List of towns and cities in Norway facts for kids

Map of Norway with important cities

Welcome to a list of towns and cities in Norway! In Norway, the word by means both a town and a city. There isn't a separate word for each, like there is in English. Long ago, the king decided which places could be called a town or city. But since 1996, local councils in each area (called municipal councils) get to make that decision. Today, being called a town or city in Norway doesn't give a place any special legal power. It's just a name. All local government is handled by the larger area, called a municipality. A municipality might have a town or city inside it, or it might not.

History of Norwegian Towns

In the past, towns in Norway had special names like kjøpstad (a market town), ladested (a small seaport), or bergstad (a mountain town). Each of these types of towns had special rights. They also had their own administrative power. For example, a "ladested" was under the control of a "kjøpstad." Over time, some "ladesteds" were "upgraded" to "kjøpstad" status. This gave them more trading rights.

In 1665, Norway had 20 towns:

• 9 full market towns (kjøpstad): Bergen, Oslo, Trondheim, Tønsberg, Stavanger, Skien, Fredrikstad, Halden, and Kristiansand.
• 2 mountain towns (bergstad): Kongsberg and Røros.
• 9 market seaports (ladested): Larvik, Moss, Porsgrunn, Molde, Kragerø, Risør, Holmestrand, Mandal, and Drammen (which was actually two towns: Bragernes and Strømsø).

All the "ladested" places on this list later became "kjøpstad"s. During the 1800s, more people started moving to cities in Norway. Many new towns and cities were added. The special trading rights for towns were stopped in 1857.

In 1952, the old town classifications like "kjøpstad" and "ladested" were removed from the law. They were replaced with the simple term by. From 1965, the government focused more on the larger municipalities rather than just the individual towns. All towns and rural areas were called either an "urban municipality" or a "rural municipality." This difference was removed in 1992.

Between 1960 and 1965, many Norwegian municipalities merged together. For example, the town of Brevik joined with Porsgrunn and a rural area called Eidanger. The new, bigger area was named Porsgrunn. Because of this, Brevik was no longer seen as a separate town. However, when the town of Hønefoss merged with several rural areas to form Ringerike, Ringerike kept its town status. The same happened to Egersund and Florø.

Before 1996, the king and government decided which places got "city status." After 1996, local municipal councils could decide this for their own areas. The state then formally approved it. Since 1997, a place must have at least 5,000 people to be declared a city. For example, Setermoen tried to become a city in 1999, but it was rejected because it didn't have enough people. One special case is Honningsvåg. Its municipality has fewer than 5,000 people, but it became a city before the 5,000-person rule was put in place in 1997.

Because of these new laws in 1996 and 1997, Norway saw a quick increase in the number of cities. Some smaller places are now called "by," like Brekstad with 1,828 people and Kolvereid with 1,448 people. Among the cities that got their status before 1996, Tvedestrand is the smallest, with 1,983 people. The new laws also allowed some places that lost their city status in the 1960s to get it back.

Oslo, founded in the 11th century, is Norway's largest city and its capital. Oslo is unique because the city, its municipality, and its county are all one single government unit.

Cities and Towns in Norway

Oslo, the capital of Norway and among the fastest growing cities in Europe

Bergen, the capital of Vestland county

Trondheim, the largest city in Trøndelag county

Stavanger, the oil capital and capital of Rogaland county

Kristiansand, the biggest city and capital of Agder county

Fredrikstad, the biggest city in Østfold county and one of the 20 biggest cities in Norway

Tromsø, the capital of Troms county

Sandnes, the second largest city in Rogaland after Stavanger

Drammen, the largest city in and capital of Buskerud county

Skien

Bodø

Ålesund

Former Towns

See also

• List of cities in Europe
• List of urban areas in Norway by population
• Lists of villages in Norway