Skien Municipality
Skien is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsjø area and Bø. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Skien, which is also the administrative centre of the whole county. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Åfoss, Hoppestad, Klovholt, Luksefjell, Melum, Kilebygda, Skotfoss, Sneltvedt, and Valebø.
The municipality is the 147th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Skien is the 18th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 56 866. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 5.5% over the previous 10-year period. The conurbation of Porsgrunn/Skien is reckoned by Statistics Norway to be the seventh largest urban area in Norway, straddling an area of three municipalities: Skien municipality, Porsgrunn Municipality, and Bamble Municipality. This entire area is home to more than 100,000 people.
The municipality has existed since 1838, but the city of Skien is one of Norway's oldest cities, with an urban history dating back to the Middle Ages, and received privileges as a market town in 1358. From the 15th century, the city was governed by a 12-member council. Skien was historically a centre of seafaring, timber exports, and early industrialization. It was one of Norway's two or three largest cities between the 16th and 19th centuries. It was also one of Norway's most internationally oriented cities, with extensive contact with its export markets in the Low Countries, the United Kingdom, and Denmark. It retained its position as Eastern Norway's leading commercial city until the 19th century, when it gradually started to lose importance to the emerging capital of Christiania following the Napoleonic Wars. The city was the birthplace of playwright Henrik Ibsen, and many of his famous dramas are set in places reminiscent of early 19th-century Skien.
General information
The town of Skien was established as an urban municipality on 1 January 1838. On 1 January 1856, an area of Gjerpen Municipality was annexed by the growing town of Skien. Again, on 1 July 1916, another area of Gjerpen Municipality and an area of Solum Municipality was annexed by the growing town of Skien. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the town of Skien was merged with the neighboring Solum Municipality and Gjerpen Municipality plus the Valebø area of Holla Municipality. These areas became the new Skien Municipality.Name
The municipality is named after the Skien river since it ran through the town. The name is the plural genitive case of the word which means "ski", likely referring to the straight path of the river.Coat of arms
The coat of arms is derived from the oldest known seal of the city, dating back to 1609. The blazon is "Gules, two crossed ski-poles with central star between two skis addorsed between two flower plants issuant from a terrace in base Or". This means the arms have a red field and the charge is a two ski poles forming a cross with a star at the crosspoint located in between two skis which in turn are between two tall flower plants growing out of a flat ground at the bottom of the shield. A mural crown is usually displayed above the shield. The charge has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The skis are a semi-canting element and the cross is a religious symbol. There have been several theories about the meaning of the cross, but its meaning is not clearly known. It has been suggested that it is a symbol for the main church in Skien, the Holy Cross church. The small star may be a symbol of St. Mary as the second medieval church of Skien was devoted to her. Besides the skis and cross, there are two meadow buttercups on each side. The municipal flag is white with a small image of coat of arms next to the name "Skien kommune".In 1854, the arms were shown as two skis, but the cross was now made from ski poles, as another canting element. This remained so until the early half of the 20th century. In the 1980s, the city officially adopted the current arms, which are identical to the oldest seal. The colours are the colours that have been used since the 19th century. The differences between the seal and the present arms are that in the arms the cross is placed on top of the skis and the star is changed from a four-pointed star to a six-pointed star, and that the cross is made of ski-poles.
History
Until 1979, it was thought that Skien was founded in the 14th century. However, the archaeological discovery of a carving of the Skien animal has established that its founding preceded 1000 A.D. The city was then a meeting place for inland farmers and marine traders, and also a centre for trading whetstones from Eidsborg. Gimsøy Abbey was founded in the 12th century. Skien was given formal commercial town rights by the Norwegian crown in 1358. Timber has historically been the principal export from Skien, and in the sixteenth century the city became the Kingdom's leading port for shipping timber. The oldest remaining building is Gjerpen church.From the 16th century, the city came to be dominated by a group of families known as patricians. In an 1882 letter to Georg Brandes, Henrik Ibsen mentions the families Paus, Plesner, von der Lippe, Cappelen and Blom as the most prominent patrician families when he grew up there.
The current town layout was fixed after the last town fire in 1886.
Climate
Government
Skien Municipality is responsible for primary education, 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 Telemark District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.Municipal council
The municipal council of Skien is made up of 55 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 of Skien:- 1838-1838: Christopher Myhre
- 1838–1840: Peter Fredrik Feilberg
- 1840–1842: Hans Severin Arentz
- 1842–1843: Hother Bøttger
- 1844–1845: Cornelius Blom
- 1845–1847: Hans Severin Arentz
- 1847–1848: Herman Bagger
- 1848–1850: Hans Severin Arentz
- 1850–1851: Herman Bagger
- 1851–1860: Hans Severin Arentz
- 1860–1861: Herman Bagger
- 1861–1867: Hans Severin Arentz
- 1867–1869: Herman Bagger
- 1869–1872: Hans Julius Hammer
- 1872–1873: Anthon H. Steenstrup
- 1873–1876: Hans Severin Arentz
- 1876–1878: Johan Castberg
- 1878–1879: Hans Dulin
- 1879–1881: Johan R. Garben
- 1881–1883: Hans Dulin
- 1883–1886: Axel Borchgrevink
- 1886–1887: Martin Walther
- 1887–1893: Paul Steenstrup Koht
- 1893–1896: Hans Gurstad
- 1896–1897: Hans Larsen
- 1897–1899: Carl Stousland
- 1899–1905: Tholf Grini
- 1905–1909: Søren B. Paulsen
- 1909–1910: Tholf Grini
- 1910–1911: Johannes Sørfonden
- 1911–1912: Harald Kristoffersen
- 1912–1914: Tholf Grini
- 1914–1917: Jonas P. Solheim
- 1917–1919: Carl Stousland
- 1919–1920: Tholf Grini
- 1920–1926: Lars Skjelbred
- 1926–1927: Hermann Olaus Hansen
- 1927–1928: Christian C. Bruun
- 1928–1929: Jørgen Bøhle
- 1929–1931: Carl Hartmann
- 1932–1935: Jørgen Bøhle
- 1931–1932: K. Slagstad
- 1935–1937: Ambros Sollid
- 1938–1941: Øivind Stensrud
- 1945-1945: Øivind Stensrud
- 1945–1947: Hermann Olaus Hansen
- 1948–1952: Aslak Nilsen
- 1952–1964: Arnt Haraldsen
- 1964–1967: Johan Heisholt
- 1967–1980: Sigurd Namløs
- 1980–1984: Halvor Aas
- 1984–1986: Einfrid Halvorsen
- 1986–1987: Per Sigurd Lauvstad
- 1988-1988: Einfrid Halvorsen
- 1988–1989: Audun Kleppe
- 1990–1993: Per Sigurd Lauvstad
- 1993-1993: Rolf Erling Andersen
- 1994–1995: Audun Kleppe
- 1995–1999: Rolf Erling Andersen
- 1999–2001: Kari Lise Holmberg
- 2001–2003: Jan Terje Olsen
- 2003–2011: Rolf Erling Andersen
- 2011–2023: Hedda Foss Five
- 2023–present: Marius Roheim Aarvold
- 2024, Feb 1 – May 15: Jørn Inge Næss, Acting Mayor
Transportation