Tønsberg

T?nsberg is a town and municipality in the county of Vestfold, Norway, and has 35,326 inhabitants as of January 1, 2002. The municipality of T?nsberg covers 106 km? and includes today also the former municipality Sem.

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According to Snorri Sturluson T?nsberg was founded before the Battle in Hafrsfjord. This makes T?nsberg the oldest Nordic town, founded in 871. In the 1200s, king Haakon Haakonson set up a castle here, T?nsberg Fortress. His daughter was known as princess Kristina of T?nsberg. She was married to the Spanish Prince of Castilla, but died shortly thereafter. The town was destroyed by fire in 1536, but T?nsberg remained one of the most important harbour towns in Norway.

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T?nsberg is still an industrial and maritime centre, with such diverse concerns as metal shops, shipyards, paper mills, leather processing, and breweries; it is noted especially for its silverware. Tourist sites include ruins of the T?nsberghus, St. Michael's Church, the Royal Castle, Sem Church, and the Vestfold Museum. The Oseberg ship was found near the city in 1904. The longship is now in the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo.

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T?nsberg is also known for its toll ring, which was opened in February 2004, against the will of the majority of the citizens. Unlike other toll roads in the world, the motorists in T?nsberg have to pay toll before any new roads are built and before the politicians have decided were the new roads shall go.

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Lene Nystr?m, who was the lead singer of Aqua before its dissolution, was born there on October 2, 1973.

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Jahn Teigen, the lead singer of Popol Ace (formerly Popol Vuh), was also born in T?nsberg. Teigen was the first person in history to receive a score of nil points in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978.

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Municipality: A municipality or "general-purpose district" (compare with: "special-purpose district") is an administrative local area generally composed of a clearly defined territory and commonly referring to a city, town, or village government....

County: Originally, in continental Europe, a county was the land under the jurisdiction of a count. Counts are called "earls" in post-Celtic Great Britain and Ireland - the term is from Old Norse jarl and was introduced by the Vikings - but there is no correlation between "county" and "earldom." Rather, t...

Vestfold: Vestfold is a county in Norway, bordering Buskerud and Telemark. The county administration is in T?nsberg....