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Halden

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Halden Municipality
Halden kommune
Municipality
Flag of Halden Municipality
Flag
Coat of arms of Halden Municipality
Coat of arms
Østfold within Norway
Østfold within Norway
Halden within Østfold
Halden within Østfold
CountryNorway
CountyØstfold
Administrative centreHalden
Government
 • Governor (2003)Per Kristian Dahl (Ap)
Area
 • Total
642 km2 (248 sq mi)
 • Land596 km2 (230 sq mi)
 • Rank#173 in Norway
Population
 (2007)
 • Total
28,063
 • Rank#29 in Norway
 • Density46/km2 (120/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
Increase +6%
DemonymHaldenser/Haldensar[1]
Official language
[2]
 • Norwegian formBokmål
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-0101[3]
Website[[1]%20Template:En icon Official website]
Data from Statistics Norway

lat_seclon_seclat_minlon_minlon_deglat_deg

Haldenⓘ is a both a town and a municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The seat of the municipality, Halden is located at the Tista river delta on the Iddefjord, the southernmost border between Norway and Sweden.

History

Evidence of early human settlements in this region of Norway have been found, particularly in the Svinesund area of the municipality where rock carvings from the Nordic Bronze Age can be found. Named after a small farm Hallen (Template:Lang-en) first mentioned in 1629, "Halden", became the city Fredrikshald in 1665 for Frederick III of Denmark. The Gud med oss (God be with us) coat-of-arms created in 1665 shows a knight standing on a mountain, yellow on a blue background and was inspired the bravery of the citizens of the city in the Dano-Swedish War (1658–1660).[4]

As a reference to the town's citizens burning their own houses to prevent them being taken on 4 July 1716 by Karl XII of Sweden, Halden is one of only two cities in Norway's national anthem. In 1718, the Great Northern War ended when Karl XII was shot and killed at the Fredriksten fortress. The fortress had been erected in the 17th century as a replacement for the Bohus Fortress lost at the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658 when Bohuslän was ceded to Sweden.

Never captured by force by any invading army (although occupied by Nazi forces in WWII), the Swedes unsuccessfully attempted to invade Halden six times between 1658 and 1814.

Halden municipality
In 1838, Fredrikshald became a city municipality (Template:Lang-no), and in 1928, the name was changed back to Halden. The 4 kilometres (2 mi) Tistedalen east of the Halden was part of the city from 1686-1967 until it was separated from Halden. At the same time, the area of Halden, Tistedalen, and the rural municipalities of Berg and Idd became the Halden municipality on 1 January 1967.

In the late 1960s, the most powerful mainframe computer in Norway at the time was located at Insitutt for energiteknikk's facilities in Halden. From the 1960s-1980s, Halden was infamous for high levels of industrial pollution, largely originating from the Norske Skog Saugbrugs paper mill (part of Norske Skog since 1989). As a result of projects initiated by both Norske Skog-Saugbrugs and the city authorities, the polluted fjords and rivers of Halden have been cleaned up and the city was dubbed Norway's Environment City in 1996.

Halden's fortress and new town bridge.
File:Halden from above.JPG
Halden: seen from the top of Fredriksten Fortress

Politics

The political situation in Halden has become infamous in Norway for conflicts between individual politicians and between local political parties. A series of controversial decisions by prominent local politicians, often rooted in personal interests, has resulted in a general distrust of politicians by the population of Halden.

As of 2007, Halden is ruled by a coalition between Arbeiderpartiet (a social-democratic party), the Socialist Left Party, and the Christian Democratic Party.

Economy

The slogan, Halden, IT- og Miljøbyen (Halden, IT and Environment City), is a reference to Halden's large number of IT companies. Halden's meteorological station is at Buer.[2]

One of Norway's two nuclear reactors is located in Halden. The "Halden Boiling Water Reactor" is a research reactor located 100 metres (328 ft) within Månefjell, adjacent to the Saugbrugs paper mill. It is in operation about 50% of the time and, in addition to research data, supplies steam to the mill. The reactor is operated by Institutt for energiteknikk (IFE), one of Halden's largest employers, and is the largest experimental facility operated for OECD Halden Reactor Project research. IFE's Man-Technology-Organisation laboratory is IFE's other major facility, and was opened by Norway's crown prince regent in March 2004. This new laboratory building houses the most recent incarnations of the Halden Man-Machine Laboratory (HAMMLAB) and Halden Virtual Reality Centre's (HVRC) VR laboratory. The OECD Halden Reactor Project (established in 1958) is one of the world's longest running international research collaborations, with 20 countries participating (2005) and the largest international research project in Norway. This ensures a steady influx of international guest scientists to the city. The fact that Norway has no commercial interest in nuclear power ensures that Halden is viewed internationally as a neutral location. In national politics, the reactor is controversial, however locally it has had support from the majority of political parties and the city's population. Some of the largest IT companies in Halden, such as Hand-El Skandinavia (now part of the OM Technology group) and ScandPower, are spin-offs from IFE.

View of the river Tista running through Halden from one of the town's bridges.

Sights

Halden sights include the canal system, Rød mansion, Höiåsmasten partially-guyed TV tower, and Svinesund bridges. The Fredriksten has historical museums, and the Østfold University College (Høgskolen i Østfold) is in Halden.

Nature

Halden is surrounded by forests and water so hiking and fishing locations can easily be found. Deer and elk are a common sight, and wolves have also been observed in the district along the border with Sweden. Raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, wild cranberries, and many varieties of mushroom can be found in the woods in the early autumn. Popular destinations for hikers and other nature lovers include Prestebakke and Kornsjø.

Culture

Outdoor concerts are frequently held at the fortress while the local churches, pubs, and student union are regular venues for indoor concerts. Musicians recorded by the Hitsville and Athletic Sound studios in the Halden region include Motorpsycho, Madrugada, Morten Harket, and Kurt Nilsen. The city's intimate theatre hosts frequent plays by national and local theatre groups, and occasionally serves as a concert hall.

Halden festivals include a food and wooden boat festival (Halden Day) in July, a croquet festival (August), the Bom-Kræsj-Bang cultural festival (April), and the Down on the Farm country/roots festival. The famous pub "Siste Reis" neighbouring the train station has been voted among the ten best pubs in Europe!

Artists born in Halden that are represented in the Norwegian National Gallery in Oslo include Thomas Fearnley (1802-1842) and Jacob Mathias Calmeyer (1802-1883). Fearnley is locally exhibited at the manor house Rød Herregård. Other significant artists that lived in Halden, but were not born there, include Johannes Fintoe (1786-1870) and Heinrich August Grosch (1763-1843). Grosch's son, Christian Heinrich Grosch (1801-1865), who moved with his parent to Halden at the age of ten, became an influential architect, whose works include seventy-eight churches (including Immanuels Kirke in Halden), the Bank of Norway, the Oslo Stock Exchange, and the original university buildings in Oslo.

Sports

The Halden VBK volleyball club and the Comet ice hockey club play in the Premier Divisions. Halden also has many football clubs, the biggest of them, Kvik Halden FK, plays in the Norwegian Third Division. The two handball clubs, Tistedalens TIF in the first division and HK Halden, have teams for children, youth and adults.

One of Norway's few curling centres lies in Halden. Halden Curling Center is host to East-Norway 1 division. In addition there is a separate amateur league with two divisions. Several curlers from Halden have won Norwegian championships and competed internationally.

Halden's forests are a good place for orienteering; and hiking, canoeing, boating, fishing, and gymnastics are also popular sports amongst Halden's population.

Notable residents

Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Halden:[5]

References

  1. ^ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
  2. ^ "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
  3. ^ Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (2023-01-26). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget.
  4. ^ "Haldens kommunevåpen". Retrieved 2008-12-13. Template:No icon
  5. ^ "Vennskapsbyer". Halden kommune. Retrieved 2008-12-16. Template:No icon
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