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29-512: Thesen is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Charles Wilhelm Thesen (1856–1940), Norwegian-born South African businessman Johan Thesen (1867–1945), Norwegian businessman Nils Peter Thesen (1853–1929), Norwegian-born South African businessman Rolv Thesen (1896–1966), Norwegian poet, literary researcher and literary critic Sharon Thesen (born 1946), Canadian poet [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with

58-454: A ladested status. In the 18th century, Porsgrunn was the home of some of Norway's most influential families at the time, such as the Aalls , Cappelens , Løvenskiolds , and Deichmans. Also in this period, Porsgrunn was considered the cultural centre of Norway. The city was granted limited city status as a kjøpstad in 1807 . The town was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838, and it

87-429: A reef off Cape Agulhas and went down. The passengers and crew were stranded for three days on Dyer Island before being rescued by local fishermen and then travelling by wagon to Caledon. The Thesens' next vessel was the 191-ton brig Ambulant which, in 1883, was the first ship to take on cargo at the new Government Wharf off Thesen's Island, the cargo consisting of 3 000 railway sleepers to Cape Town. Competition from

116-588: A week's stay for repairs and provisioning, the voyage to New Zealand was resumed. Storms at Cape Agulhas forced them to put about and return to Table Bay . In Cape Town, the Swedish-Norwegian consul, Carl Gustaf Åkerberg, told the Thesens about the shortage of cargo ships plying the South African coast. The plan to sail to New Zealand was at first postponed and later set aside. After several coastal cargo voyages,

145-600: Is a canting symbol since the name Porsgrunn comes from the Norwegian word for the plant. The anchor on a blue background symbolizes the importance of the local harbor and sea. The arms were designed by Wilhelm Rudolph. The Church of Norway has two parishes ( sokn ) within the municipality of Porsgrunn. It is part of the Skien prosti ( deanery ) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark . Porsgrunn has been an important harbor town in

174-560: Is considered to be the seventh-largest urban area in Norway . The town of Porsgrunn was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The small urban town of Porsgrunn grew over time. On 1 July 1920, the growing town annexed some adjacent areas of some of the neighboring rural municipalities: an area of Gjerpen Municipality (population: 437), an area of Eidanger Municipality (population: 550), and an area of Solum Municipality (population: 1,614). During

203-422: Is different from Wikidata All set index articles Charles Wilhelm Thesen Charles Wilhelm Thesen (14 November 1856 – 1 February 1940) was a Norwegian-born South African shipowner and timber merchant who played a leading role in the public affairs of the South African town of Knysna . He was actively involved in the timber and shipbuilding industry of the region, and acquired Paarden Island in

232-510: Is first mentioned in existing historical records in 1576 ( "Porsgrund" ) by the writer Peder Claussøn Friis in his work Concerning the Kingdom of Norway (see the article: Norwegian literature ). He writes: "Two and a half miles from the sea, the Skien River flows into the fjord , and that place is called Porsgrund." The name was probably given during medieval times to the then swampy area by

261-526: 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 Porsgrunn is made up of 49 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show

290-450: Is the 315th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Porsgrunn is the 29th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 37,056. The municipality's population density is 230.5 inhabitants per square kilometre (597/sq mi) and its population has increased by 4.7% over the previous 10-year period. The conurbation of the cities of Porsgrunn and Skien is called Porsgrunn/Skien by Statistics Norway and it

319-614: The Grenland area since the late 16th century. In 1653 , the Customs House was moved further down the Skien river from Skien to Porsgrunn mainly because industrial waste such as sawdust and mud made the river too shallow to allow boats to go any further up the river. Moving the Custom House to Porsgrunn added to the flourishing harbor activity and Porsgrunn became a thriving market town with

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348-638: The Orange Free State . Charles's other brothers were Hjalmar (14 February 1846 – 1923), Rolf (9 August 1850 – 18 October 1883), Ragnvald (9 August 1850 – 8 July 1936) and Nils (24 April 1853 – 23 November 1929). The vessel Albatros traded along the Southern African coast, sailing to Mauritius on one occasion, taking two months and ten days for the round trip. In March 1874, en route from Knysna to Cape Town and under captain Knud Thomasen, she struck

377-403: The nuns of Gimsøy Abbey , who went here to collect the shrub pors ("Bog Myrtle"). The last element of the name grunn which means "ground". The name was historically spelled Porsgrund . On 1 January 1930, the spelling of the name of the municipality was changed to Porsgrunn , giving it a more "Norwegianized" spelling. The coat of arms was originally granted on 16 January 1905 for

406-408: The surname Thesen . If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name (s) to the link. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thesen&oldid=961890462 " Category : Surnames Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description

435-452: The town of Porsgrunn . The arms were originally devised in 1905 when the city needed a new city hall . After the municipal merger on 1 January 1964, the old arms were re-adopted by the new, larger Porsgrunn Municipality. The blazon is " Gules and azure , a bend between a bog myrtle branch and an anchor argent " ( Norwegian : Delt av sølv skråbjelke. Øvre felt i rødt en sølv pors-kvist, nedre felt i blått et sølv anker ). This means

464-494: The 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee . On 1 January 1964, there was a major municipal merger where the following areas were merged to form a new Porsgrunn Municipality . On 1 January 1968, an area of Skien Municipality (population: 3,554) was transferred to Porsgrunn Municipality (these areas had originally been part of Solum and Gjerpen municipalities). The place

493-562: The 216-ton Nautilus in 1917. The Outeniqua was the company's flagship, could accommodate fifty passengers and remained in service until 1945. In 1916 the Thesen Line became the Thesen's Steamship Company , but the coastal shipping trade was languishing. Vessels which had been conscripted during World War I were free to ply commercial routes after the War, leading to keen competition. Improvements in

522-615: The Castle and Union Lines forced Thesen's to shut down this route and Ambulant was sold off in 1884. This was followed in 1895 by the 427-ton mail packet Agnar , a steamship nicknamed 'Agony' by the local school children she regularly carried to boarding schools in Cape Town. She stayed in service for some 40 years, as troop carrier for the British colonial government in the Boer War (1899–1902) and for

551-625: The German government in the Herero Wars in German South-West Africa (1904–1907). She was taken over by a business in Madagascar in 1934 and was lost in a cyclone off Mauritius in 1938. The 706-ton Ingerid was taken into service in 1901 and the 600-ton Karatara in 1913. The 1019-ton Outeniqua joined the fleet in 1915, the 139-ton Clara converted from a sand barge and suction dredger and

580-594: The Knysna Lagoon, on which he built a sawmill and shipyard. The island was later renamed Thesen Island, after him and his family. Charles was born in Stavanger , the fifth son of Arndt Leonard Thesen (26 October 1816 – 24 June 1875), a wealthy and respected man in the town. The German-Danish War of 1864–67 caused a downturn in trade and shipping, and in 1868 caused the collapse of several companies in Stavanger, among which

609-1013: The Thesen family settled in Knysna. They started with shipping timber, a business they knew well from Norway, but soon ventured into saw-milling and acquiring forested land. From February 1872 Charles worked as a clerk for William Anderson & Co in Port Elizabeth , but on his father's death in 1875, he joined and managed the family firm, adding new vessels to their fleet, buying more land and trying oyster farming. They also diversified into hardware stores, supermarkets, whaling, gold prospecting and mining, railway construction and road transport. Thesen did not forget his Norwegian roots and commissioned his freight ships such as "Outeniqua" in 1915 from "Porsgrund Mekaniske Værksted" in Porsgrund . He married Eliza Bessie Georgiana Harison (5 March 1863 – 6 August 1901), daughter of

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638-425: The arms have a red (above) and blue (below) field (background) and the charge is a diagonal bend (stripe) with an anchor below it and the branch of a bog myrtle plant above it. The charge has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The silver bend (stripe) symbolizes the small river running through the city. The bog myrtle plant

667-685: The divisional and municipal councils, filling the offices of mayor, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Cape Provincial Council. In 1904 he bought Paarden Island, part of the Melkhoutkraal Estate of George Rex . Here the Thesens processed cut timber from 1922 and the island later became known as Thesen Island. Charles died in Knysna , aged 83. One of Charles' sisters, Blanka Thesen, married Francis William Reitz , president of

696-455: The first conservator of forests, Christopher Harison , an opportune joining of the two families. They produced ten children, 5 sons and 3 daughters surviving. After Bessie's death of pregnancy complications in 1901, he married Lucia Johanna Christine Thesen (1875–1963), the daughter of his cousin Hans Adolf, and she bore one son and two daughters. Charles was active in local politics, serving on

725-415: The north, Bamble in the west, and Larvik in the east. It is part of a cluster of municipalities in southern Telemark that constitute the Grenland area of Norway. The Frierfjorden , Gunnekleivfjorden , and the mouth of the river Telemarksvassdraget or Porsgrunn River ( Porsgrunnselva ) are located in the western part of the municipality. The peninsula of Herøya , southeast of the main city centre,

754-612: The road and rail infrastructure, particularly the opening of the George-Knysna railway line in 1928, led to cheaper tariffs for travel by land. The Thesen family sold off four of its eight vessels, and in 1921 the entire company with the remaining Agnar , Ingerid , Outeniqua and Clara . The buyer was the English-based Houston Line , which continued to use Thesen's red swallowtail with white star. Porsgrunn The 164-square-kilometre (63 sq mi) municipality

783-468: Was A.L. Thesen & Co. Arndt, together with his wife, Anne Cathrine Margreta Brandt, seven sons, two daughters, his brother Mathias Theodore Thesen (26 October 1813 – 18 June 1884), and his son, Hans Adolf (17 October 1843 – 5 March 1909), and a crew of seven, left Norway for New Zealand on 14 August 1869 in his 117-ton schooner , Albatros . The ship was loaded with timber to be sold on their arrival. They reached Cape Town on 16 November 1869 and after

812-479: Was expanded to full city status in 1842. Porsgrunn was once home to Skomvær , the country's largest sailing ship . In 1985, the sculpture Amphitrite, the wave and the sea birds was unveiled in Porsgrunn. The sculpture, which is one of Jørleif Uthaug 's best known works, has a nautical theme in honor of Porsgrunn's maritime history. Porsgrunn Municipality borders the municipalities of Skien and Siljan to

841-418: Was originally an industrial park and has grown into a suburb of Porsgrunn. The Eidangerfjorden runs through the central part of the municipality. Porsgrunn 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

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