is a
town and
municipality|Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...
in the
county||-|Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 431 municipalities...
of
Aust-Agderis a county in Norway, bordering Telemark, Rogaland, and Vest-Agder. In 2002, there were 102,945 inhabitants, which is 2.2% of the total population in Norway. Its area is . The administrative center of the county is in Arendal....
,
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
. The town is the administrative center the municipality and of Aust-Agder county. Arendal belongs to the
traditional regionNorway is divided into a number of districts. Many districts have deep historical roots, and only partially coincide with today's administrative units of counties and municipalities. The districts are defined by geographical features, often valleys, mountain ranges, fjords, plains, or coastlines,...
of Sørlandet. The municipality is bordered to the southwest by
Grimstadis a town and municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. It belongs to the geographical region of Sørlandet. The administrative center of the municipality is the town of Grimstad.It is a little maritime town set among many small islands...
, to the northwest by
FrolandFroland is a municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Sørlandet. The administrative center is the village of Blakstad, which along with Osedalen form the main population center of the municipality....
, and to the northeast by
Tvedestrandis a town and municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative center is the village of Tvedestrand....
.
The offices of
UNEP/GRID-ArendalGRID-Arendal is an office in the United Nations Environment Programme , located in Arendal, Norway. The office is part of the UNEP-GRID network of environmental data and information centers, under the UNEP Division of early warning and assessment....
are located here.
The
Old NorseOld Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
form of the name was probably
Arnardalr.
is a
town and
municipality|Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...
in the
county||-|Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 431 municipalities...
of
Aust-Agderis a county in Norway, bordering Telemark, Rogaland, and Vest-Agder. In 2002, there were 102,945 inhabitants, which is 2.2% of the total population in Norway. Its area is . The administrative center of the county is in Arendal....
,
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
. The town is the administrative center the municipality and of Aust-Agder county. Arendal belongs to the
traditional regionNorway is divided into a number of districts. Many districts have deep historical roots, and only partially coincide with today's administrative units of counties and municipalities. The districts are defined by geographical features, often valleys, mountain ranges, fjords, plains, or coastlines,...
of Sørlandet. The municipality is bordered to the southwest by
Grimstadis a town and municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. It belongs to the geographical region of Sørlandet. The administrative center of the municipality is the town of Grimstad.It is a little maritime town set among many small islands...
, to the northwest by
FrolandFroland is a municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Sørlandet. The administrative center is the village of Blakstad, which along with Osedalen form the main population center of the municipality....
, and to the northeast by
Tvedestrandis a town and municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative center is the village of Tvedestrand....
.
The offices of
UNEP/GRID-ArendalGRID-Arendal is an office in the United Nations Environment Programme , located in Arendal, Norway. The office is part of the UNEP-GRID network of environmental data and information centers, under the UNEP Division of early warning and assessment....
are located here.
Origin of the name
The
Old NorseOld Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
form of the name was probably
Arnardalr. The first element is the
genitive caseIn grammar, the genitive case is the case that marks a noun as modifying another noun...
of
orn which means "
eagleEagles are large birds of prey which are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa...
" and the last element is
dalr which means "
valleyIn geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
" or "dale".
Coat-of-arms
The
coat-of-armsA coat of arms, more properly called an armorial achievement, armorial bearings or often just arms for short, in European tradition, is a design belonging to a particular person and used by them in a wide variety of ways. Historically, they were used by knights to identify them apart from enemy...
were granted on 7 November 1924 (based upon an older seal). The arms show a
sailing shipSailing ship is now used to refer to any large wind-powered vessel. In technical terms, a ship was a sailing vessel with a specific rig of at least three masts, square rigged on all of them, making the sailing adjective redundant. In popular usage "ship" became associated with all large sailing...
as a symbol for the importance of
fisheriesGenerally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising and/or harvesting fish, which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of...
and
sailingSailing is the art of controlling a boat with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to change the direction and speed of a boat...
to the local economy. A ship appeared on the oldest known seal of the town, dating back to the 17th century. In the late 19th and early 20th century the arms showed the
shipA ship is a large vessel that floats on water. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and passenger capacity. Ships may be found on lakes, seas, and rivers and they allow for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing, entertainment, public...
in the upper part and a landscape with the
Coat of arms of NorwayThe Coat of Arms of Norway is a crowned, golden lion rampant holding an axe with an argent blade, on a crowned, triangular and red escutcheon. Its elements originate from personal insignias for the royal house in the High Middle Ages, thus being among the oldest in Europe.-History:Magnus Barefoot ...
in the base of the
shieldA shield is a protective device, meant to intercept attacks, either by stopping projectiles such as arrows or by glancing a blow to the side of the shield-user. Shields vary greatly in size, ranging from large shilds that protect the user's entire body to small shields that are mostly for use in...
.
History
Arendal was established in the middle of the 1500s, and was then called
Arendall. At that time it had no formal town status.
When
Kristiansandis a city, municipality and the county capital of Vest-Agder county in Southern Norway. Kristiansand municipality is the 6th largest in Norway with a population of 80,109 as of 1 January 2009...
was founded by King
Christian IVChristian IV was the king of Denmark and Norway from 1588 until his death. He is sometimes referred to as Christian Firtal in Denmark and Christian Kvart or Quart in Norway.-Biography:...
in 1641, he granted the citizens a monopoly on all trade in Aust-Agder and
Vest-Agder is a county in Norway, bordering Rogaland to the west and Aust-Agder to the east. In 2002 there were 157,851 inhabitants, which is 3.4% of the total population in Norway. Its area is 7,281 km²...
. This grant, intended to subsidize Kristiansand and its fortifications, placed existing towns in a difficult position. Both towns and the peasants in the up country protested the hardships this caused. As a result, Arendal received royal permission in 1622 to continue as a loading-place for timber until a means could be found to transfer its trade to Kristiansand.
The town was given
market cityMarket town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
privileges in 1723. However the peasants in the surrounding district, who by law were to sell their goods only at Arendal, were smuggling their goods out on cutters and selling them in
DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
, in the
BalticThe Baltic region is an ambiguous term that refers to slightly different combinations of countries in the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea.- Etymology :...
, and in
BritainThe Kingdom of Great Britain, also known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain, was a sovereign state in northwest Europe, in existence from 1707 to 1801...
.
This continued until 1735, when Arendal was granted a full town charter. This charter, combined with Danish imposition of a monopoly on grain imports, caused great
povertyPoverty is the condition of lacking basic human needs such as nutrition, clean water, health care, clothing, and shelter because of the inability to afford them. This is also referred to as absolute poverty or destitution...
and starvation among the peasants in the surrounding districts, leading to several famous rebellions.
As a result of the rebellions, the age of privileges for towns like Kristiansand and Arendal came to an apparent end in 1768 by royal
proclamationA proclamation is an official declaration.In English law, a proclamation is a formal announcement , made under the great seal, of some matter which the King in Council or Queen in Council desires to make known to his or her subjects: e.g., the declaration of war, the statement of neutrality, the...
. But the problems did not end then; a farmer, Kristian Jensson Lofthus, in
Vestre MolandVestre Moland is a former municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. It is part of the present-day municipality of Lillesand in the Sørlandet region. Villages in Vestre Moland include Brekkestø and Justøy...
led a rebellion in 1786 which resulted in the government actually remedying some of the most repressive trade policies, but Lofthus died in prison. The charges against Lofthus were that he dealt in grain and other commodities to the detriment to Arendal’s privileges.
ShippingShipping has multiple meanings. It can be a physical process of transporting goods and cargo, by land, air, and sea. It also can describe the movement of objects by ship.Land or "ground" shipping can be by train or by truck...
,
shipbuildingShipbuilding is the construction of ships. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history....
, and
timberLumber or timber is wood that is used in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
trade as well as
miningMining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually from an ore body, vein or seam. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock salt and potash...
and
ironworksAn ironworks or iron works is a building or site where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and/or steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e...
were important branches of industry in Aust-Agder county for many centuries, especially in the Arendal region. Frequent contacts with the world abroad put their mark on our culture and traditions. In 1880, it was the land's biggest port in terms of tonnage handled. At the end of the 19th century, Arendal was recognized as a major shipping centre with many wealthy shipowners. In 1939, it had the 4th largest Norwegian
tanker fleetA tank ship or tankship, often referred to as a tanker, is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier.-Background:...
; only
Oslois the capital and largest city in Norway. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the town was largely destroyed by a fire in 1624. The Danish–Norwegian king Christian IV rebuilt the city as Christiania . Oslo, then an alternative name, became official again in 1925...
,
BergenBergen is the second largest city in Norway, with a population of 253,600 as of July 2009. Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Economic Region, as defined by Statistics Norway, had a population of 385,450 as of January 2009.Bergen is located in the...
, and
Stavangeris a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway. Stavanger was established as a municipality 1 January 1838...
were larger.
Today the town has small boat manufacturing, mechanical industry, electronics industry as well as one of the world's largest
silicon carbideSilicon carbide , also known as carborundum, is a compound of silicon and carbon with a chemical formula SiC. It occurs in nature as the extremely rare mineral moissanite. Silicon carbide powder has been mass-produced since 1893 for use as an abrasive...
refining plants.
Formannskapsdistrikt
The town of Arendal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see
formannskapsdistriktFormannskapsdistrikt was the name for a Norwegian local self-government districts put into force in 1838. This system of municipality was created in a bill approved by the Storting and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January 1837...
). On 1 January 1875, a small area with 22 inhabitants was transferred from the municipality of Arendal to the neighboring municipality of
Austre MolandAustre Moland is a former municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. It is currently part of the municipality of Arendal in the Sørlandet region of Norway. It is home to the Austre Moland church.-Name:...
and another small area with 52 residents was transferred to the neighboring municipality of
ØyestadØyestad is a former municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. It is located in the present-day municipality of Arendal in the Sørlandet region...
.
On 1 January 1902, the rural municipality of Barbu (population: 6,787) was merged into the municipality of Arendal. In 1944, a small area of
MolandMoland is a former municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. It is located in the present-day municipality of Arendal in the Sørlandet region...
with a population of 21 inhabitants was transferred to Arendal. On 1 January 1992, the neighboring rural municipalities of
HisøyHisøy is an island and a former municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. Today, the island is a part of the municipality of Arendal. Hisøy is an island separated from the mainland by the river Nidelv. The village of Kolbjørnsvik is located across the harbor from the town of Arendal...
(pop: 4,026),
MolandMoland is a former municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. It is located in the present-day municipality of Arendal in the Sørlandet region...
(pop: 8,148),
TromøyTromøy is the largest island in Southern Norway, a former municipality in Aust-Agder county, and is currently an important part of the present-day municipality of Arendal. The island is located directly across the harbor from the town of Arendal. It is known for having once hosted many Viking...
(pop: 4,711), and
ØyestadØyestad is a former municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. It is located in the present-day municipality of Arendal in the Sørlandet region...
(pop: 8,679) were merged into the municipality of Arendal which had a population of 12,478, bringing the total population of the new municipality of Arendal to 38,042.
Townscape
In the middle of the town centre is an area with wooden houses dating back to the 1600s. This area is called Tyholmen, and is what is left of buildings from before the 19th century. The inner harbour of Arendal is Pollen, where the fish market, pubs, and restaurants are located.
"Store Torungen" lighthouse
The
lighthouseA lighthouse is a tower, building, or framework designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire and used as an aid to navigation and to pilots at sea....
Store Torungen is located on an island outside Arendal. It was constructed in 1844 and electrified in 1914. It is high and contains a 2nd order lens. It is reachable by a 55 minute boat trip from the town centre. The lighthouse is still in use.
"Lille Torungen" lighthouse
The lighthouse
Lille Torungen is situated on a small island outside Arendal. The lighthouse is high. Lille Torungen and Store Torungen were constructed as twin lighthouses, and both are located in the Arendal
shipping laneA sea lane is regularly used route for ocean-going and Great Lakes vessels. In the time of sailing ships they were not only determined by the distribution of land masses but also the prevailing winds, whose discovery was crucial for the success of long voyages. Sea lanes are very important for...
.
Culture
The institution "Canal Street - Arendal Jazz and Blues" was established in 2001, but has been arranged since 1996, at that time by the name of Arendal Jazz and Blues Festival. The popularity of the arrangement has been steadily increasing. New in 2007 is
Hove FestivalHove Festival is a music festival held on the island Tromøy outside of Arendal in southern Norway. It was held for the first time from 26-30 June 2007....
located on the Island
TromøyTromøy is the largest island in Southern Norway, a former municipality in Aust-Agder county, and is currently an important part of the present-day municipality of Arendal. The island is located directly across the harbor from the town of Arendal. It is known for having once hosted many Viking...
just outside Arendal town. It has the potential to become the largest festival scene in Norway with an audience of up to 20,000.
Geography
Arendal is the
type localityIn some natural sciences, type locality — or type locale — is the typical or representative location and is typically the first example of a newly discovered or described object. Often it is namesake for the term....
of the mineral
BabingtoniteBabingtonite is a calcium iron manganese inosilicate mineral with the formula Ca
2FeSi
5O
14. It is unusual in that iron completely replaces the aluminium so typical of silicate minerals...
, which was first described from specimens discovered here in 1824.
Merdø
The island of Merdø, an island far from the coast facing the
SkagerrakThe Skagerrak is a strait running between Norway and the southwest coast of Sweden and the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area, which leads to the Baltic Sea.-Name:...
, was a major export port in the 17th and 18th centuries and now has a
museumA museum is a building or institution which houses a collection of artifacts.Museums collect and care for objects of scientific, artistic, or historical importance and make them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary...
, a kiosk, and several beaches. There is regular boat service from Arendal to the island every day during the summer season.
Transportation
Apart from being a port town, Arendal lies immediately southeast of the
E18 highwayEuropean route E18 runs from Craigavon in the United Kingdom to Saint Petersburg in Russia, passing through Norway, Sweden, and Finland. It is about 1,890 km in length.-United Kingdom:...
. The Arendalsbanen
railway lineRail transport is the conveyance of passengers and goods by means of wheeled vehicles running along railways or railroads. Rail transport is part of the logistics chain, which facilitates international trade and economic growth...
runs to
NelaugNelaug is a village in the south of the Åmli municipality in Aust-Agder, Norway. The population in 2005 was 158. The village lies east of the Nelaug lake, which is regulated by a hydro-electric power plant. The most notable feature in the village is the railway station, Nelaug Station, which is the...
where it connects with Sørlandsbanen.
Notable residents
- Sam Eyde
Samuel Eyde was a Norwegian engineer and industrialist, the founder of Norsk Hydro and Elkem.-Biography:Sam Eyde was the son of a shipowner, and studied engineering in Berlin where he graduated in 1891. He started his career in Hamburg, working with the railways where he planned new lines, bridges...
(1866-1940), IndustrialistA business magnate, sometimes referred to as a mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is a partially informal term used to refer to a person who has reached a prominent place in a particular industry and whose wealth has been derived primarily therefrom.-Description:Such people usually...
- Øystein Grødum
Øystein Grødum is a Norwegian speedskater, who is a member of Arendal SK. Grødum competed in the 2006 Winter Olympics for Norway, with fourth place on 10,000 metres as his best place, and won the World Cup on long distances in 2004–05...
(1977), SpeedskaterSpeed skating is an Olympic sport where competitors are timed while crossing a set distance. It is also a sport for leisure. Sports such as short track speedskating, inline speedskating, and quad speed skating are also called speed skating...
- Finn Iunker
Finn Iunker is a Norwegian playwright born in Arendal. He lives in Oslo.Finn Iunker made his debut as a dramatist in 1994 with The Answering Machine. He is amongst the Norwegian dramatists whose plays are most frequently staged, but mostly abroad. He was awarded the Ibsen-award in company with Liv...
(1969), PlaywrightA playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or drama. These works are usually written to be performed in front of a live audience by actors...
- Karl Ove Knausgård
Karl Ove Knausgård is a Norwegian author. Born in Oslo on 6 December 1968, he made his publishing debut in 1998 with the novel Out of the World...
(1968), WriterA writer is anyone who creates a written work, though the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, as well as those who have written in many different forms.-Profession:...
- Bård Torstensen
Bård Torstensen , is a Norwegian musician and co-founder/guitarist in rap-metal band Clawfinger.-Background:...
(1961), GuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as acoustic guitars, electric guitars, classical guitars and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :...
for heavy metalHeavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in England and the United States...
/rapHip hop music is a musical genre which developed alongside hip hop culture, and is commonly based on concepts of loop, rapping, freestyle, DJing, scratching, sampling and beatboxing. The music is used to express concerns of political, social, and personal issues...
band ClawfingerClawfinger is a rap metal band from Sweden and was one of the earliest bands to adopt this sound. Clawfinger is known for aggressive but melodic music and tackling political and anti-racist themes in their songs.-Band history:...
Sister cities
The following cities are
twinnedSister cities, also known as town twinning, is an agreement between towns, cities and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties...
with Arendal:
ÁrborgÁrborg is the biggest municipality in southern Iceland. In 1998 four nearby communities in Southern Iceland voted to merge giving the small city a population of 5,500. The population of Árborg was 7,693...
,
IcelandThe Republic of Iceland is a European island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of about 320,000 and a total area of 103,000 km². Its capital and largest city is Reykjavík, whose surrounding area is home to approximately two thirds of the national population...
KalmarKalmar Municipality is a municipality in Kalmar County, southeastern Sweden. The city of Kalmar is the municipal seat.The present municipality was created in 1971, when the City of Kalmar was amalgamated with five surrounding rural municipalities...
,
Kalmar CountyKalmar County is a county or län in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Kronoberg, Jönköping, Blekinge and Östergötland. To the east in the Baltic Sea is the island Gotland....
,
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
MwanzaMwanza is a city in northwest Tanzania and a southern port of Lake Victoria. The region is located between latitude 10 30' and 30 south of the Equator. Longitudinally the region is located between 310 45' and 340 10' East of Greenwich. Regions bordering Mwanza region are Kagera to the West,...
,
Mwanza RegionMwanza Region is one of the regions of Tanzania. Its capital is Mwanza.The neighbouring regions are Kagera to the west, Shinyanga to the south, and Mara to the east...
,
TanzaniaThe United Republic of Tanzania is a country in central East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.The United...
RēzekneRēzekne is a city in the Latgale region of eastern Latvia, also known by the nickname Latgales sirds meaning The Heart of Latgale. Built on seven hills, Rēzekne is situated 242 km east of Riga, and 63 km west of the Latvian-Russian border, at the intersection of the Moscow – Riga and...
,
LatviaLatvia , officially the Republic of Latvia is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , and to the southeast by Belarus . Across the Baltic Sea to the west lies Sweden...
SavonlinnaSavonlinna is a town and a municipality of inhabitants in the southeast of Finland, in the heart of the Saimaa lake region....
,
Eastern FinlandThe Province of Eastern Finland is a province of Finland. It borders the provinces of Oulu, Western Finland and Southern Finland. It also borders to Russia.- Former provinces :For history, geography and culture see: Savonia and Karelia...
,
FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland
, is a Nordic country and democracy situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland...
SilkeborgSilkeborg municipality is a municipality in Region Midtjylland on the Jutland peninsula in central Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 857 km², and has a total population of 87,371 . Its mayor is Jens Erik Jørgensen, a member of the Conservative People's Party political party...
,
Region MidtjyllandCentral Denmark Region or Central Jutland Region is an administrative region of Denmark established on January 1, 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which replaced the traditional counties with five larger regions. At the same time, smaller municipalities were merged into larger...
,
DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
External links