Sarpsborg
Encyclopedia
is a city and municipality
Municipalities of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...

 in Østfold
Østfold
is a county in southeastern Norway, bordering Akershus and southwestern Sweden , while Buskerud and Vestfold is on the other side of the bay. The seat of the county administration is Sarpsborg, and Fredrikstad is the largest city.Many manufacturing facilities are situated here. Moss and...

 county
Counties of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 430 municipalities...

, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg.

Sarpsborg is part of the fifth largest urban area in Norway when paired with neighbouring Fredrikstad
Fredrikstad
is a city and municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Fredrikstad....

. As of 1 January 2010, according to Statistics Norway
Statistics Norway
Statistics Norway is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876.Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every year on its web site. All releases are published both in Norwegian and English...

 these two municipalities have a total population of 125,797 with 52,159 in Sarpsborg and 73,638 in Fredrikstad.

Borregaard
Borregaard
Borregaard is a Norwegian company, established in 1889 in the southeastern town of Sarpsborg in Østfold county. Its main products were traditionally pulp and paper. The company later started producing chemicals based on timber as a raw material...

 Industries is and always has been the most important industry in the city. The city is also the home of Borg Bryggerier
Borg Bryggerier
Borg Bryggerier was formerly an independent brewery based in the city of Sarpsborg, in Østfold, Norway.Borg Bryggerier was founded in 1855 under the name Lande Gaard og Bryggeri by merchant Hans Hafslund. In 1905, the Egenæss family acquired the brewery. It has been owned by members of the...

, part of the Hansa Borg Bryggerier
Hansa Borg Bryggerier
Hansa Borg Bryggerier is Norway's second largest brewery.-History:Hansa Borg Bryggerier was founded in 1997, after a merger between Hansa Bryggeri and Borg Bryggerier . The company is controlled by the Egenaess family , who owned Borg Breweries in Sarpsborg since 1905 until the merger in 1997...

, Norway's second largest brewery
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....

-group.

Name

In Norse
Norsemen
Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...

 times the city was just called Borg (from borg which means "castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

"). The background for this was the fortification
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...

 built by Olav Haraldsson (see History section). Later the genitive case
Genitive case
In grammar, genitive is the grammatical case that marks a noun as modifying another noun...

 of the name of the waterfall
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...

 Sarpr (now Sarpsfossen
Sarpsfossen
Sarpsfossen is a waterfall in Sarpsborg, Norway It is the last waterfall in the river Glomma, which is the longest river in Norway.Sarpsfossen has the greatest flow of any waterfall in Europe...

) was added.

In Norse times Østfold county was called Borgarsýsla which means "the county (sýsla) of Borg" and the law district of southeast Norway was called Borgarþing meaning "the thing
Thing (assembly)
A thing was the governing assembly in Germanic and introduced into some Celtic societies, made up of the free people of the community and presided by lawspeakers, meeting in a place called a thingstead...

/court of Borg".

The old name has been revived in the diocese of Borg
Diocese of Borg
Borg is a diocese in the Church of Norway. The diocese includes parishes in the counties of Østfold and Akershus, excluding Asker and Bærum . It was created in 1969 by separation from the Diocese of Oslo. The cathedral city is Fredrikstad....

 (1968) and Borgarting Court of Appeal
Borgarting Court of Appeal
Borgarting Court of Appeal is the court of appeal located in Oslo, Norway. It serves the counties of Oslo, Buskerud, Østfold and southern Akershus. The court has 62 judges and 45 administrative staff...

 (1995).

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

 is from modern times. They were granted on 13 November 1991. It is based on a coat-of-arms from 1556. It shows a bear over a castle. The bear was introduced as early as sometime in the 13th century, by the earl
Earl
An earl is a member of the nobility. The title is Anglo-Saxon, akin to the Scandinavian form jarl, and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced with duke...

 of Sarpsborg (Comes de Saresburgh), Alv Erlingsson
Alv Erlingsson
Alv Erlingsson was a Norwegian nobleman, jarl of Sarpsborg and governor of Borgarsyssel.Alv Erlingsson was born at Tanberg in Norderhov, Buskerud. Alv Erlingsson was the son of Erling Alvsson of Tanberg and grandson of Alv Erlingsson of Tanberg...

. He used the bear to symbolize his strength. The castle symbolizes the fortress (borg) that once gave the city its original name.

History

The city was founded as Borg by the Viking King Olav Haraldsson
Olaf II of Norway
Olaf II Haraldsson was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. He was posthumously given the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae and canonised in Nidaros by Bishop Grimkell, one year after his death in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030. Enshrined in Nidaros Cathedral...

 (Saint Olav) in 1016. It was burned to the ground by Swedish invaders in 1567 during the Northern Seven Years' War
Northern Seven Years' War
The Northern Seven Years' War was the war between Kingdom of Sweden and a coalition of Denmark–Norway, Lübeck and the Polish–Lithuanian union, fought between 1563 and 1570...

. Half the population was evacuated down the river to what is today known as Fredrikstad, about 15 kilometres (9 mi) downstream.

Much of the rebuilt town disappeared into the river Glomma
Glomma
The Glomma or Glåma is the longest and largest river in Norway. The long river has a drainage basin that covers a full 13% of Norway's area, all in the southern part of Norway.-Geography:...

 during a 1702 mudslide. Again Borg was rebuilt, and it was recreated as a city in 1839, and separated from Tune
Tune, Norway
Tune is a former municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The former municipality originally covered the current Sarpsborg municipality with the exception of Skjeberg and with the addition of Rolvsøy.-History:...

 as a municipality of its own.

The rural municipalities of Tune, Skjeberg
Skjeberg
Skjeberg is a former municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The last administrative centre was Borgenhaugen.The parish of Skjeberg was established as a municipality January 1, 1838...

, and Varteig
Varteig
Varteig is a village in Sarpsborg and was formerly a municipality in Østfold County, Norway.Varteig is located north of Sarpsborg and east of Glomma. Varteig was part of the Tune municipality until 1861. It was designated to be a municipality by a split from Tune in 1861. At that time Varteig had...

 were merged with the city on 1 January 1992. The population is steadily growing, and during the summer of 2005 it reached 50,000 inhabitants.

City districts

  • Hasle
    Hasle, Østfold
    Hasle is a village in the municipality of Sarpsborg, Norway, located on the eastern bank of Glomma. Its population is 698. Before 1992 Hasle was a part of Varteig municipality.-References:...

  • Sarpsborg
  • Ise
  • Skjeberg
    Skjeberg
    Skjeberg is a former municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The last administrative centre was Borgenhaugen.The parish of Skjeberg was established as a municipality January 1, 1838...

  • Alvim
    Alvim, Sarpsborg
    Alvim is a village of Sarpsborg, Norway....

  • Sannesund
  • Greåker
    Greåker
    Greåker is a borough in the city of Sarpsborg, Norway, located 7 km west of the city centre. Before 1992 Greåker was a part of Tune municipality. It is situated at the river Glomma just between Sarpsborg and Fredrikstad....

  • Grålum
  • Borgenhaugen
    Borgenhaugen
    Borgenhaugen is a borough in the city of Sarpsborg, Norway, located east of the city centre. Before 1992 Borgenhaugen was a part of Skjeberg municipality, and the old Skjeberg council hall is located here. -Local placenames:* Surfellingen* Kala...

  • Klavestadhaugen
  • Yven
    Yven
    Yven is a borough in the city of Sarpsborg, Norway, located east of the city centre. Yven was previously located in Tune municipality....

  • Høysand
    Høysand
    Høysand is a village in Sarpsborg municipality, Norway. Located just south of the village Skjeberg, it is a part of the urban area of the same name, which has a population of 1,919....

  • Varteig
    Varteig
    Varteig is a village in Sarpsborg and was formerly a municipality in Østfold County, Norway.Varteig is located north of Sarpsborg and east of Glomma. Varteig was part of the Tune municipality until 1861. It was designated to be a municipality by a split from Tune in 1861. At that time Varteig had...

  • Hafslund
    Hafslund
    Hafslund is a borough in the city of Sarpsborg, Norway, located east of the city centre.Before 1992 Hafslund was a part of Skjeberg municipality. The name Hafslund, which is composed of Hafr, the Old Norse name of husband and lundr meaning grove...

  • Gleng
  • Fritznerbakken
  • Kurland
  • Lande
  • Valaskjold
  • Brevik

Sport

In the 1960s, Sarpsborg was famous for its football (soccer) team, Sarpsborg FK, but is now more known for its ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 team, Sparta Warriors
Sparta Warriors
The Sparta Warriors are an ice hockey team in Sarpsborg, Norway playing in the GET League. The official name of the club is Ishockeyklubben Sparta Sarpsborg. They play their home games in the Sparta Amfi arena...

. In football, Sarpsborg 08 FF has taken over the local throne, currently playing on the highest national level. On 6 November 2009, they sent arch-rival FFK down from the "Tippeliga" in a play-off game in Fredrikstad stadion. Sarpsborg BK
Sarpsborg BK
Sarpsborg BK are a bandy club from Sarpsborg, Norway, formed on 14 June 1989.They have finished in lowly positions in the Premier League in recent seasons...

 plays in the highest bandy
Bandy
Bandy is a team winter sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal.The rules of the game have many similarities to those of association football: the game is played on a rectangle of ice the same size as a football field. Each team has 11 players,...

 division.

Notable residents

  • John Anderson (1873–1949), Major League Baseball
    Major League Baseball
    Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

     player for fifteen seasons in the United States
    United States
    The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

  • Arne Arnardo
    Arne Arnardo
    -Further reading:...

    , Norwegian circus
    Circus
    A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...

     owner
  • Harald Dahl, father of British author Roald Dahl
    Roald Dahl
    Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...

  • Nadia Eide, actress, singer, dancer
  • Jan Groth (1946–), vocalist/song writer/artist (Aunt Mary/Just4Fun/Oslo Gospel Choir/Aage Samuelsen tributes)
  • Jonas Groth (1977–), artist/vocalist
  • Jasmin Haugstuen Please (1988-), Actress, playwright, singer
  • Stephan Groth
    Stephan Groth
    Stephan Groth is the man behind Apoptygma Berzerk, an electronic dance music act that plays in styles such as synthpop, ebm, and futurepop...

     (1971–), artist (Apoptygma Berzerk)
  • Arnold Haukeland, artist (sculptor)
  • Jonas Holøs
    Jonas Holøs
    Jonas Holøs is a Norwegian professional ice hockey defenseman currently playing for the Växjö Lakers Hockey of the Swedish Elitserien...

     (1987), ice hockey
    Ice hockey
    Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

     player
  • Stian Joneid (1978–), artist/vocalist
  • Trond Joneid (1948–2007), artist/vocalist/drummer (The Saints/Sirkus Sørensen)
  • Raymond Kvisvik
    Raymond Kvisvik
    Raymond Kvisvik is a Norwegian football player. With background from teams in hometown Sarpsborg, he currently plays for Kvik-Halden, as a midfielder. He moved there from Fredrikstad. He has also played in Austria for Austria Wien. Kvisvik is notorious for his precise shots, assists and long balls...

     (1974–), soccer player
  • Patrick Arman Skramstad (1975-), Actor.
  • Åge Sten Nilsen artist/vocalist/song writer ("Glam" from Wig Wam/The Show Must Go On (Queen Tribute)/Rondo)
  • Robert Normann (1916–1998), legendary guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

     player
  • Nils Ole Oftebro, actor
    Actor
    An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

  • Per-Åge Skrøder
    Per-Åge Skrøder
    Per-Åge Skrøder is a Norwegian ice hockey player, currently playing for Modo in the Swedish SEL.- Playing career :...

    , ice hockey
    Ice hockey
    Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

     player
  • Jens Arne Svartedal
    Jens Arne Svartedal
    Jens Arne Svartedal is a Norwegian cross country skier who has competed since 1996. He represents Trøsken IL from Sarpsborg in Norway. His greatest achievement is winning the individual sprint gold medal at the 2007 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Sapporo...

    , international skiing
    Skiing
    Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....

     champion
  • Oscar Torp
    Oscar Torp
    was a Norwegian politician for the Norwegian Labour Party. He was party leader from 1923 to 1945, and mayor of Oslo in 1935 and 1936. In 1935 he became acting Minister of Defence in the government of Johan Nygaardsvold. He was also Minister of Social Affairs from 1936 to 1939, and then Minister of...

     (1893–1958), former Prime Minister of Norway
  • Lene Alexandra Øien
    Lene Alexandra
    Lene Alexandra Øien is a Norwegian singer, and former model for FHM magazine, as well a former Norwegian lad's mags Lek and Cats model. She began her musical career in 2007 at age 25 when she released her first single entitled "My Boobs Are OK". The single charted in several European countries and...

    , glamour model
  • Walther Aas (1928–1990), artist
  • Ole Slorer Financial analyst

Twin towns - Sister cities

Sarpsborg has several sister cities
Town twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...

:
Bethlehem
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...

, Palestinian Authority  - Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....

, Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 - Södertälje
Södertälje Municipality
Södertälje Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Södertälje....

, Stockholm County
Stockholm County
Stockholm County is a county or län on the Baltic sea coast of Sweden. It borders Uppsala County and Södermanland County. It also borders Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The city of Stockholm is the capital of Sweden. Stockholm County is divided by the historic provinces of Uppland and Södermanland...

, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

- Grand Forks
Grand Forks, North Dakota
Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 52,838, while that of the city and surrounding metropolitan area was 98,461...

, North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 - Struer, Midtjylland
Region Midtjylland
Central 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...

, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 - Forssa
Forssa
Forssa is a town and municipality of Finland.It is located almost in the centre of a triangle defined by the three largest major cities in Finland , in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Tavastia Proper region. The town has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...

, Tavastia Proper
Tavastia Proper
Tavastia Proper is a region of Finland. It borders to the regions Finland Proper, Pirkanmaa, Päijänne Tavastia, and Uusimaa.Hämeenlinna is the largest urban area in the region...

, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK