Fredrikstad is a city in Østfold county in Norway. The city of Fredrikstad was founded in 1567 by King Frederik II, and established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The rural municipality of Glemmen was merged with Fredrikstad 1 January 1964 - and the rural municipalities of Borge, Onsøy, Kråkerøy and Rolvsøy were merged with Fredrikstad 1 January 1994.
Fredrikstad was built at the mouth of Glomma as a replacement after Sarpsborg (15 km upstream) was burned down by the Swedes. Almost half the population of Sarpsborg stayed behind, and rebuilt their old town at its original site.
The city centre is on the west bank of the Glomma, while the old town on the east bank is Northern Europe's best preserved fortified town.
Fredrikstad used to have a large sawmill industry and was an important harbour for timber export, then later on shipbuilding, until the main yard was closed in the 1980s. The main industries are currently various chemical plants and other light industry. In 2005, Fredrikstad was the final host port for the Tall Ships' Race, attracting thousands to the city.
PLACE TO VISIT
The old fortified city, founded in 1567, and Kongsten fortress.
Go see Fredrikstad Football Club (Fredrikstad Fotball Klubb or FFK) play a game of soccer at their brand new stadium across the river from the riverwalk. Fredrikstad is beyond a doubt one of the most devoted cities in Norway when it comes to supporting their local team and the strong history of the sport in the city is well felt.
The riverwalk has a lot of restaurants and bars, and in the summertime, especially, it is a very busy area where people go to eat, drink a beer in the sunshine by the water and in general have a good time. People also come by boat, staying directly at the guest pier.
WHAT TO DO
Take a walk around the Old Town, on a sunny day it is beautiful. Especially great for kids as there are grass to run on, old cannons to climb, a playground and lots of ducks to feed. Go for a cup of hot cocoa and a cinnamon"snail" at Mormors Café afterwards.
HOW TO REACH
Fredrikstad is served by the Norwegian State Railway on the Oslo-Halden line. There are also numerous express busses between Oslo and the towns and cities in Østfold, including Fredrikstad.
The main airport serving eastern Norway is Oslo Gardermoen (OSL), which unfortunately is far north of Oslo while Fredrikstad is far south of Oslo. Nevertheless, there is a bus service (line F11) between Fredrikstad and the airport taking slightly over two hours.
Some people find a good deal if they fly to Gothenburg instead, and take the train or drive from there. Gothenburg is even further from Fredrikstad than OSL is (though the difference in time is less than an hour), but sometimes the tickets might be better there.
A new passenger terminal at the military airport at Rygge near Moss was opened in October 2007 and is considerably closer. Norwegian and a selection of charter companies service this airport.
