Fredrikstad

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coat of arms map
Fredrikstad municipality coat of arms
Fredrikstad (Norway)
Fredrikstad
Fredrikstad
Basic data
Commune number : 3004
Province  (county) : Viken
Administrative headquarters: Fredrikstad
Coordinates : 59 ° 13 '  N , 10 ° 57'  E Coordinates: 59 ° 13 '  N , 10 ° 57'  E
Surface: 292.56 km²
Residents: 82,385  (Feb 27, 2020)
Population density : 282 inhabitants per km²
Language form : Bokmål
Postal code : 1601-1639
Website:
traffic
Railway connection: Østfoldbanen
politics
Mayor : Jon-Ivar Nygård  ( Ap ) (2011)
Location in the province of Viken
Location of the municipality in the province of Viken
Old town, market
Fredrikstad Bridge over the Glomma
The Østre Fredrikstad Church from 1779

Fredrikstad [ ˈfrɛdriksta ] is a town and municipality in the province ( Fylke ) Viken . Before Østfold merged with other provinces to form Viken, it was the largest city in the province. It was merged on January 1, 1994 with the current districts of Borge, Kråkerøy, Onsøy (Odinsinsel) and Rolvsøy. It has an area of ​​290 square kilometers.

geography

Fredrikstad is located in the extreme southeast of Norway and not far from the border with Sweden , which is only 32 km away. It borders Råde to the north, Sarpsborg to the east and Hvaler , the archipelago off the coast, to the south . Fredrikstad is located at the mouth of the Glomma , Norway's longest and widest river, in the Oslofjord .

history

The Østfold region was settled as early as the Neolithic . Fredrikstad was founded in 1567 by King Fredrik II , 15 kilometers from the old city of Sarpsborg , which was burned down by Swedish troops. After Norway was forced to cede the province of Båhuslen to Sweden, Fredrikstad on the Norwegian-Swedish border gained strategic importance. King Fredrik III commissioned the Dutch Quartermaster General Willem Coucheron to build a fortress ( Fredrikstad festning ) to defend the city. According to the Dutch model, a star-shaped fortress was built on the east bank of the Glomma in 1663–1666, within the walls of which the present-day, also well-preserved old town ( Gamlebyen ) is located. During the Great Northern War (1700-1721) Fredrikstad was the base of the Norwegian fleet on the archipelago. The fortress was attacked by Swedish troops in 1814 and had to surrender. Today it is Northern Europe's best preserved fortress.

economy

The small trading and seafaring town only experienced an economic boom at the end of the 19th century and at the transition to the 20th century due to the wood and brick industry, to which it owes the nickname "Plankenstadt". It developed into an important export port for timber that was rafted on the Glomma. At times, larger amounts of ice were shipped in the winter months, which were used by breweries in Germany, among others, before the advent of refrigeration systems. Today the timber industry plays a subordinate role. In the 1970s, many traditional industries gave up, including the Fredrikstad Mekaniske Verksted shipyard . Today the economic structure is dominated by trade and service companies as well as some industrial companies such as the Norwegian Technical Porcelain Factory (NTP) . The city thus plays an important role for the entire southern part of Østfold .

Fredrikstad has express bus connections to Moss Airport, Rygge (27 km) and Oslo-Gardermoen Airport (130 km), as well as rail connections to Oslo and Gothenburg .

Buildings

Attractions

  • Fredrikstad Domkirke , built in 1880 in neo-Gothic style
  • Østre Fredrikstad Kirke, from 1779 in the old town
  • Fredrikstad Museum , in the former armory (Tøihuset) of the fortress from 1775 with city history exhibitions
  • Bastion 5, part of the fortress in the old town, an arts and crafts center with galleries, workshops and shops in a historic setting
  • National Football Museum in Fredrikstad Stadium with exhibitions on Norwegian football history
  • Model railway center in the old town, Scandinavia's largest model railway system
  • Roald Amundsen's birthplace and museum in the Borge district
  • Memorial and museum for Hans Nielsen Hauge in the Rolvsøy district

Sports

literature

The city of Fredrikstad is the main setting of the novel The Mute Visitor . It is Jan-Erik Fjell's debut novel . The title of the Norwegian original edition is "Tysteren".

Twin cities

Personalities

Well-known people born in Fredrikstad include the polar explorer Roald Amundsen , the Olympic champion in weightlifting Leif Jensen and the later party chairman of the Sosialistisk Venstreparti , Berit Ås .

Web links

Commons : Fredrikstad  - collection of images, videos and audio files

swell

  • Fredrikstad, Published by The Fredrikstad and District Travel Association, 1990
  • Discover Fredrikstad and Hvaler, Fredrikstad Turistkontor, May 2011

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Statistisk sentralbyrå - Befolkning
  2. ↑ Internasjonalt samarbeid. Fredrikstad Kommune, accessed August 25, 2020 .