Sarpsborg

Sarpsborg kommune
—  Municipality  —
Jernbanegata in Sarpsborg
Coat of arms Østfold within Norway
Sarpsborg within Østfold
Coordinates (city): 59°17′26″N 11°12′10″E / 59.29056°N 11.20278°E / 59.29056; 11.20278Coordinates: 59°17′26″N 11°12′10″E / 59.29056°N 11.20278°E / 59.29056; 11.20278
Country	Norway
County	Østfold
Municipality ID	NO-0105
Administrative centre	Sarpsborg
Government
- Mayor (2003)	Jan O. Engsmyr (Ap)
Area (Nr. 238 in Norway)
- Total	406 km2 (156.8 sq mi)
- Land	370 km2 (142.9 sq mi)
Population (2006)
- Total	50,115
- Density	134/km2 (347.1/sq mi)
- Change (10 years)	6.6 %
- Rank in Norway	13
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Official language form	Bokmål
Norwegian demonym	Sarping[1]
Website	www.sarpsborg.com
Data from Statistics Norway

Downtown Sarpsborg (Roald Amundsens Gate)

Sarpsborg (help·info) is a city and municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg.

Together with Fredrikstad, Sarpsborg forms the fifth largest urban area in Norway. As of 1 April 2006, according to Statistics Norway these two municipalities have a total population of 121,097 with 50,135 in Sarpsborg and 70,962 in Fredrikstad.

Borregaard Industries is and always has been the most important industry in the city. The city is also the home of Borg Bryggerier, part of the Hansa Borg Bryggerier, Norway's second largest brewery-group.

In the 1960s, Sarpsborg was famous for its football (soccer) team, Sarpsborg FK, but is now more known for its ice hockey team, Sparta Warriors. In football, Sarpsborg 08 has taken over the local throne, currently playing on the 2nd highest national level, known as the Adecco League. 6.11.09, they sent arch-rival FFK down from the "Tippeliga" in a fantastic Play-off game on Fredrikstad stadion. Sarpsborg BK plays in the highest bandy division.

General information

Name

In Norse times the city was just called Borg (from borg which means "castle"). The background for this was the fortification built by Olav Haraldsson (see History section). Later the genitive case of the name of the waterfall Sarpr (now Sarpsfossen) 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/court of Borg".

The old name has been revived in the diocese of Borg (1968) and Borgarting Court of Appeal (1995).

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms 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 of Sarpsborg (Comes de Saresburgh), Alv Erlingsson. He used the bear to symbolize his strength.^{[citation needed]} The castle symbolizes the fortress (borg) that once gave the city its original name.^[2]

History

The city was founded as Borg by the Viking King Olav Haraldsson (Saint Olav) in 1016. It was burned to the ground by Swedish invaders in 1567 during the Northern Seven Years' War. 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 during a 1702 mudslide. Again Borg was rebuilt, and it was recreated as a city in 1839, and separated from Tune as a municipality of its own. The rural municipalities of Tune, Skjeberg, and Varteig 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
• Sarpsborg
• Ise
• Skjeberg
• Alvim
• Greåker
• Grålum
• Borgenhaugen
• Yven
• Høysand
• Varteig
• Hafslund
• Gleng
• Fritznerbakken
• Lande
• Valaskjold
• Brevik

Notable residents

• John Anderson (1873-1949), Major League Baseball player for fifteen seasons in the United States
• Arne Arnardo, Norwegian circus owner
• Harald Dahl, father of British author Roald Dahl
• 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
• Stephan Groth (1971–), artist (Apoptygma Berzerk)
• Arnold Haukeland, artist (sculptor)
• Stian Joneid (1978–), artist/vocalist
• Trond Joneid (1948–2007), artist/vocalist/drummer (The Saints/Sirkus Sørensen)
• Raymond Kvisvik (1974–), soccer player
• Thomas Myhre, goalkeeper (soccer)
• 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 player
• Nils Ole Oftebro, actor
• Per-Åge Skrøder, ice hockey player
• Jens Arne Svartedal, international skiing champion
• Oscar Torp (1893–1958), former Prime Minister of Norway
• Lene Alexandra Øien, glamour model
• Walther Aas (1928–1990), artist
• Ole Slorer Financial analyst

International relations

Twin towns - Sister cities

Sarpsborg has several sister cities:^[3]

References

External links

• Media related to Sarpsborg at Wikimedia Commons
• Sarpsborg travel guide from Wikitravel