Skien facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Skien kommune
Municipality
View of the city centre
Coat of arms Telemark within Norway
Skien within Telemark
Country	Norway
County	Telemark
District	Grenland
Established	1 Jan 1838
Administrative centre	Skien
Area
• Total	779.19 km2 (300.85 sq mi)
• Land	718.97 km2 (277.60 sq mi)
• Water	60.22 km2 (23.25 sq mi)  7.7%
Area rank	#147 in Norway
Population  (2023)
• Total	55,924
• Rank	#18 in Norway
• Density	77.8/km2 (202/sq mi)
• Change (10 years)	5.5%
Demonyms	Skiensmann (male) Skienskvinne (female) Skiensfolk
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	NO-4003
Official language form	Neutral
Created as	Formannskapsdistrikt in 1838
Data from Statistics Norway

Skien is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the Grenland area. The main town and administrative center of the municipality is also called Skien. This town is also the main center for the entire Telemark county.

Some of the smaller villages in the municipality include Åfoss, Hoppestad, Klovholt, Luksefjell, Melum, Kilebygda, Skotfoss, Sneltvedt, and Valebø.

Skien municipality covers about 779 square kilometers. This makes it the 147th largest municipality out of 356 in Norway. With a population of 55,924 people, Skien is the 18th most populated municipality in Norway. The number of people living here has grown by 5.5% in the last 10 years.

The larger urban area of Porsgrunn/Skien is the seventh largest in Norway. It includes parts of three municipalities: Skien, Porsgrunn Municipality, and Bamble Municipality. More than 100,000 people live in this entire area.

Skien has been a municipality since 1838. However, the town of Skien is one of Norway's oldest cities. Its history as a town goes back to the Middle Ages. It was given special rights as a market town in 1358. From the 1400s, a council of 12 members governed the city.

Historically, Skien was important for sailing, exporting timber, and early industries. Between the 1500s and 1800s, it was one of Norway's two or three largest cities. It was also very connected to other countries. It traded a lot with places like the Low Countries (Netherlands and Belgium), the United Kingdom, and Denmark. Skien was the main trading city in Eastern Norway until the 1800s. After the Napoleonic Wars, it slowly became less important as Christiania (now Oslo) grew.

The famous writer Henrik Ibsen was born in Skien. Many of his plays are set in places that remind people of Skien in the early 1800s.

General Information

The town of Skien became an urban municipality on 1 January 1838. Over time, parts of nearby municipalities like Gjerpen and Solum were added to Skien as it grew.

On 1 January 1964, the town of Skien merged with the neighboring municipalities of Solum and Gjerpen. The Valebø area from Holla Municipality was also included. These mergers created the larger Skien Municipality we know today.

Name Origin

The municipality is named after the Skien river, which flows through the town. The name comes from an old Norse word, Skiða, which means "ski". This likely refers to how straight the river flows, like a ski track.

Coat of Arms

The coat of arms for Skien comes from the city's oldest known seal, which dates back to 1609. It shows a red background with two crossed ski poles. A star is in the middle where they cross. On each side, there are two skis standing upright, and two flower plants grow from the bottom. All these symbols are gold or yellow.

A special crown, called a mural crown, is usually shown above the shield. The skis on the coat of arms are a hint to the town's name. The cross is a religious symbol. Some people think it represents the main church in Skien, the Holy Cross church. The small star might symbolize St. Mary, as Skien's second medieval church was dedicated to her. The two flowers on the sides are meadow buttercups.

The current coat of arms was officially adopted in the 1980s. It looks very similar to the original 1609 seal.

History

Frogner Manor in Skien

For a long time, people thought Skien was founded in the 1300s. But in 1979, archaeologists found a carving called the Skien animal. This showed that Skien was actually founded before 1000 A.D.

At that time, Skien was a meeting place for farmers from inland and traders from the sea. It was also a center for trading whetstones from Eidsborg. Gimsøy Abbey was built in the 1100s.

In 1358, the Norwegian king gave Skien formal rights as a commercial town. Timber was the main product exported from Skien. In the 1500s, it became the most important port in the kingdom for shipping timber. The oldest building still standing is Gjerpen Church, built around 1150.

From the 1500s, powerful families, known as patricians, controlled the city. The famous writer Henrik Ibsen mentioned families like Paus, Plesner, von der Lippe, Cappelen, and Blom as the most important ones when he was growing up there.

The current layout of the town was decided after the last big town fire in 1886.

Frogner Manor in Skien

Frogner Manor is a large, beautiful house on the edge of Skien. It was built for a shipowner and timber merchant named Christopher Hansen Blom and his wife. The main building looks like Italian Renaissance architecture. The garden was designed in the English landscape style in the 1850s.

Kapitelberget church ruins

Kapitelberget

The Church on Kapitelberget was a medieval church. It was a private chapel on the Bratsberg farm, built in the early 1100s. We don't know exactly when the church stopped being used. The Bratsberg farm burned down in 1156. By 1576, it was already a ruin.

Archaeologists first dug up the site in 1901. Later, in 1928, an architect named Gerhard Fischer worked to restore and protect the ruins. This work was finished in 1933.

Transportation

Riksvei 36: Gunnar Knudsens Veg

Roads

The European route E18 highway passes through the neighboring town of Porsgrunn. This highway connects to Norwegian national road 36, which is the main road through Skien. It runs along the Skienselva river to the north. Another important road, Norwegian county road 32, is used by most buses coming from Oslo. It goes through Siljan to the northeast.

Water

Skien is the main end point for the Telemark Canal. The "Norsjø-Skienskanalen" part of the canal was built between 1854 and 1861. It connects Skien to Løveid. In the past, canals were very important for moving goods, timber, and people before railroads were common. The "Porsgrunn river" flows from the lock in Skien, through Porsgrunn, and into the Frierfjord. Skien's harbor is located at Vold havneterminal.

Railroads

Skien was connected to the Norwegian railway network in 1882 with the Vestfoldbanen. In 1919, the Bratsbergbanen railway line opened, connecting Skien and Notodden. The train company Vy still runs regular train services on both these lines.

Air

Skien used to have a local airport called Skien Airport, Geiteryggen. It had flights to cities like Bergen and Stavanger, and also to Trondheim. However, no commercial flights operate from Geiteryggen anymore.

Culture and Recreation

Skien Church

Skien Secondary school, Dept. Brekkeby

Churches

The Church of Norway has seven parishes within the municipality of Skien. These churches are part of the Skien deanery in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.

Skien Church is the largest church in Telemark county. It is famous for its two tall twin towers and its impressive organ.

Ibsen and Telemark Museums

Skien is the birthplace of Henrik Ibsen, a very important Norwegian writer and playwright. Many of his plays are set in a town that reminds people of Skien. The old home of the Ibsen family, Venstøp, just outside Skien, became the Ibsen Museum in 1958. This museum is now part of the larger Telemark Museum, which includes several other historical sites.

Music and Entertainment

Ibsenhuset is Skien's local culture and conference center. It hosts concerts by artists from Norway and other countries. You can also see opera, theater, and other cultural events there. The local culture school and library are also in this building. It is also home to the regional symphony orchestra, Grenland Symfoniorkester.

Teater Ibsen is the city's theater. It is still used for smaller plays and performances.

In the summer of 2009, Elton John held a concert at the new Skagerak Arena. This is the soccer field for the local team, Odd. Next to Skagerak Arena is Stevneplassen. This is a large area where car shows, concerts, flea markets, and the yearly "Handelsstevnet" used to be held. The Handelsstevnet was a trade fair with entertainment and a small amusement park. It closed after the 2011 fair.

In Skotfoss, a small area near Skien along the Telemark Canal, concerts are held at Løveid Sluser. There are also plans for cultural events and concerts at Klosterøya, a downtown area with graffiti art.

Amusement Parks

Skien does not have its own large amusement parks. Lekeland was a small park for children outside town, but it closed in 2008. Every year, a traveling carnival with rides and games visits "Stevneplassen" for a week.

However, Skien does have an indoor waterpark and a large outdoor climbing park at Skien Fritidspark.

Economy

Media

The daily newspapers Varden and Telemarksavisa are published in Skien. The local television station for Telemark, TVTelemark, is also located here.

Commerce and Industry

Some of the largest industries in Skien include ABB Asea Brown Boveri, which is an engineering company. Norske Skog Union was a paper mill, but it closed in 2006. EFD Induction is a company that works with induction heating and induction welding.

Other important workplaces are Telemark Hospital and the Telemark county municipality. The Agder Court of Appeal is also located in Skien.

Because the E18 highway is outside the main area of Grenland, Skien has lost some important companies to cities in Vestfold.

Shopping

Skien has three main shopping malls:

• Handelsbyen Herkules (with 110 stores and services)
• Arkaden Skien Storsenter (with 47 stores and services)
• Lietorvet Senter (with 28 stores and services)

Sports

Notable People

Severin Løvenskiold, 1854

Gunnar Knudsen

Public Service & Public Thinking

• Jørgen von Ansbach (c.1510–c.1590), a German-Norwegian timber merchant and Mayor of Skien.
• Severin Løvenskiold (1777–1856), a landowner and Prime Minister of Norway.
• Peter Andreas Munch (1810–1863), a historian who studied Norway's medieval history.
• Gunnar Knudsen (1848–1928), who served as the Prime Minister of Norway twice.
• Hjalmar Johansen (1867–1913), a polar explorer.
• Halvdan Koht (1873–1965), a Norwegian historian and politician.
• Carl Størmer (1874–1957), a Norwegian mathematician and astrophysicist.
• Alfhild Hovdan (1904–1982), a tourist manager who started the tradition of the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree.
• Bjørn Tore Godal (born 1945), a politician who was Minister of Foreign Affairs.
• Jon Fredrik Baksaas (born 1954), the CEO of Telenor, a large telecommunications company.
• Margareth Øvrum (born 1958), an engineer and executive at Statoil, an energy company.
• Eskil Pedersen (born 1984), a political youth leader.

Henrik Ibsen, 1895

Pål Flåta, 2016

The Arts

• August Cappelen (1827–1852), a Norwegian painter known for dramatic landscapes.
• Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906), a famous Norwegian playwright and theater director.
• Iver Holter (1850–1941), a Norwegian composer and conductor.
• Rolf Christensen (1894–1962), an actor and film director.
• Aage Samuelsen (1915–1987), a Norwegian evangelist, singer, and composer.
• Knut Wigert (1916–2006), a Norwegian actor famous for his Ibsen roles.
• Tor Åge Bringsværd (born 1939), an author, playwright, and translator.
• Yngvar Numme (born 1944), a singer, actor, and director.
• Iver Kleive (born 1949), a Norwegian composer and organist.
• Bugge Wesseltoft (born 1964), a jazz musician, pianist, and producer.
• Paal Flaata (born 1968), a Norwegian vocalist.
• Bård Tufte Johansen (born 1969), a Norwegian comedian.
• Julie Bergan (born 1994), a Norwegian singer and songwriter.

Dag Erik Pedersen, 2008

Tommy Svindal Larsen, 2010

Sport

• Per Mathias Jespersen (1888–1964), a gymnast who won a silver medal at the 1908 Summer Olympics.
• Werner Nilsen (1904–1992), a high-scoring American soccer player.
• Dag Erik Pedersen (1959–2024), a road racing cyclist and TV anchorman.
• Jeanette Nilsen (born 1972), a handball player who won a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
• Tommy Svindal Larsen (born 1973), a retired footballer who played many club games and for Norway.
• Frode Johnsen (born 1974), a retired footballer who played many club games and for Norway.
• Alexander Aas (born 1978), a retired Norwegian footballer.
• Erik Midtgarden (born 1987), a Norwegian footballer.

Twin Towns – Sister Cities

Skien is twinned with these cities:

Gallery

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  The harbour in the centre of Skien

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  The harbour

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  The main bank in Skien (Skien sparebank)

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  Skien Station

See also

In Spanish: Skien para niños