Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
4 Halden: The Burning City
¡
30km (18 miles) S of Fredrikstad; 144km (90 miles) S of Oslo; 2km (1
1
⁄
4
miles) W of Swedish border
Historically, Halden was a frontier outpost heavily fortified to fend off attacks
by the Swedes. It was—and still is—known for Fredriksten fortress, where Nor-
wegian patriots successfully held off Sweden's frequent attacks from the east. In
fact, Swedish King Karl XII was killed in 1718 when he led an attack on this
venerable fortress.
Regional fighters made a bold decision in 1659. To drive out the attacking
Swedes, they set fire to their own town. The Swedes retreated, although the
fortress withstood the siege and the town fire. Attacked by the Swedes again in
1716, the townspeople of Halden once again torched their city to halt the
Swedish advance into Norway. These incidents, along with numerous fires set by
Mother Nature, gave the town its nickname: “The Burning City.”
Today a prosperous little border town, Halden has the dubious distinction of
being the site of the country's oldest nuclear power station. In 1959 nuclear
energy was introduced here to fuel regional wood-based industries. It is now
used for research purposes only.
With its population of around 27,000 people, Halden lies at the end of Idde-
fjord in the far southeasterly corner of Østfold. Halden is bisected by the Tista
River and hemmed in by forested hills. It makes an idyllic stopover for those
touring the eastern bank of the Oslofjord. If you have time for only one town,
make it Fredrikstad, as it has many more attractions, and skip Halden altogether.
ESSENTIALS
GETTING THERE By Rail
Halden is a stopover on the main rail links
between Oslo and Gothenburg, Sweden, that country's second city on its west-
ern coast. Depending on the time of day, trains depart Oslo once every hour or
once every 2 hours. The trip takes 1
3
⁄
4
hours, a one-way ticket costing 191NOK
($27). Call
&
81-50-08-88
or visit www.nsb.no for rail schedules. The train is
quicker and much more recommendable than the bus.
By Bus Nor-Way Buss Ekspress
(
&
81-54-44-44;
www.nor-way.no) in Oslo
runs buses every 3 hours during the day to the town of Svinedsun. Once in
Svinedsun, you must take a local bus for the final journey south to Halden.
By Car
Motorists from Oslo can follow E6 south to reach Halden. Driving
time is about 1
1
⁄
2
hours.
By Ferry
From the middle of May until the middle of August, you can enjoy
a day's adventure by taking a ferry,
MS
Sagasund
(
&
90-99-81-00
), departing
from Halden and sailing over to Strömstad on the west coast of Sweden. Ström-
stad used to belong to Norway until 1658. Today it's a colorful seaside resort and
an embarkation point for the remote Kloster Islands, Sweden's most westerly
isles, where cars are prohibited. The warming waters of the Gulf Stream give
these islands luxuriant vegetation. The ferry runs on Wednesday, only at 11am,
and takes 45 minutes; a round-trip fare costs 200NOK ($28). Call the tourist
office (below) for more details.
VISITOR INFORMATION
The tourist office at Torgat 2 (
&
69-19-09-80
)
is open June to August from 9am to 4:30pm Monday to Friday. From Septem-
ber to May, it's open Monday to Friday from 9am to 3:30pm.
