Fredrikstad

Fredrikstad was founded by King Fredrik II in 1567. The king`s command prepared the ground for a rich city with close trading ties with the rest of Scandinavia and Europa. The earliest historical records of the time, the sagas, mention Alv Erlingsson`s fortress on the island by Fredrikstad in the late 1200s. In the 1670s, Isegran was fortified for modern warfare, and the Norwegian hero. Admiral Peter Wessel Tordenskjold used it as a base during the Great Nortern War between Sweden and Norway/ Denmark. But the area`s history can be traced further back. The Fredrikstad and Hvaler regions rose from the sea between 5,000 and 7,000 years ago following the end of the Ice Age. Man moved to the new land as it became habitable, following first the reindeer and then other animals as the climate became warmer. Signs of agriculture have been found in the area dating from around 1500 BC and both burial grounds and stone carvings reveal something of the society of that time; of its philosophies and gods. These gods were later vanquished by the Viking gods whose names are still commemorated in the days of the week such as "Thursday", and in numerous place name such as Thorsnes
(Thor`s ness) and "Onsøy" (Odin`s Island). Later still the Viking gods were themselves vanquished by Christianity in the time of King Olav Haraldsson, later canonised as Saint Olav.

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