Everything about Stfold totally explained
is a
county in southeastern
Norway, bordering
Akershus and southwestern
Sweden (
Västra Götaland County and
Värmland), while
Buskerud and
Vestfold is on the other side of
the bay. The county administration is in
Sarpsborg and
Fredrikstad is the biggest city.
Østfold is located between the
Oslo Fjord and
Sweden. It is dominated by a hilly landscape with a lot of woodland in the north and along the Swedish border, a major lake system in the central part and highly densed lowland area along the coast, with a relatively large
archipelago. Most of the county's population is located in the coastal area. Cities such as
Moss,
Sarpsborg,
Fredrikstad and
Halden are placed here, along with some relatively highly popultad rural municipalities. Including these coastal cities, Østfold also has another two cities,
Askim and
Mysen. This makes Østfold the richest county in the country in terms of number of cities.
Østfold is among the nation's oldest inhabited regions, with petroglyphs (rock drawings) and mounds throughout the area. Many manufacturing communities are situated here. Moss and Fredrikstad have shipyards. Granite mines are situated in Østfold, granite stone from these was used by
Gustav Vigeland.
The county slogan: "The heartland of Scandinavia". The local dialect is characterized by the geographical proximity to Sweden.
The symbol of Østfold represents nature and the concept of the life-giving sun. The middle ray of light represents warmth, and the two beams on either side symbolize light.
History
In the
Viking Age, the area was part of
Vingulmark, which in turn was part of
Viken and included
Båhuslen. It was partly under Swedish rule until the time of
Harald Fairhair.
Later, when Norway was under
Danish rule, the Danish king divided the area into many baronies. (The barony of
Heggen og Frøland, consisting of the municipalities
Askim,
Eidsberg and
Trøgstad, originally belonged to
Akershus - but it was transferred to Østfold in 1768.)
To this day, in contrary to many other traditional districts of Norway, Østfold is culturally not a unity, but instead a mosaic of areas around the various cities and towns.
The name
The old name of the
Oslofjord was
Fold, and the meaning of
Østfold is 'the region
east for the Fold' (see also
Vestfold). The name is first recorded in 1543, in the Middle Ages the name of the county was
Borgarsysla 'the county/sýsla of the city Borg (now
Sarpsborg)'.
Later (under Danish rule) the county was called
Smaalenenes Amt 'the
amt consisting of small
len'.
The name "Eastfold" occures in the triology
Lord of the rings by
J.R.R. Tolkien.
Coat-of-arms
The coat of arms is from modern times (1958). The lines represent sunrays at
sunrise in the
east. (See above under the name.) They also represent the worship of the
Sun in the
Bronze Age (depicted in several
rock carvings found in the county).
Transport and infrastructure
Østfold is located strategically between Oslo and Sweden. The main highways between Oslo and Gothenburg, and Oslo and Stockholm goes through the county. The railway from Oslo to Gothenburg is running more or less parallelly with E6, and there's also a railway between Ski and Sarpsborg that covers the inner part. Besides, there are plans to relocate a vast part of the Oslo-Stockholm railway, which would result in an extension of the Inner Østfold railway eastwards.
Moss Airport in Rygge - a commercial, public airport - was recently opened. As of now,
Norwegian Air Shuttle is the major company, with several domestic and international flights. The airport will serve as an addition to
Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, with a potential of more than 2 million people within a two hours distance.
Municipalities
Further Information
Get more info on 'Stfold'.
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