International Conference: Urbanization in the Northern Commonwealth (Oldenburg
Monarchy) 1500-1800
Lysebu (Danish Institute, Oslo June 14th and 15th, 2011)
Although the relations between individual parts of the Oldenburg monarchy have often been
studied, above all in connection with the publication of the handbook “Danmark-Norge 13801814” I-IV (1998), a general view of the monarchy is still lacking, in which all parts of the
monarchy are considered, not only Norway, Schleswig-Holstein or Denmark, but also the
Faroe Isles, Iceland, Greenland, and the tropical colonies, the Gold Coast/Ghana, Tranquebar
and Serampore (India) and the Virgin Islands (until 1917 Dansk Vestindien).
A conference took place in June 2003 on the Oldenburg Monarchy about 1800: the whole
and its parts; it showed the advantage of treating the monarchy as a whole. This was also
borne out by the conference volume “Der dänische Gesamtstaat. Ein unterschätztes Weltreich ?/ The Oldenburg Monarchy. An Underestimated Empire ? ed. Eva Heinzelmann,
Stefanie Robl & Thomas Riis (2006).
In the individual parts of the monarchy, urbanization did not take place at the same time:
Most towns in Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark existed by the end of the Middle Ages, and
only few were founded between 1500 and 1800. In Norway and the other parts of the
monarchy the most important phase of urbanization was these three centuries; in Norway
mainly because of the timber industry. The trunks were floated down the rivers and at their
mouth settlements grew in connection with the saw-mills, the so-called ladesteder with a
certain international trade because of the export of timber. In due course the ladesteder were
recognized as proper towns.
In Northern Norway , the North Atlantic provinces (Faroe Isles, Iceland, and Greenland)
and the Virgin Islands the economic development was for a long period directed by chartered
companies with a monopoly of trade. Only in the second half of the eighteenth century when
they were dissolved, urbanization took place. This is particularly clear in Iceland and
Northern Norway (Reykjavik and five other settlements were granted urban status in 1787,
Hammerfest, Vardø and Tromsø between 1787 and 1794), but also in the Virgin Islands
(Frederiksted and Cruz Bay 1760).
The comparative study of urbanization in the Oldenburg Monarchy will allow us to identify
parallel developments like those mentioned in Northern Norway, Iceland, and the Virgin
Islands. Probably, one can find a couple of regions of urbanization within the Oldenburg
Monarchy according to their economic development: Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark;
Southern and Central Norway; Northern Norway, Iceland, and the Virgin Islands. Whether
this regionalization occurred because of deliberate governmental policy or for other reasons
will be one of the conference’s essential conclusions (the papers will be published).
We have established this conference programme:
Urbanization in the Oldenburg Monarchy 1500-1800:
Conference June 2011 .
Programme
June 13th, 2011 Arrival of participants
June 14th, 2011 9 a.m.
Morning
Dr Ole Degn, Viborg: Urbanization in Denmark, 15001800
Prof. Dr. Thomas Riis, Kiel: Glückstadt, Friedrichstadt,
Rendsburg, Christiansfeld – Urbanization in SchleswigHolstein
Prof. Dr. Finn-Einar Eliassen, Tønsberg: Urbanization in
Norway, 1500-1800
Afternoon
Dr Elin Súsanna Jacobsen, Tórshavn: The Towns of the
Faroe Isles
Prof. Dr. Anna Agnarsdottir, Reykjavik: Urbanization in
Iceland
Dr. Thorkild Kjærgaard, Nuuk: Urban Settlements and
Urbanization in Greenland
June 15th, 2011 9 a.m.
Morning
Jesper Kurt Nielsen, M.A., Copenhagen: Urban
Settlements of the Danish Gold Coast
Prof. Dr. Thomas Riis, Kiel: Charlotte Amalie, Cruz Bay,
Christiansted, and Frederiksted – Urban Settlements in the
Virgin Islands
Prof. Dr. Martin Krieger, Kiel: Tranquebar and
Serampore. The Urban Development of the Danish
Settlements in India
Prof. Dr. Thomas Riis, Kiel: Conclusions
Afternoon
Visit to Bygdøy (Viking Ships)
Visit to the new town of Christiania
June 16th, 2011
Departure of participants
The conference is sponsored by:
Fonden for Dansk-Norsk Samarbejde
A.P. Møller og Hustru Chastine Mc-Kinney Møllers Fond til almene Formaal
We have booked a number of places in the Danish Institute from June 13th to 16th with full
board (except for dinner on June 15th). As the conference has not yet been fully financed (four
applications have not yet been decided) we shall have to charge a preliminary participation
fee of € 200 per person and do hope that we shall be able to refund you part of this sum. For
those organizing their stay at Oslo on their own, we should like to charge a conference fee of
€ 25.
Please register by May 15th by transferring the relevant amount to the account of the
Historians of the Northern Commonwealth (Sydbank Flensburg, Bank registration number
/”Bankleitzahl” 215 106 00; account no. 1000 227 098).
Text to photos:
Where a town emerged on the narrow shore between the sea and the hills, the expansion of
the settlement had to take place uphill. The result was a number of streets parallel to the shore
connected by streets in the shape of stairs. The examples show Charlotte Amalie (US Virgin
Islands) and Bergen (Norway).
Charlotte Amalie,
US Virgin Islands.
Bergen, Norway.