Skien

is a city and municipality in the county of Telemark, Norway and administrative centre of Telemark County. Skien was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The rural municipalities of Gjerpen and Solum were merged with Skien January 1, 1964. The conurbation of Skien and Porsgrunn is considered by Statistics Norway the seventh largest city in Norway straddling an area of three municipalities: Skien municipality (about 52% of the population), Porsgrunn (35%) and Bamble (11.5%). The area is home to more than 85,000 people. The town also has a large Somalian population. Until 1979, it was believed that Skien was founded in the 14th century. However, the archaeological find of a carving of the Skien animal has established its founding to before 1000 A.D. The city was then a meeting place for inland farmers and sailing traders, and also as a shipping harbour for whetstones from Eidsborg (inland Telemark). The settlement can be traced back to the 11th... full article at wikipedia