A (historically: ''kjøbstad'', ''kjöbstad'', or ''kaupstad'') is an old

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

n term for a "

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

" that was used in the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway for several hundred years. The name comes from the on, kaupstaðr. Kjøpstads were places of

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

and exporting materials (e.g. timber, flour, iron and other common goods). Towns were given the "

dignity Dignity is the right of a person to be valued and respected for their own sake, and to be treated ethically. It is of significance in morality, ethics, law and politics as an extension of the Enlightenment-era concepts of inherent, inalienable ...

" or rank of being referred to as a ''kjøpstad'' when they reached a certain population and had established means of industry and other notable items such as dock yards, steam mills, iron works, churches, grammar schools. The citizens of a kjøpstad were able to buy and sell goods and conduct other economic activities.

Ladested

Norway also had a subordinate category to the

, which was the "small seaport" ( no, ladested) or . These were a port or harbour with a monopoly to import and export goods and materials in both the port and a surrounding outlying district. These places were usually subordinate to the nearest kjøpstad. Typically, these were locations for exporting timber, and importing grain and goods. Local farm goods and timber sales were all required to pass through merchants at either a small seaport (''ladested'') or a market town (''kjøpstad'') prior to export. This encouraged local merchants to ensure trading went through them, which was so effective in limiting unsupervised sales (smuggling) that customs revenues increased from less than 30% of the total tax revenues in 1600 to more than 50% of the total taxes by 1700.

History

Norway developed market towns at a much later period than other parts of Europe. The reasons for this late development are complex but include the sparse population, lack of urbanisation, no real manufacturing industries, and no cash economy. The first kjøpstads date back to the 11th and 12th centuries when the King of Norway sought to centralize

commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

in specific places that offered strategic significance, providing a local economic base for construction of

fortifications A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

and population for defense of the area. It also served to restrict the Hanseatic League merchants from trading in areas other than those designated. King Olaf established a market town at

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

in the 11th century, and it soon became the residence of many wealthy families. Import and

export An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ...

was to be conducted only through market towns, to allow oversight of commerce and to simplify the imposition of

excise taxes file:Lincoln Beer Stamp 1871.JPG, upright=1.2, 1871 U.S. Revenue stamp for 1/6 barrel of beer. Brewers would receive the stamp sheets, cut them into individual stamps, cancel them, and paste them over the Bunghole, bung of the beer barrel so when ...

and customs duties. This practice served to encourage growth in areas which had strategic significance, providing a local economic base for the construction of

and sufficient population to defend the area. It also served to restrict Hanseatic League merchants from trading in areas other than those designated. Under the 1838 formannskapsdistrikt law, both kjøpstads and ladesteds were granted the ability to set up a town council just like the other cities and rural municipalities in the country. Most kjøpstads and ladesteds did this, although some did not do so immediately. Norwegian "market towns" died out and were replaced by free markets during the 19th century. During the 1950s, there were 44 kjøpstads and 20 ladesteds that were had their own town councils in Norway. In 1952, the legal distinctions for both the ladested and kjøpstad were removed from the Constitution of Norway and they were the same (legally) as any other

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

(''by'') in Norway. In 1992, all municipalities received equal status under the law, finally removing all legal differences between town-municipalities and rural-municipalities. Since then, a town designation is simply a title or historical name, with no legal status.

Media gallery

File:Fish market, Bergen, Norway (LOC).jpg, Fish market,

, Norway, c. 1890 File:Tollboden i Porsgrunn.jpeg, Market and customs house,

Porsgrunn is a city and municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Porsgrunn. The municipality of Porsgrunn w ...

, c. 1891-1910 File:Youngstorget Nytorvet med Møllergata 19 OB.F11527a.jpg, Market square, Youngstorget Nytorvet, c. 1915-20 File:Storfjord, Skibotn, Troms - Riksantikvaren-T441 01 0152.jpg, Norwegian market, Storfjord, Skibotn, Troms, 1917 File:91 Trondheim, Torvet - no-nb digifoto 20150623 00200 bldsa PK16954.jpg, Norwegian Market (

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

, Torvet), c. 1921-35 File:No-nb digibok 2012101006012 0047 1.jpg, Market (illustration), c. 1927 File:Roeros market.jpeg, Traditional Winter market at

Røros Røros ( sma, Plaassja, ) is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Røros. Some of the villages in Røros include Brekken, Glåmos, Feragen, Galåa, and Hitterdalen. The min ...

, 2001 File:Tønsberg, Norway (5251993355).jpg, Market,

Tønsberg Tønsberg , historically Tunsberg, is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, eastern Norway, located around south-southwest of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near its mouth onto the Skagerrak. The administrative c ...

, Norway, 2010

References

{{authority control Market towns +

Ladested

History

Media gallery

See also

References