Skien ( Norwegian: [ˈʂêːən] ) 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 .
31-407: Stockmanngården (Stockmann House) was a large building in central Skien , known as the birthplace of the playwright Henrik Ibsen . It burned down during the great fire of 1886. It was located at the corner of Telemarksgaden and Prindsens Gade (now known as Henrik Ibsens gate). It was the city's most central townhouse, and had ten full rooms as well as loft, stables, barn and other outbuildings. It
62-511: A small suburb of Skien further up the Telemark Canal, concerts are held at Løveid Sluser. There are plans to hold cultural events and concerts at Klosterøya (a downtown graffiti park). There are no local amusement parks in Skien. Lekeland was a small amusement park for children just outside the town, but it closed in 2008. Every year there is a traveling carnival with rides and merry-go-arounds for
93-516: A week, in "Stevneplassen". There is an indoor waterpark and a big outdoor climbing park in Skien Fritidspark . Frogner Manor [ no ] ( Frogner Hovedgård ) is a manor house on the outskirts of Skien. The manor house was built for shipowner and timber merchant Christopher Hansen Blom (died 1879) and his wife Marie Elisabeth (Cappelen) Blom (died 1834). The main building is influenced by Italian Renaissance architecture. The garden
124-465: Is Norwegian county road 32 which goes through Siljan and on to the northeast. Skien is the main terminus for the Telemark Canal . The "Norsjø-Skienskanalen" section of the canal, with one terminus at Skien and the other at Løveid, was built in 1854–1861. In Europe, canals were commonly built in the pre-railroad period to transport goods, timber, and passengers. The "Porsgrunn river" runs from
155-522: 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 . The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Skien is made up of 55 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show
186-618: Is located in Skien. Because the E18 highway lies outside of the metropolitan area of Grenland , Skien has lost many important companies to the cities in Vestfold . Skien has three shopping malls : Skien is twinned with: Valeb%C3%B8 Valebø is a village in Skien Municipality in Telemark county, Norway . The village is located on the eastern shore of Norsjø , across
217-458: Is made out of metal, then gold is used. The skis are a semi- canting element (based on the meaning of the town's name) 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
248-430: Is still used for small productions. In the summer of 2009 Elton John held a concert at the new Skagerak Arena, the soccer pitch for the local footfall team Odd. Next to Skagerak Arena is Stevneplassen, where car shows, concerts, flea markets and the annual "Handelsstevnet" – a trade fair with entertainment and a small amusement park – are held. The Handelsstevnet was closed down after the annual fair in 2011. In Skotfoss,
279-466: Is the local culture and conference center in Skien. It also houses concerts by international and national artists, opera, theatre and other cultural events. Skien kunstforening has a department in Ibsenhuset, and the local culture school and library are also located in the building. The venue is also home to the regional symphony orchestra, Grenland Symfoniorkester. Teater Ibsen is the city theatre, and
310-416: 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. Until 1979, it
341-544: The Ibsen family moved to Marichen's childhood home, Altenburggården . Skien The 779-square-kilometre (301 sq mi) 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 55,924. The municipality's population density is 77.8 inhabitants per square kilometre (202/sq mi) and its population has increased by 5.5% over
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#1732855008617372-529: 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 (built in approximately 1150). 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
403-546: The airline Vildanden . For the present, no commercial flights are operated from Geiteryggen. The Church of Norway has seven parishes ( sokn ) within the municipality of Skien. It is part of the Skien prosti ( deanery ) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark . Skien Church is the largest church in Telemark county, and is famous for its two twin towers and great organ . Skien was
434-405: The arms have a red field (background) 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
465-500: The birthplace of the author and playwright Henrik Ibsen , probably the most important writer to emerge from Norway. Many of Ibsen's plays are set in an unnamed provincial town that suggests Skien. The former Ibsen family homestead at Venstøp outside Skien was established as the Ibsen Museum in 1958. The Ibsen Museum has now been incorporated into the multi-site Telemark Museum , which includes several other historical sites. Ibsenhuset
496-426: The building with her two daughters. In December 1825 Knud Ibsen married his stepfather's niece (his brother's first cousin) Marichen Altenburg , who then moved in with them. Henrik Ibsen was born in the building in 1828. On the ground floor the brothers Ibsen/Paus ran an assorted retail trade for wine, yarn and cotton goods, canvas, ivory chamber, mirrors, glass and brass objects, optical articles and foam pipes. In 1831
527-463: 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
558-503: The current and historical composition of the council by political party . The mayors ( Norwegian : ordfører ) of Skien: The European route E18 highway runs through neighboring Porsgrunn and it connects to the Norwegian national road 36 which is the main road through Skien. It follows along the Skienselva river to the north. Another main route used by most buses coming from Oslo
589-467: 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. Skien Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services , senior citizen services, welfare and other social services , zoning , economic development , and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality
620-567: The lake from the villages of Ulefoss and Helgja in Nome Municipality . The village of Valebø lies about 25 kilometres (16 mi) to the northwest of the town of Skien , about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) northwest of the village of Hoppestad , and about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) to the south of Nordagutu in Midt-Telemark Municipality . The village is the site of Valebø Church . The Bratsbergbanen railway line stops at
651-525: The lock at Skien through Porsgrunn to the Frierfjord . Skien harbour is located at Vold havneterminal . Skien was connected to the Norwegian railway network ( Vestfoldbanen ) in 1882. In 1919, Bratsbergbanen railway line opened between Skien and Notodden . Vy still operates regular train services on both railways. The local airport was Skien Airport, Geiteryggen . It served domestic flights to Bergen and Stavanger as well as flights to Trondheim by
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#1732855008617682-413: 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 (about 62% of the population), Porsgrunn Municipality (30%), and Bamble Municipality (8%). This entire area is home to more than 100,000 people. The municipality has existed since 1838, but
713-411: 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
744-411: The town. The name is the plural genitive case of the word skið which means " ski ", likely referring to the straight path of the river. 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
775-563: The work of the Schei Committee . On 1 January 1964, the town of Skien (population: 15,805) was merged with the neighboring Solum Municipality (population: 13,706) and Gjerpen Municipality (population: 15,300) plus the Valebø area of Holla Municipality (population: 259). These areas became the new Skien Municipality. The municipality (originally the town of Skien ) is named after the Skien river ( Old Norse : Skiða ) since it ran through
806-721: 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. The town of Skien
837-514: Was completed in 1933. The daily newspapers Varden and Telemarksavisa are published in Skien. The local television for Telemark , TVTelemark, is located in Skien. The largest industries are ABB Asea Brown Boveri ( engineering firm), Norske Skog Union (a paper mill which was closed down in the spring of 2006), and EFD Induction ( induction heating and induction welding ). Other important places of work are Telemark Hospital and Telemark county municipality . Agder Court of Appeal
868-464: Was established as an urban municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1856, an area of Gjerpen Municipality (population: 1,286) was annexed by the growing town of Skien. Again, on 1 July 1916, another area of Gjerpen Municipality (population: 1,332) and an area of Solum Municipality (population: 1,042) was annexed by the growing town of Skien. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to
899-523: Was laid out in English landscape style in the 1850s. The Church on Kapitelberget ( Kirken på Kapitelberget ) was a medieval church. Kapitelberget was a private chapel on Bratsberg farm dating to the early 1100s. It is not known when the church went out of use, but Bratsberg farm burned down in 1156. in 1576, Peder Claussøn Friis reviewed it as a ruin. The site was first excavated in 1901. In 1928, Gerhard Fischer undertook restoration and preservation. The work
930-540: Was named for the merchant Christian Stockmann. In 1825 Knud Ibsen , aged 28, established himself as an independent timber and luxury goods merchant in Skien with his younger half-brother Christopher Blom Paus , aged 15, as his apprentice. In the 1825 census the two brothers lived in Stockmanngården with a maid named Marthe Isachsdatter, aged 30. The building's owner, the merchant's widow Rachel Stockmann, also lived in
961-431: 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 (inland Telemark). Gimsøy Abbey was founded in the 12th century. Skien was given formal commercial town rights by