Skien Church

is a town/city in Skien Municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. It is the administrative centre of the municipality. The town is located along the Skeinselva river, about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) to the northwest of the town of Porsgrunn. The villages of Skotfoss, Åfoss, and Klovholt are located about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) to the west of the town, the village of Sneltvedt lies about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to the east of the town, and the village of Hoppestad lies about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) to the northwest. For a long time, the neighboring towns of Skien and Porsgrunn have been grouped together as part of the Porsgrunn/Skien metropolitan area. Because of this, the population and area data for this town has not been separately tracked by Statistics Norway. What is tracked, is the portion of the metropolitan area located in Skien Municipality. In 2022, the urban area of Skien measured 26.24 square kilometres (6,480 acres) it had a population of 50,142 with a population density of 1,882 inhabitants per square kilometre (4,870/sq mi).Skien city center is located where the river Farelva (from the lake Norsjø) forms the lake Hjellevatnet, and it divides into a waterfall on each side of the island of Klosterøya. The harbor basin is located at the northern part of the river Skienselva. The hilly terrain makes the center of Skien crowded with a main north-south axis. The city got its current road alignment and layout after the last big city fire in 1886. Skien is the seat of the county governor and the Telemark County Municipality. The town also has the Telemark Hospital Trust and a number of secondary schools. There is a prison at Rødmyr, a jogging track at Klosterskogen, and a sports and swimming hall (Skienshallen). The newspapers Telemarksavisa and Varden are published in the city.

Ibsenhuset is a Norwegian cultural centre in the city of Skien, Vestfold og Telemark county. The building houses several facilities for concerts, theater performances, opera, exhibits, conferences, courses, meetings and other events. There are also a restaurant and the town's main library in the building. International and national artists and entertainers have performed at Ibsenhuset. The name Ibsenhuset is derived from Henrik Ibsen's last name and from "huset", Norwegian for a house or building. Ibsen was born in Skien 20 March 1828 and lived in different locations in town until he was 15 years old. The Norwegian Ibsen award is annually presented at Ibsenhuset to promising playwrights. Ibsenhuset may also refer to another "Ibsenhuset" in a museum in the Norwegian town of Grimstad, or to some of Ibsen's various homes.

Telemark County Municipality (Norwegian: Telemark fylkeskommune) was the regional governing administration of the old Telemark county in Norway. The county municipality was established in its current form on 1 January 1976 when the law was changed to allow elected county councils in Norway. The county municipality was dissolved on 1 January 2020, when Telemark was merged with the neighboring Vestfold county, creating the new Vestfold og Telemark county which is led by the Vestfold og Telemark County Municipality. The main responsibilities of the county municipality included the running of 29 upper secondary schools. It administered the county roadways, public transport, dental care, culture, and cultural heritage in the county. The administration was located in Skien. The county municipality had 1,544 employees, and in 2007, a revenue of 1,508 million kr.

Skien Station (Norwegian: Skien stasjon) is a railway station located about one kilometer from downtown Skien in Vestfold og Telemark, Norway.The station serves as terminus for the regional trains on the Vestfold Line (Vestfoldbanen) from Oslo via Vestfold and for the local trains to Notodden on the Bratsberg Line. The station was opened in 1917 as part of the Bratsberg Line. Skien Station was built following designs by Gudmund Hoel with Bjarne Friis Baastad and Ragnvald Utne. Following protest, the old Skien station (Skien gamle stasjon), which was located two kilometers further south, remained in operation from 1927 until 1963.

The Telemark Museum is a museum in Telemark, Norway. It includes several buildings across Telemark and is headquartered in Kleiva in the older part of Skien in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The main museum building is located within walking distance of downtown Skien. Telemark Museum includes the Henrik Ibsen Museum in Skien.

The Agder Court of Appeal (Norwegian: Agder lagmannsrett) is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the town of Skien. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Vestfold og Telemark and Agder (except for Sirdal Municipality which falls under the Gulating Court of Appeal). These areas constitute the Agder judicial district (Norwegian: Agder lagdømme). This court can rule on both civil and criminal cases that are appealed from one of its subordinate district courts. Court decisions can be, to a limited extent, appealed to the Supreme Court of Norway. The court has 21 judges and 13 administrative staff, including a director. The chief judicial officer of the court (Norwegian: førstelagmann) is currently Dag Bugge Norden. The court is administered by the Norwegian National Courts Administration.

Telemark District Court (Norwegian: Telemark tingrett) is a district court located in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. This court is based at three different courthouses which are located in Skien, Notodden, and Kviteseid. The court serves the western part of the county which includes 17 municipalities. The court in Skien accepts cases from the municipalities of Bamble, Drangedal, Kragerø, Nome, Porsgrunn, Siljan, and Skien. The court in Kviteseid accepts cases from the municipalities of Fyresdal, Kviteseid, Nissedal, Tokke, Seljord, and Vinje. The court in Notodden accepts cases from the municipalities of Hjartdal, Notodden, Tinn, and Midt-Telemark. The court is subordinate to the Agder Court of Appeal.The court is led by a chief judge (sorenskriver) and several other judges. The court is a court of first instance. Its judicial duties are mainly to settle criminal cases and to resolve civil litigation as well as bankruptcy. The administration and registration tasks of the court include death registration, issuing certain certificates, performing duties of a notary public, and officiating civil wedding ceremonies. Cases from this court are heard by a combination of professional judges and lay judges.

Gimsøy Abbey (Gimsøy kloster) was a Benedictine monastery located on the eastern end of the island of Klosterøya at Skien in Telemark, Norway. The island was commonly referred to as Gimsøy or Gjemsø.

Gjerpen Church (Norwegian: Gjerpen kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Skien Municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the town of Skien. It is one of the churches for the Gjerpen parish which is part of the Skien prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark. The tan, stone church was built in a cruciform design around the year 1153 using plans drawn up by an unknown architect. The church seats about 485 people.The church is still used for regular worship services as well as weddings, baptisms, and other religious events. It has seating for about 450 and room for 600 people. It is one of the few remaining building in Norway dating from the middle ages that are still in use. The church has a more modern chapel that is used in combination for ceremonies. The graveyard is still in use and maintained to this day.The church is one of the oldest existing churches in Norway; it is believed the church was consecrated 28 May 1153 and dedicated to the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul. The 850th anniversary was celebrated in 2003.

Gjerpen is a former municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The 381-square-kilometre (147 sq mi) municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Skien Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Gjerpen, which is now part of the growing town of Skien. Gjerpen Church was the main church for the municipality.

The Skagerak Arena is a football stadium located in Skien, Norway. It was formerly called Odd Stadion, and was built in 1923 as the home ground of Eliteserien club Odd. The stadium is often referred to as Falkum, being situated in that area of Skien. The stadium has been undergoing an extensive redevelopment process, begun in November 2006, which produced a modern all-seater venue by April 2008. Part of the finance Odd needed for the project was obtained through the lease of the stadium's naming rights to the club's main sponsor since 1995, the Norwegian power company Skagerak Energi. The stadium will therefore be known as Skagerak Arena until at least 2017. The pitch has been rotated 90 degrees in order to free up space. As is increasingly common in Norway, the new surface is artificial. The old main stand is now an end stand, incorporated into the new structure as the only surviving feature of the old stadium. Three new two-tiered stands was completed between 2007 and 2008. The east and west stands has a capacity of 4,300 while the south end seats around 3,000. Construction of the west stand had progressed far enough by April 2007 to allow spectators on the lower tier for the first home match of the season, on 15 April. Total capacity was at first 6,000 And increased gradually throughout 2007. The old stadium had a capacity of about 8,600, of which 5,600 were seated. The venue has hosted Norway national under-21 football team matches three times, playing 0–0 against Portugal on 9 May 1979, 2–1 against Romania on 18 August 1998 and 3–1 against Scotland on 19 August 2003. In a 2012 survey carried out by the Norwegian Players' Association among away-team captains, Skagerak Arena was ranked tenth amongst league stadiums, with a score of 3.07 on a scale from one to five.

Gimsøy Church (Norwegian: Gimsøy kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Skien Municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the Gimsøy area of the town of Skien. It is one of the churches for the Gimsøy og Nenset parish which is part of the Skien prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark. The gray, stone church was built in a long church design in 1922 using plans drawn up by the architect Gunnar Norby. The church seats about 200 people.