Arendal () is a
city
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
in
Agder
Agder is a counties of Norway, county () and districts of Norway, traditional region in the southern part of Norway and is coextensive with the Southern Norway region. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Au ...
county,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. The city is the
administrative centre
An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located.
In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgi ...
of the municipality of
Arendal and the seat of the
County Governor of Agder. The city also includes a small area in the neighbouring municipality of
Grimstad
Grimstad () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county, Norway. It belongs to the geographical region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative center of the municipality is the Grimstad (to ...
as well.
In Norway, Arendal is considered a which can be translated as either a "town" or "city" in English.
The city has a population (2019) of 37,815 and a
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
of . The city does cross municipal boundaries due to its growth over the years. In 2019, of the city with 112 residents were located in neighbouring Grimstad municipality. This area was mostly north of the
Fevik area in Grimstad, south of the city centre.
The offices of
UNEP/GRID-Arendal are located in the town of Arendal. There are several churches in the city of Arendal including
Trinity Church,
Bjorbekk Church,
Barbu Church and
Stokken Church.
History
The village of Arendal was established in the middle of the 16th century, and was then called . Initially, it had no formal town status. It was part of the
prestegjeld
A ''prestegjeld'' was a geographic and administrative area within the Church of Norway (''Den Norske Kirke'') roughly equivalent to a parish. This traditional designation was in use for centuries to divide the kingdom into ecclesiastical areas tha ...
of
Øyestad going back for centuries. In 1610, the village was declared a
ladested, a port of loading with special trading rights.
The village sat at the mouth of the river
Nidelva
Nidelva is a river in Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. The name of the long river translates to "the River Nid" since the suffix ''elva'' is the Norwegian language, Norwegian word for "the river".
Location
The Nidelva starts at the Hytt ...
and timber was floated down the river from the vast inland forests and it was loaded onto boats and shipped elsewhere at Arendal.
When the town of
Christianssand was founded by King
Christian IV in 1641, he granted those citizens a monopoly on all trade in
Nedenæs and
Lister og Mandal counties (including the area of Arendal). This grant, intended to subsidise Christianssand and its fortifications, placed existing towns and ports in those counties in a difficult position. Both towns and the peasants in the rural countryside protested the hardships this caused. As a result, Arendal received royal permission in 1622 to continue as a loading-place for timber until a means could be found to transfer its trade to Christianssand, but Arendal had to pay a special tax of 750
riksdaler each year for this special privilege.
The town of Arendal was given privileges on 1 May 1723, giving it full "town status" along with all the trading privileges as other towns. However the peasants in the surrounding district, who by law were to sell their goods only at Arendal, continued to smuggle their goods out on cutters and sell them in
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
, in the
Baltic, and in
Britain.
This continued until 1735, when some laws were changed and that, combined with the Danish imposition of a monopoly on grain imports, caused great
poverty
Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...
and starvation among the peasants in the surrounding districts, leading to several famous rebellions.
As a result of the rebellions, the age of privileges for towns like Christianssand and Arendal came to an apparent end in 1768 by royal
proclamation
A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...
. But the problems did not end then; a farmer,
Christian Jensen Lofthuus, in nearby
Vestre Moland, led a rebellion in 1786 which resulted in the government actually remedying some of the most repressive trade policies, but Lofthuus died in prison. The charges against Lofthuus were that he dealt in grain and other commodities to the detriment of Arendal's privileges.
Shipping
Freight transport, also referred to as freight forwarding, is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...
,
shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...
, and
timber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...
trade as well as
mining
Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...
and
ironworks were important branches of industry in Nedenæs county for many centuries, especially in the Arendal region. Frequent contacts with the world abroad put their mark on its culture and traditions. In 1880, it was the country's biggest port in terms of tonnage handled. At the end of the 19th century Arendal was recognised as a major shipping centre with many wealthy shipowners. However, this came to an end following the 1886
Arendal crash, in which
Axel Nicolai Herlofson had defrauded many bank customers in the city, leading to bankruptcies and extreme unemployment.
Around the turn of the twentieth century, when thousands of Norwegians sought to take advantage of the more stable economic climate of the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
by emigrating from a ship named ''Thomas Gundersen'', many of those from Arendal took their economic traditions with them. In New York City and the surrounding areas, a great deal of Americans who claim Norwegian ancestry can trace their roots to Arendal, as a great deal of Norwegian sailors, trimmers, shipbuilders and carpenters from Arendal settled in areas of New York such as
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
,
Port Richmond (
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...
), and several industrial centres in northern
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
such as
Jersey City
Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous ,
Bayonne
Bayonne () is a city in southwestern France near the France–Spain border, Spanish border. It is a communes of France, commune and one of two subprefectures in France, subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments of France, departm ...
,
Perth Amboy, and
Elizabeth. In 1939, Arendal had the 4th largest Norwegian
tanker fleet; only
Oslo
Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
,
Bergen
Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo.
By May 20 ...
, and
Stavanger
Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...
were larger.
During the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940,
Arendal was captured by the German torpedo boat
''Greif''.
Piloted by the German officer Schlaps von Gepikkengeßchlürpen.
Today, the town has small boat manufacturing, mechanical industry, electronics industry, as well as one of the world's largest
silicon carbide
Silicon carbide (SiC), also known as carborundum (), is a hard chemical compound containing silicon and carbon. A wide bandgap semiconductor, it occurs in nature as the extremely rare mineral moissanite, but has been mass-produced as a powder a ...
refining plants.
Municipal history
The town of Arendal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see
formannskapsdistrikt
() was the name of a Norwegian self-governing municipality. The name was used from the establishment these municipalities in 1838 until the name fell out of use in 1863.
The municipalities had their legal basis from two laws enacted on 14 Jan ...
law). On 1 January 1875, a small area with 22 inhabitants was transferred from the town to the neighbouring municipality of
Østre Moland and another small area with 52 residents was transferred to the neighbouring municipality of
Øyestad.
On 1 January 1902, the rural municipality of
Barbu (population: 6,787) was merged into the town of Arendal. In 1944, a small area of
Moland with a population of 21 inhabitants was transferred to Arendal as well. On 1 January 1992, the town was vastly expanded. The neighbouring rural municipalities of
Hisøy (pop: 4,026),
Moland (pop: 8,148),
Tromøy (pop: 4,711), and
Øyestad (pop: 8,679) were all merged with the town of Arendal which had a population of 12,478, bringing the total population of the new municipality of Arendal to 38,042.
Name
The
Old Norse
Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
form of the name was probably . The first element is the
genitive case
In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive ca ...
of which means "
eagle
Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...
" and the last element is which means "
valley
A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...
" or "dale", thus meaning the "eagle valley".
Townscape
In the middle of the town centre is an area with wooden houses dating back to the 17th century. This area is called Tyholmen, and is what is left of buildings from before the 19th century. The inner harbour of Arendal is called "Pollen", where the fish market, pubs, and restaurants are located.
Trinity Church dominates the skyline of this area.
See also
*
List of towns and cities in Norway
This is a list of towns and cities in Norway. The Norwegian language word means a town or city–there is no distinction between the two words as there is in English. Historically, the designation of town/city was granted by the king, but sin ...
References
{{Authority control
Arendal
Populated places in Agder
Cities and towns in Norway
Port cities and towns in Norway
1610 establishments in Norway
Populated places established in 1610