Historical and old photos of Porsgrunn, Vestfold and Telemark

A small historical reference Geography: Porsgrunn is a city and municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Porsgrunn. The municipality of Porsgrunn was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The town of Brevik and the rural district of Eidanger were merged into the municipality of Porsgrunn on 1 January 1964. The conurbation of Porsgrunn and Skien is considered by Statistics Norway to be the seventh-largest city in Norway. Date of foundation: mentioned since the 16th century History: Population: 36 224 Sights:
City Park, monument, 1959	Movie Theater, Methodist Church, 1949	Panorama of the city and Skien river, between 1900 and 1950	Panorama of the city street, between 1900 and 1950
Panorama of the city street, between 1900 and 1950	Panorama of the city street, between 1900 and 1950	Panorama of the city street, children, between 1900 and 1950	Railway Station, between 1900 and 1950

History

Porsgrunn has been an important harbor town in the Grenland area since the late 16th century. In 1653, the Customs House was moved further down the Telemarksvassdraget 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.[4] Moving the Custom House to Porsgrunn added to the flourishing harbor activity and Porsgrunn became a thriving market town.

In the 18th century, it 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. On the ecclesiastical side, Porsgrunn was separated from the ancient rural parishes of Eidanger, Solum, and Gjerpen in 1764 to become a prestegjeld with its own minister. Churches within the Porsgrunn prestegjeld include Østre Porsgrunn Church and Vestre Porsgrunn Church. The city was granted limited city status in 1807, but this 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.

Origin: en.wikipedia.org