Sarpsborg

	Sarpsborg
	Sarpsborg
Basic data
Commune number :	3003
Province (county) :	Viken
Administrative headquarters:	Sarpsborg
Coordinates :	59 ° 17 ′ N , 11 ° 12 ′ E Coordinates: 59 ° 17 ′ N , 11 ° 12 ′ E
Surface:	405.6 km²
Residents:	56,732 (Feb 27, 2020)
Population density :	140 inhabitants per km²
Language form :	Bokmål
Postal code :	1706-1747
Website:	sarpsborg.kommune.no
traffic
Railway connection:	Østfoldbanen ; Indre Østfoldbanen
politics
Mayor :	Sindre Martinsen-Evje ( Ap ) (2011)
Location in the province of Viken

Sarpsborg ^{? / i} is a city andmunicipalityin southeastNorway, in the province (Fylke) Viken. It bordersVålerandSkiptvetto the north,RakkestadandHaldento the eastandFredrikstadandRåde tothe west. In 1992 Sarpsborg was combined with the current districts ofTune,VarteigandSkjeberg. TheSarpsfossenwaterfall is a landmark of the city.

history

The first settlements with animal husbandry and agriculture existed here as early as 3,500 years ago. Many rock carvings ( Hornesfeltet and Solbergfeltet ) and graves are evidence of this . Most of the rock carvings from the Stone and Bronze Ages registered in Norway are in the area around Sarpsborg. Many of these prehistoric testimonies can be seen along the ancient road ( Oldtidsveien ) between Sarpsborg and Fredrikstad. One of the largest single drawings is the Bjørnstad ship in the Skjeberg district with an area of 4 by 1.5 meters. The Solbergfelt contains a total of 100 drawings of ships, wagons, sun wheels and fertility symbols on 2 rock surfaces. In Hornes in the district of Skjeberg there are rock carvings of 21 ships with rowers as well as one of the largest roos from the Bronze Age . One of the largest sites is the Opstadfelt with 150 grave sites, building stones and rows of stones, where burials were carried out from the Iron Age to the Viking Age . In the center of Sarpsborg, in Kulåspark, there are 40 large and small burial mounds from this period.

Sarpsborg is Norway's third oldest city. It was founded in 1016 with the name " Borg " by Olav the Saint . Borg was Norway's capital from its founding until Olav's death in 1030. The current name has been used since the 12th century. During the Three Crown War (1563-1570), Swedish troops burned the city in 1567. The residents moved along the Glomma River and founded the city of Fredriksstad in 1569 after the then King Fredrik II . The genitive form was later removed from the name and the city was given the name Fredrikstad , which is still valid today . At that time Gleng was all that was left of Sarpsborg. The remains of the city were destroyed by a landslide in 1702. From 1837 Sarpsborg was part of " Tune herred ", but in 1839 Sarpsborg was spun off and the new city, which had gradually developed on the old square, received city status. At the time of the re-establishment of the city, the operation of sawmills and the trade in timber were decisive for its economy. A turning point came in 1878 when the railway bridge was built over the Sarpsfossen waterfall . When the Hafslund corporation was founded in 1898, the waterfall was used for industrial energy generation and contributed significantly to the development of the paper and cellulose industry. For the 1000th anniversary in 2016, the city's streets, squares and parks were partially redesigned.

economy

Sarpsborg market square

Sarpsborg pedestrian zone

The largest industrial company in Sarpsborg is Borregaard . It was founded at the end of the 18th century and was originally mainly a paper and cellulose company. Today it is an international company with 1050 employees, which, in addition to wood processing, produces modern chemicals for industrial processes, the food and pharmaceutical industries, as well as fishing and agriculture. Borregaard belonged to the Orkla Group from 1986 to 2012. Since separating from Orkla, Borregaard has been listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Another company in the wood processing industry is Peterson Emballasje og Nordic Paper . The city is a traditional location for the brewing industry. The first brewery was founded in 1855, which later became the Borg Brewery. In 1998 the breweries Borg and Hansa became today's Hansa Borg brewery, which belongs to Norway's second largest brewery group.

Culture and sights

The Olav Days (Olavsdagene) take place annually in July / August , a cultural festival with concerts, theater performances, exhibitions and folk festivals that are reminiscent of Viking traditions. The Gleng Music Festival also has a long tradition with jazz, rock and pop concerts, for which the Kulåspark is the main venue. Highlights of Sarpsborg are:

St. Olav's Chapel in the Borgarsyssel Museum Park

Sarpsborg City Hall

Hafslund Hovedgård

Sarpsborg Church

Hafslund Hovedgård (manor) from the 17th / 18th century, which is located by the Sarpsfossen waterfall . The manor house has an English garden and a granary from the 19th century, which today serves as an art gallery.
Borgarsyssel Museum in the old town of Sarpsborg, which combines the Østfold Regional Museum and the Sarpsborg City Museum. The castle of Olav the Saint stood here about 1000 years ago. On the site are the ruins of the Nikolauskirche, remains from Sarpsborg's early days. The museum shows objects from the early days of settlement, old farmhouses from Østfold, a former Amtsmannhof and the old inn from Gleng. On the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of the city, the Olavs Hall was opened in the museum in 2016 , in which the history of the city is presented from its origins to the present.
Genesis , a sculpture created by the Norwegian artist Finn Eirik Modahl for the 1000th anniversary of the city, which is supposed to represent the young Olav, on St. Marie plass.
Soli Brug in the Varteig district is a former sawmill. Art and sales exhibitions with paintings, graphics and ceramic products are now held in the restored buildings.
Inspiria Science Center , which opened in 2011, communicates science through personal experience and experiments. The most modern planetarium in Norway is also located here.
Storedal Kultursenter in the Skjeberg district is a special park in which the visually impaired and sighted can experience culture. The focus is on the 20-meter-high sculpture "Ode to Light", which accompanies visitors with changing electronic music according to the respective lighting conditions. The park was built in memory of the Norwegian King Magnus Sigurdsson , (the blind), who was born in 1117 on the Storedal farm.
Kulåspark in the center of Sarpsborg is the city's green lung with 40 burial mounds from around 200 to 300 AD. Numerous concerts take place on the open-air stage in summer.
Eidet Tømmertunnel (raft tunnel) was built through the mountain between 1906 and 1908 to make it easier to raft the wood between the Isnesfjord and Lake Visterflo. The tunnel is 3170 meters long and has a height difference of 21 meters. Today it is a monument to hydraulic engineering
The Skjeltorp dolmen (Norwegian: Skjeltorpdyssen) is located in Skjeberg near Sarpsborg.

There are 13 churches in Sarpsborg Municipality. The most well-known are:

The city church of Sarpsborg, built in 1862 in neo-Gothic style.
Skjeberg Church is a stone church from the 2nd half of the 13th century, built in the Romanesque style. It has a Gothic entrance portal and four heads carved in granite on the church walls.
Ingedal Church is a stone church from around 1250.
The church of Varteig is a wooden cruciform church from 1859.
The church of Hafslund is a rectangular cruciform church from 1891.
The Rønneld stone circle consists of the stone circle, the remainder of a destroyed stone circle and two round burial mounds.

Sports

Sarpsborg has sports clubs in football, ice hockey and floorball that are among the best in Norway. This includes

Sarpsborg 08 Fotballforening , football club, in the 1st Norwegian league since 2010
Sparta Warriors , ice hockey club in the 1st Norwegian league
Greåker indoor bandy club, six-time Norwegian champion in floorball
Sharks Sarpsborg, indoor bandy club, two-time Norwegian champion in floorball

Sarpsborg is a golf town and has the oldest golf course in Norway. Sarpsborg currently has 3 golf courses with 9 and 18 holes and the Østfold Golf Center, Norway's largest golf hall.

Twin cities

Sarpsborg is twinned with
the Nordic cities

Denmark Struer in Denmark
Finland Forssa in Finland
Sweden Södertälje in Sweden

as well as with

United Kingdom Berwick-upon-Tweed in the UK
Palastina autonomous areas Bethlehem in the Palestinian Territories , since 1997
United States Grand Forks in the US since 2005