List of towns and cities in Norway

Map of Norway with important cities

Below is a list of towns and cities in Norway. The Norwegian word for town or city is by. Cities were formerly categorized as kjøpstad (market town) or ladested (small seaport),[1] each with special rights. The special trading rights for cities were abolished in 1857, and the classification was entirely rescinded in 1952 and replaced by the simple classification by.

Overview

From 1 January 1965 the focus was moved from the individual cities to their corresponding municipalities. Norwegian municipalities were classified as bykommune (urban municipality) or herredskommune (rural municipality). The distinction was rescinded by The Local Government Act of 1992. The municipalities were ordered by so-called municipality numbers, four-digit codes based on ISO 3166-2:NO which in 1946 were assigned to each municipality. Urban municipalities got a municipality number in which the third digit was a zero.[1]

Between 1960 and 1965 many Norwegian municipalities were merged. For instance when the urban municipality Brevik merged with the urban municipality Porsgrunn and the rural municipality Eidanger, the new municipality was called Porsgrunn and retained its municipality number. As a result, Brevik was no longer considered an urban municipality/town. On another note, when the urban municipality Hønefoss was merged with the rural municipalities Hole, Norderhov, Tyristrand and Ådal to form the new municipality Ringerike, Ringerike retained the old municipality number of Hønefoss.[2] The same thing happened to Egersund and Florø.

Before 1996, the city status was awarded by the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development. Now the issue is decided by each municipality council and is formally accepted by the state. Since 1997 a municipality must have a minimum of 5,000 inhabitants in order to declare city status for one of its settlements. In 1999 the municipality council of Bardu declared city status for Setermoen, only to be rejected because the municipality fell short of the population limit. One exception is Honningsvåg in Nordkapp, where the municipality actually has less than 5,000 inhabitants but declared city status before the limit was implemented by law in 1997.[3]

Because of the new laws, Norway witnessed a rapid rise in the number of cities after 1996. A number of relatively small settlements are now called by, such as Brekstad with 1,828 inhabitants and Kolvereid with 1,448 inhabitants.[lower-alpha 1] Among the cities of today which got this status before 1996, Tvedestrand with 1,983[lower-alpha 1] inhabitants is the smallest. On another note, the laws of 1996 allowed some settlements which lost their city status in the 1960s to regain it.

Oslo, founded in 1000, is the largest city and the capital of Norway.

Cities and towns in Norway

Note that in most cases the population listed here is that of the municipality, including other villages, not just the urban centre.

City or town status since before 1996

Oslo The capital of Norway and among the fastest growing cities in Europe
Bergen, The capital of Hordaland, Norway
Trondheim, The largest city in Trøndelag, Norway
Stavanger, The oil capital and capital of Rogaland
Kristiansand, The biggest city in Vest-Agder
Tromsø, The capital of Troms
Sandnes, The second largest city in Rogaland after Stavanger
Drammen, The largest city and capital of Buskerud
Skien
Bodø
Ålesund
City/town Municipality County City/town status Population
ArendalArendalAust-Agder172339,826
BergenBergenHordaland[lower-alpha 2]1070278,121
BodøBodøNordland181646,049
DrammenDrammenBuskerud181164,597
EgersundEigersundRogaland179813,418
FarsundFarsundVest-Agder17959,392
FlekkefjordFlekkefjordVest-Agder18428,918
FlorøFloraSogn og Fjordane18608,296
FredrikstadFredrikstadØstfold156780,977
GjøvikGjøvikOppland186127,500
GrimstadGrimstadAust-Agder181619,809
Halden[lower-alpha 3]HaldenØstfold166528,063
HamarHamarHedmark124831,593
HammerfestHammerfestFinnmark17899,261
HarstadHarstadTroms190423,242
HaugesundHaugesundRogaland185431,738
HolmestrandHolmestrandVestfold17529,515
HortenHortenVestfold185824,671
HønefossRingerikeBuskerud185213,930
KongsbergKongsbergBuskerud162423,997
KongsvingerKongsvingerHedmark185417,380
KristiansandKristiansandVest-Agder164190,562
KristiansundKristiansundMøre og Romsdal174222,661
LarvikLarvikVestfold167141,221
LillehammerLillehammerOppland184225,070
MandalMandalVest-Agder192113,840
MoldeMoldeMøre og Romsdal174224,421
MossMossØstfold172028,800
NamsosNamsosTrøndelag184512,426
NarvikNarvikNordland190218,512
NotoddenNotoddenTelemark191312,359
OsloOsloOslo1000634,463
PorsgrunnPorsgrunnTelemark184233,550
RisørRisørAust-Agder16306,938
SandefjordSandefjordVestfold184542,333
SandnesSandnesRogaland186078,624
SarpsborgSarpsborgØstfold101650,115
SkienSkienTelemark100072,537
StavangerStavangerRogaland1125130,754
SteinkjerSteinkjerTrøndelag185720,672
TromsøTromsøTroms179472,681
TrondheimTrondheimTrøndelag997190,464
TønsbergTønsbergVestfold90038,914
VadsøVadsøFinnmark18336,187
VardøVardøFinnmark17892,396
ÅlesundÅlesundMøre og Romsdal184841,385

City status since after 1996

City Municipality County Town status Population
AltaAltaFinnmark199917,440
AskimAskimØstfold199614,703
BrekstadØrlandTrøndelag20051,865
BrevikPorsgrunnTelemark1845–1963
later regained		2,700
BrumunddalRingsakerHedmark20108,890
BryneTimeRogaland20019,627
BrønnøysundBrønnøyNordland1923–1963
regained 2000		5,000
DrøbakFrognAkershus1842–1961
regained 2006		13,358
ElverumElverumHedmark199618,992
FauskeFauskeNordland19986,000
FagernesNord-AurdalOppland20071,762
FinnsnesLenvikTroms20005,500
FosnavågHerøyMøre og Romsdal20003,598
FørdeFørdeSogn og Fjordane19979,248
HokksundØvre EikerBuskerud20028,000
HonningsvågNordkappFinnmark19962,575
JessheimUllensakerAkershus201217,319
JørpelandStrandRogaland19986,168
KirkenesSør-VarangerFinnmark19986,000
KolvereidNærøyTrøndelag20021,448
KopervikKarmøyRogaland1866–1964
regained 1996		9,000
KragerøKragerøTelemark1666–1959
later regained		10,505
LangesundBambleTelemark1765–1963
regained 1997		5,500
LeirvikStordHordaland199714,171
LeknesVestvågøyNordland20029,239
LevangerLevangerTrøndelag1836–1961
later regained		9,239
LillesandLillesandAust-Agder1830–1961
later regained		8,952
LillestrømSkedsmoAkershus199714,000
LyngdalLyngdalVest-Agder20017,216
Mo i RanaRanaNordland1923–1963
later regained		17,750
MosjøenVefsnNordland1875–1961
later regained		10,000
MysenEidsbergØstfold19966,084
MåløyVågsøySogn og Fjordane20043,003
OddaOddaHordaland20047,468
OrkangerOrkdalTrøndelag20147,812
OttaSelOppland20002,750
RjukanTinnTelemark19963,386
SandnessjøenAlstahaugNordland19995,716
SandvikaBærumAkershus2003108,144
SaudaSaudaRogaland19994,878
SkiSkiAkershus200426,588
SkudeneshavnKarmøyRogaland1857–1964
later regained		5,000
SortlandSortlandNordland19979,509
StathelleBambleTelemark1774–1963
regained 1997		8,000
Stavern[lower-alpha 4]LarvikVestfold1946–1988
regained 1999		3,000
StjørdalshalsenStjørdalTrøndelag199710,779
Tananger[lower-alpha 5]SolaRogaland20105,500
TvedestrandTvedestrandAust-Agder19971,983
UlsteinvikUlsteinMøre og Romsdal20005,156
VerdalsøraVerdalTrøndelag19987,396
VinstraNord-FronOppland20132,553
ÅkrehamnKarmøyRogaland200210,070
ÅndalsnesRaumaMøre og Romsdal19963,000

Former towns

City Municipality County Town status
HolmsbuHurumBuskerud1847–1964
HvitstenVestbyAkershus1837–1964
HølenVestbyAkershus1837–1943
Røros[lower-alpha 6]RørosTrøndelag1683–
SetermoenBarduTroms1999
(later rejected)
SogndalSokndalRogaland1798–1944
SonVestbyAkershus1604–1963
ÅsgårdstrandHortenVestfold1650–1964

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Population count applies to the tettsted (urban settlement), which is a continuous built-up area with less than 50 metres between the houses. Statistics Norway (2007). "Urban settlements. Population and area, by municipality. 1 January 2007". Archived from the original on 7 November 2007.
  2. ↑ Bergen was a separate county until 1 January 1972.
  3. ↑ Previously known as Fredrikshald
  4. ↑ Previously known as Fredriksvern
  5. ↑ Previously known as Krim Jacobs Hamn
  6. ↑ Røros chose to be referred to as bergstad (mining town).

References

  1. 1 2 Statistics Norway (2003). "About the statistics: Population changes in municipalities 1951–1999".
  2. ↑ Dag Jukvam / Statistics Norway (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen".
  3. ↑ Kommunal Rapport (23 June 2005). "Byer i Norge". Archived from the original on 15 February 2006.
  • Soot-Ryen, Tron (28 June 2006). "Norges nye byer". NRK P1 (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2007-07-04.
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