Fredrikstad

Infobox_Kommune
name=Fredrikstad
idnumber=0106
county=Østfold
landscape=
capital=Fredrikstad
governor=Eva Kristin Andersen(Frp)
governor_as_of=2006
arearank=283
area=288
arealand=283
areapercent=0.09
population_as_of=2005
populationrank=7
population=71,976
populationpercent=1.53
populationdensity=249
populationincrease=7.7
language=Bokmål
lat_deg=59| lat_min=12| lat_sec=19| lon_deg=10| lon_min=57| lon_sec=0
utm_zone=32V| utm_northing=6564541 |utm_easting=0611364| geo_cat=adm2nd

munwebpage=www.fredrikstad.kommune.no
Audio|Fredrikstad.ogg|Fredrikstad (previously "Frederiksstad") (literally "Fredrik's Town") is a city and municipality in the county of Østfold, Norway.

The city of Fredrikstad was founded in 1567 by King Frederik II, and established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The rural municipality of Glemmen was merged with Fredrikstad 1 January 1964 - and the rural municipalities of Borge, Onsøy, Kråkerøy and Rolvsøy were merged with Fredrikstad 1 January 1994.

The city straddles the river Glomma where it meets the North Sea. With neighboring Sarpsborg, Fredrikstad forms the fifth largest city in Norway. As of 1 January 2008, according to Statistics Norway, these two municipalities have a total population of 123,029 - 71,976 in Fredrikstad and 51,053 in Sarpsborg.

Fredrikstad was built at the mouth of Glomma as a replacement after Sarpsborg (15 km upstream) was burned down by the Swedes. Almost half the population of Sarpsborg stayed behind, and rebuilt their old town at its original site.

The city centre is on the west bank of the Glomma, while the old town on the east bank is Northern Europe's best preserved fortified town.

Fredrikstad used to have a large sawmill industry and was an important harbour for timber export, then later on shipbuilding, until the main yard was closed in the 1980s. The main industries are currently various chemical plants and other light industry.In 2005, Fredrikstad was the final host port for the Tall Ships' Race, attracting thousands to the city.

Name

The city was named after the Danish king Frederik II in 1569. The last element "stad" means "city".

Until 1877 the name was written "Frederiksstad", in the period 1877-1888 "Fredriksstad", from 1889 on "Fredrikstad".

History

After Sarpsborg was burned to the ground during the Northern Seven Years' War, the ruling king,
Frederick II of Denmark, decided by royal decree to rebuild the city 15 km south of the originallocation. This new site's proximity to the sea and the accessible open land surrounding it made it a better location than the old one. The name Fredrikstad was first used in a letter from the Kingdated 6 February 1569. The temporary fortification built during the Hannibal War (1644-1645) between Sweden and Denmark/Norway, became permanent in the 1660s. The work on the fortifications wasfirst led by William de Coucheron and later Johan Caspar von Cicignon. During the next 60 years several fortifications around Fredrikstad were built, including Isegran, Kongsten and Cicignon. In 1735 a suburb on the western side of Glomma, Vestsiden, was founded. This part later grew faster thanthe old city, and became the dominant city centre. Most of the buildings in the old city burntdown during a fire in 1764.

In the 1840s timber exporting from Fredrikstad started to gain momentum. In the 1860s several steampowered saws were built along the river, and in 1879 the railway reached Fredrikstad, leading tofurther growth. With the decline of the timber exports as a result of the modernisation of wood-processing industries in the early 1900s, Fredrikstad's production changed to other typesof products. It later became one of Norway's most important industrial centres, famous forits large shipyard, Fredrikstad Mekaniske Verksted.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1967), but it is based upon a seal from 1610. It shows a bear guarding a castle.

Administrative division

Fredrikstad has five official administrative regions:
#Sentrum
#Borge
#Rolvsøy
#Kråkerøy
#Onsøy

People from Fredrikstad

*Waldemar Ager, Norwegian-American writer.
*Roald Amundsen, explorer of polar regions.
*Petronella Barker, Norwegian actress
*Rebecca Birget Certa, International Academic and Member of U.S. Congress
*Jørn Christensen, Norwegian artist and producer.
*Johan Caspar von Cicignon, General, engineer and city planner
*Johan Oscar Smith, Norwegian Christian leader and founder of Smith's Friends
*Ragnvald Marensius Gundersen, member of Parliament and mayor of Fredrikstad 1945-1965
*Hans Nielsen Hauge, revivalist Norwegian preacher
*Katti Anker Møller, feminist and advocate for reproductive rights
*Bernt Karsten Øksendal, Norwegian mathematician
*Egil «Drillo» Olsen, successful manager of Norwegian national football team.
*Ole Peter Petersen, founder of Methodism in Norway
*Henrik Pettersen, renowned goat farmer
*Sindre Sørhus, member of the FFK cheerleeder team
*Dennis Storhøi, Norwegian actor
*Harald Zwart, Norwegian film director
*Andy LaPlegua, Industrial Artist, Combichrist, Icon of Coil, Panzer AG, DJ Scandy
*Isabell Herlovsen, female footballer(soccer) in the Norway national team.
*Tarik Elyounoussi, male footballer (soccer), playing for SC Heerenveen and the Norwegian national team

References

* Aschehougs Konversasjonsleksikon, Bind 7. H. Aschehoug & Co, Oslo, 1969.