T�nsberg is a municipality in Vestfold county, southern Norway, located around 25 km (15.53 mi) north-east of Sandefjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of T�nsberg. The municipality has a population of 38,914 and covers and area of 107 km (41 sq mi).
T�nsberg is generally regarded as the oldest town in Norway. T�nsberg was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The rural municipality of Sem was merged into the municipality of T�nsberg on 1 January 1988.
Name
The Old Norse form of the name was T�nsberg. The first element is the genitive case of t�n (n), meaning fenced area or garden. The last element is berg (n), meaning mountain. The name originally referred to the fortifications on Slottsfjellet. The old spelling has been retained in the name of the diocese, Tunsberg bisped�mme.
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is an old city seal from as far back as 1349. The seal shows T�nsberg Fortress surrounded by a ring wall on a mountain with the sea in front. There is also a longship in the water in front of the fortress. Around the seal are the words (in Latin): This is the seal of Tunsberg
