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# Tonsberg, Vestfold

## Tønsberg

Last modified: 2026-04-25 by shreyas tallamraju
Keywords: tonsberg |
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image by Tomislav Šipek, 28 November 2024

- Present situation
- Coat of arms
- Symbols before 2020
- Former City Flags
- City Seal

See also:

- Vestfold
- Sports clubs
  - Barkåker IF
  - Eik IF
  - IL Flint
  - Ramnes IF
  - Slagen IF
  - Tønsberg Båtforening
  - Tønsberg Roklub
  - Tønsberg Seilforening
  - Tønsberg Vikings
- Norwegian municipal flags
- Norway
- Hanseatic Cities

## Present situation

On 1 January 2020, Tønsberg Municipality was merged with Re Municipality. The result of this union are new symbols for the new Tønsberg Municipality.
Photo:
https://www.tonsberg.kommune.no/aktuelt/sagabyen-arrangementer-ma-utsettes.20542.aspx
Tomislav Šipek, 28 November 2024

## Coat of arms

image by Tomislav Šipek, 28 November 2024

## Symbols before 2020

image by Tomislav Šipek, 26 October 2015

I called the administration in Tønsberg to ask. They said that the city does not have a flag. They use a circular emblem [see below] that is not heraldically correct, and thus not officially approved. This emblem is not used on flags.
Jan Oskar Engene, 17 January 1997

The old flags of Tonsberg are already reported, so there is new flag and coat of arms.
Source: https://www.google.hr/maps
Image of Flag (Google Street View)
Tomislav Šipek, 26 October 2015

## Former City Flags

image by António Martins-Tuvalkin
Flag of 1925

image by António Martins-Tuvalkin
Flag of 1971

### About the flags

In my old hometown of Tønsberg, I was asked to write a piece for a local newspaper on the question of a city flag, and had the occasion to look into matter in the local library. What I have found out so far was that the city had used a flag in 1925 and a short while following this, and a hanging in its 1100 years celebration in 1971. The latter was divided vertically blue/white, with the older city seal from the 13th Century (castle on hill above boat on sea with inscription around, which is the coat-of-arms of Tønsberg today) in the middle. The former was horizontally divided blue-white-blue with the proportions 1:3:1, and ending in a shallow swallowtail (quite possibly as in the signal flags for Alfa and Bravo, Tønsberg being a very maritime city). The colours were taken from the younger seal/arms of the city, from 1610 (castle with three towers). The Blue-White-Blue flag is not striking in its originality!
Knut A. Berg, 22 July 1998

## City Seal

image by Tomislav Šipek, 26 October 2015

You can see the seal of Tønsberg at the official site of the municipality http://www.tonsberg.kommune.no/.
Jostein Nygård, 31 July 2001

Quoting from a book named "Norske kommunevåpen", my translation:

> "Tønsberg uses as its symbol the civic seal from middle ages. It is preserved in only one impression from 1349, hanging from a letter ...

> Seal depicts a stone tower and a wall on a hill and below those a ship and waves. The motives are, no doubt, inspired by Slottsfjellet with its castle and circular wall and with sea and fjord below. The inscription reads SIGILLVM.BVRGENSIVM.D'.TVNESBER (seal of the burg of Tunesberg). ..."

This seal is estimated to be from around 1250. Another seal was in use since around 1610 to early 20th century, when the use of the medieval seal was reverted to.

There is no royal warrant or whatever regarding this, but the impression given in the book (by providing a coloured image in place otherwise reserved only for accepted coat-of-arms) is that due to the documented use the seal is to be regarded as equal in status with other newer coat-of-arms of Norwegian communes.

There is no mention of flag (though that is not surprising, flags are rarely mentioned in the book).
Željko Heimer, 31 July 2001