

Infrastructure

Two of Norway's most important motorways run through Østfold, the E6 from Oslo to Gothenburg , Malmö and Copenhagen and the E18 from Stockholm to Oslo. The E6 crosses the border to Sweden in Svinesund via a 704 meter long bridge. The main line of the railway between Oslo and Gothenburg crosses the province from north to south. There are also regional trains to Halden, Sarpsborg, Fredrikstad, Rygge and Moss.

Domestic and international destinations are served from Moss, Rygge Airport , including Berlin. There are ferry connections from Moss to the opposite side of the Oslofjord to Horten in the province of Vestfold.

Administrative division

Location of the municipalities of Østfold

Østfold was last divided into 18 communities. At the same time as the regional reform, a municipal reform was carried out, which is why not all municipalities exist in this form any more.

No.	Surname	Administrative headquarters	Residents (January 1, 2019)	Area in km²
0118	Aremark	Fosby	1,357	319.27
0124	Askim	Askim	15,865	69.16
0125	Eidsberg	Mysen	11,424	235.91
0106	Fredrikstad	Fredrikstad	81,772	286.72
0101	Heaps	Heaps	31,177	642.23
0138	Hobol	Elvestad	5,642	140.39
0111	Hvaler	Skjaerhalden	4,599	90.12
0119	marker	Ørje	3,592	412.89
0104	Moss	Moss	32,726	63.57
0128	Rakkestad	Rakkestad	8,230	434.71
0136	Rygge	Rygge	16,145	74.19
0121	Rømskog	Rømskog	673	183.14
0135	Råde	Karlshus	7,542	118.77
0105	Sarpsborg	Sarpsborg	55.997	404.98
0127	Skiptvet	Skiptvet	3,797	101.21
0123	Spydeberg	Spydeberg	6,042	142.03
0122	Trøgstad	Skjønhaug	5,347	204.45
0137	Våler	Våler i Østfold	5,593	256.96
Fylke	Østfold	Sarpsborg	297,520	4,180.7

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Vi blir ikke helt kvitt fylket med nye regioner , NRK
2. ↑ Johannes Hoops: Reallexikon der Germanic antiquity . tape 17 : Lesser Gods - Landscape Archeology. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2001, ISBN 3-11-016907-X , p. 560 , bottom right ( books.google.com - reading sample).
3. ↑ Norges civile, spirit-celled og judicielle Inddeling October 1, 1917.
4. ↑ ssb.no Statistics Norway, accessed on October 16, 2014.

Coordinates: 59 ° 19 ′ 12 ″  N , 11 ° 12 ′ 36 ″  E