The rural municipality of was merged with Fredrikstad on 1 January 1964. The rural municipalities of , , , and were merged with Fredrikstad on 1 January 1994. The city straddles the river where it meets the. Along with neighboring , Fredrikstad forms the fifth largest city in Norway:. As of 1 January 2018, according to , these two municipalities have a total population of 136,117 with 80,977 in Fredrikstad and 55,140 in Sarpsborg. Fredrikstad was built at the mouth of Glomma as a replacement after Sarpsborg 15 kilometres 9 miles upstream was burnt down by the in the 1500s. Some of the citizens stayed behind and rebuilt their old town at its original site and got their city status back in 1839. 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. Fredrikstad used to have a large sawmill industry and was an important for timber export, then later on , until the main yard was closed in 1988. The main are currently various plants and other light industry. In 2005, Fredrikstad was the final host port for the , attracting thousands to the city. Name The city was named after the king Frederick II in 1569. Prior to 1877, the name was spelled Frederiksstad, then from 1877—1888 it was written as Fredriksstad, and finally since 1889 it has been spelled in its current form: Fredrikstad. Coat-of-arms The is from modern times. They were granted on 21 April 1967. The old arms are based on the oldest known seal of the city, which dates from 1610. They showed a being guarded by a bear. Strangely, Fredrikstad had no fortifications in 1610 it received some at the end of the 17th century. Fredrikstad was founded by citizens of Sarpsborg and both the fortress and the bear are taken from the old arms of Sarpsborg. The composition of the seal was also used as arms since the beginning of the 19th century. The new arms were granted at the 400th anniversary of the city in 1967 and show a more modern variation on the fortress and bear. After was burned to the ground during the , the ruling king, Frederik II of Denmark, decided by to rebuild the city 15 kilometres 9 mi south of the original location. This new site's proximity to the sea and the accessible open land surrounding it made it a better location than the old one. The name Fredrikstad was first used in a letter from the King dated 6 February 1569. The temporary fortification built during the 1644—1645 between and , became permanent in the 1660s. The work on the fortifications was first led by and later. During the next 60 years, several fortifications at the were built, including Isegran, Kongsten, and Cicignon. In 1735, a suburb on the western side of Glomma, Vestsiden, was founded. This part later grew faster than the old city, and became the dominant city centre. Most of the buildings in the old city burned down during a fire in 1764. In the 1840s, timber exporting from Fredrikstad started to gain momentum. In the 1860s, several steam powered saws were built along the river, and in 1879 the railway reached Fredrikstad, leading to further growth. With the decline of the timber exports as a result of the modernization of wood-processing industries in the early 1900s, Fredrikstad's production changed to other types of products. It later became one of Norway's most important industrial centres, famous for its large ,. Fredrikstad has three high schools. Frederik II high school is a merger of former Frydenberg gymnastic and Christian Lund Handelsgymnasium. Glemmen high school offers professional training and study. Wang Toppidrett Fredrikstad offers sports, science, languages, social sciences and economics. In addition, one finds Steiner, which is a educational alternative to primary school higher step. Also the Department of Journalism has its seat in Fredrikstad. The department offers primarily continuing education of journalists and editors. Fredrikstad Museum is located in Old Fredrikstad. The museum shows the history of the city and the surrounding region. The museum also manages Elingaard Manor in Onsøy and Torgauten Fort. Fredrikstad Museum was founded in 1903. Since 2003, the museum's management has been located in Tøihuset in Old Town. Archived from on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2017. Archived from on 1 December 2007. Archived from on 7 September 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
