Porsgrunn

Porsgrunn is a town and municipality in the county of Telemark, Norway. Porsgrunn is a part of a cluster of municipalities south in Telemark that constitute the Grenland area of Norway. Its neighbours are Skien, Bamble, Siljan and Larvik.

1 Industry
2 Transport
3 History
4 The name
5 External links
6 References

[edit] Industry

Porsgrunn has a history of heavy industry. Important industries in Porsgrunn are:

Norsk Hydro (magnesium)
Elkem (silicium)
Yara International (nitrogen fertilizers)
Porsgrund Porcelænsfabrik (porcelain)
Aker stearing gear (ship stearing equipment)
Renewable_Energy_Corporation [1] (Wafer (electronics))

[edit] Transport

Transport links from Porsgrunn:

Bus (Oslo, Kristiansand, Notodden)
Train (Oslo, Skien)

[edit] History

Porsgrunn has been an important harbour 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. Moving the Customs House from Skien to Porsgrunn in 1653 added to the flourishing harbour activity, and Porsgrunn became a thriving market town. It was granted city status in 1807, and in 1842, Porsgrunn became an independent municipality.

[edit] The name

The place is first mentioned in 1576 ("Porsgrunn"). The first element is the name of the shrub pors (Myrica gale), the last element is grunn m 'ground'.

Until 1931 the name was written "Porsgrund".

[edit] External links

http://www.porsgrunn.kommune.no/ Municipal Homepage
http://www.porsgrund.com/ Porsgrunds Porselænsfabrik AS (porcelain factory)

[edit] References

Eidanger Bygdehistorie
Porsgrunn municipality internet pages

Municipalities of Telemark
Bamble \| Bø \| Drangedal \| Fyresdal \| Hjartdal \| Kragerø \| Kviteseid \| Nissedal \| Nome \| Notodden \| Porsgrunn \| Sauherad \| Seljord \| Siljan \| Skien \| Tinn \| Tokke \| Vinje