Halden

Historie

, between 1665 and 1928 known as Frederikshald, is both a town and a municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, Rakkestad to the north and Aremark to the east, as well as the Swedish municipalities Strömstad, Tanum and Dals-Ed respectively to the southwest, south and southeast.The seat of the municipality, Halden is a border town located at the mouth of Tista River on the Iddefjord, the southernmost border crossing between Norway and Sweden. The town of Halden is located about 120km south of Oslo, 190km north of Gothenburg, and 12km east of the border crossing at Svinesund.HistoryEvidence of early human settlements in this region of Norway have been found, particularly in the Svinesund area of the municipality where evidence of early settlements from the Nordic Bronze Age have been found. Named after a small farm Hallen ("rise" or "slope") first mentioned in 1629, "Halden", became the city of Frederikshald in 1665, named after Frederick III of Denmark. The Gud med oss (God be with us) coat-of-arms created in 1665 shows a knight standing on a mountain, yellow on a blue background, and was inspired by the bravery of the citizens of the city in the Dano-Swedish War (1658–1660).