Tønsberg Municipality

Tønsberg is a municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Jarlsberg. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tønsberg which was established in the 9th century. Other larger population centres in the municipality include Barkåker, Bergsåsen, Brekkeåsen, Eik, Fon, Gretteåsen, Husøy, Husvik, Linnestad, Ramnes, Rånerudåsen, Revetal, Sem, Svinevoll, Teie, and Vear.

The 329 km2 municipality is the 254th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Tønsberg is the 17th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 58,561. The municipality's population density is 179.6 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 16.6% over the previous 10-year period.

Tønsberg Municipality is home to Tønsberg Fortress on Castle Mountain, which includes ruins from Castrum Tunsbergis, Norway's largest castle in the 13th century. Tønsberg is also home of Oseberg Mound, where the 9th-century Oseberg Ship was excavated. The large city of Tønsberg was founded in the 9th century, one of the oldest cities in Norway, and it is also the 9th largest city in Norway.

General information
The town of Tønsberg was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1877, the growing town of Tønsberg was enlarged by taking an area from Sem Municipality (population: 61) and another area from Nøtterøy Municipality (population: 102). On 1 January 1980, an unpopulated area of Nøtterøy Municipality was transferred to the town of Tønsberg. On 1 January 1988, the town of Tønsberg (population: 8,896) was merged with Sem Municipality (population: 21,948) to form a new, much larger Tønsberg Municipality.

On 1 January 2017, the village of Vear was transferred from Stokke Municipality to the neighboring Tønsberg Municipality. On 1 January 2020, Tønsberg Municipality merged with the neighboring Re Municipality to form a much larger municipality.

Name
The municipality is named after the old town of Tønsberg (Túnsberg) since the first Tønsberg Church was built there centuries ago. The first element is the genitive case of (n) which means "fenced area", "garden", or "field around a dwelling". The last element is (n) which means "mountain" or "rock". The name originally referred to the fortifications on Slottsfjellet. The old spelling of the name has been retained in the name of the local diocese, Tunsberg bispedømme.

Coat of arms
For a long time, the city and municipality did not have a formal coat of arms, but instead an old medieval seal dating back to 1349 was used in its place. The blue and white circular seal shows the Tønsberg Fortress surrounded by a ring wall on a mountain with the sea in front. There is also a longship in the water in front of the fortress. Around the seal are the Latin words SIGILLVM BVRGENSIVM D'TVNESBER which means "This is the seal of Tunsberg".

In preparation for the merger of Re and Tønsberg Municipalities, a new coat of arms was adopted in 2018 for use starting on 1 January 2020. The blazon is "Per pale argent a longship stem azure and azure a seedling argent". This means the arms are divided with a vertical line. The field (background) to the right of the line has a tincture of azure. To the right of the line, the field has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. There are two charges on the arms. The charge on the left side is a longship stem, symbolizing the one on the Oseberg Ship and the great Viking Age history in the area. This stem has a tincture of azure. The charge on the right side is a seedling, symbolizing local agriculture. This seedling or sprout has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used.

Churches
The Church of Norway has nine parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Tønsberg. It is part of the Tønsberg domprosti (arch-deanery) in the Diocese of Tunsberg.

History
The city of Tønsberg has existed for centuries. On 1 January 1838, the formannskapsdistrikt law went into effect, making all cities and rural parishes across Norway into civil municipalities with self-governing councils. The city of Tønsberg was surrounded by Sem Municipality for many years until 1988 when Sem Municipality and the city of Tønsberg were merged, creating a new Tønsberg Municipality with a much larger size and population than the city was before the merger. The city continued on as the administrative centre of the new municipality. In 2017, the village of Vear was transferred into Tønsberg Municipality from Stokke Municipality. In 2020, the neighboring Re Municipality was merged with Tønsberg Municipality, more than doubling its size again. The new Tønsberg Municipality included much more rural area than urban area, with most of the urban settlements in and around the city of Tønsberg in the far southern part of the newly merged municipality.

Economy
Since the municipality was enlarged, Tønsberg is now the largest agricultural municipality, with an agricultural area of about 117000 daa (2018). Cereal cultivation dominates, but vegetable production is significant. Tønsberg is the municipality in Vestfold that has the highest number of cattle (both dairy and meat cows). In forestry, 43000 m3 of trees were harvested in 2018, about 80% of which was spruce.

The city of Tønsberg has long traditions in shipping, industry, and trade. Today, the municipal business-base is predominantly small and medium-sized companies. The most important industries are the food industry, including a large slaughterhouse (Nortura) and a large dairy (Tine), as well as a flatbread factory. The workshop industry is also significant, particularly the metal goods industry. Esso's refinery at Slagentangen was closed in 2021. There is also a large silverware factory and the country's only bell foundry at Nauen in Sem (Olsen Nauen Bell Foundry). The most important industrial areas are located along the Canal and the adjacent areas of Byfjorden, both on the mainland and the Nøtterøy side. Important industrial areas are also found along the Oslofjord from Husøy and northwards to Vallø and Slagentangen. There is also a lot of summer tourism along the coast.

Government
Tønsberg Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Vestfold District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Tønsberg is made up of 43 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Tønsberg:


 * 1838-1839: Jacob Jacobsen
 * 1840-1840: Peter Ambrosius Bruun
 * 1841-1841: Jacob Jacobsen
 * 1842-1842: Thomas Hvistendahl
 * 1843-1843: Nicolai Bruun
 * 1844-1844: Hans Falkenberg Hovbrender
 * 1845-1845: Georg Daniel Barth Abel
 * 1846-1846: Fredrik Severin Lorentzen
 * 1847-1847: Samuel Foyn
 * 1848-1848: Hans Hansen
 * 1849-1849: Wilhelm Christian Lied
 * 1850-1850: Henrich Holst
 * 1851-1851: Johan Henrik Dietrichs
 * 1852-1852: Brede Thurmann
 * 1853-1853: Lauritz Bodin
 * 1854-1854: Ole Christophersen Berrum
 * 1855-1855: Christian Fredrik Røsch
 * 1856-1866: Nils Magnus Bugge
 * 1867-1877: Riulf Erlandsen
 * 1878-1878: Jens Bernhard Rode
 * 1879-1883: Johannes Winding Harbitz (H)
 * 1884-1884: Georg Johan Knap (H)
 * 1885-1887: Johannes Winding Harbitz (H)
 * 1888-1888: Georg Johan Knap (H)
 * 1889-1893: Johannes Winding Harbitz (H)
 * 1894-1894: Wilhelm Wilhelmsen (H)
 * 1895-1904: Anders Larsen (H)
 * 1905-1905: Christopher Knudsen (H)
 * 1905-1907: Peder Thoresen (H)
 * 1908-1910: Anders Larsen (H)
 * 1911-1913: John Søyland (H)
 * 1914-1916: Peder Thoresen (H)
 * 1917-1919: Anders Rørholt
 * 1920-1922: Johan Henrik Christiansen (H)
 * 1923-1928: Odd Nerdrum
 * 1929-1933: Haagen Cappelen (H)
 * 1933-1934: Sylfest Muldal
 * 1935-1936: Arne Aas (H)
 * 1936-1937: Trygve Sverdrup (H)
 * 1937-1937: Gunnar Eliassen (H)
 * 1938-1940: Leif Helberg (H)
 * 1941-1942: Eivind Bjerk (NS)
 * 1945-1945: Knut D. Christiansen
 * 1945-1945: Leif Helberg (H)
 * 1946-1952: Georg Martinsen (Ap)
 * 1953-1953: Emil Stang Lund (H)
 * 1954-1955: Georg Martinsen (Ap)
 * 1956-1963: Thorvald B. Olsen (Ap)
 * 1963-1975: Kolbjørn Hogsnes (Ap)
 * 1976-1993: Erik Carlsen (H)
 * 1993-1995: Jørn Olav Hagen (KrF)
 * 1995-2001: Hans Kristian Hogsnes (H)
 * 2001-2003: Harald Haug Andersen (Ap)
 * 2003-2009: Per Arne Olsen (FrP)
 * 2009-2019: Petter Berg (H)
 * 2019-2023: Anne Rygh Pedersen (Ap)
 * 2023-present: Frank Pedersen (H)

Geography
Tønsberg is a municipality in Vestfold County, on the western shore of the Oslofjord. Tønsberg lies north of Færder Municipality, west and south of Horten Municipality, and east of Sandefjord Municipality. Most of the municipality lies on the mainland plus a small area on the north end of the island of Nøtterøy. Just south of Tønsberg are the islands of Nøtterøy and Tjøme, which are tourist destinations.

The bedrock in the municipality consists entirely of igneous rocks. The landscape is characterized by slightly hilly, elongated and wooded hills with crevasse valleys running north-south and with heights in the western part of the municipality reaching as high as the 400 m tall Snippane, just west of Vivestad. Streams and rivers follow the north-south running valleys. The Storelva river, which flows centrally through the municipality from north to south, and the Merkedamselva river in the west unite and become the river Aulielva which then flows into the Tønsbergfjorden.