Stoltenbergparken, Tønsberg

Stoltenbergparken is a small, roughly rectangular park in the centre of Tønsberg, Norway, right next to the railway station. Four streets enclose it: Grev Wedels gate, Halfdan Wilhelmsens allé, Jernbanegaten and Tollbodgaten. It is a quiet green pocket where local history meets monuments and sculpture.

How did this park in Tønsberg come about?

The land was not always a park. From 1811 to 1854 it served as a burial ground known as Borgermesterløkka. When it closed, the graves were moved to the nearby old town cemetery (Tønsberg gamle kirkegård), and the former graveyard was laid out as a park. For several years gravestones still stood here, and the place was called Kirkegårdsparken, the "cemetery park", before it received its present name.

Who was Stoltenberg?

The park honours Carl Stoltenberg (1770–1830), a merchant and shipowner who represented Tønsberg at the Eidsvoll assembly in 1814. He was buried on this very site, and a memorial stone (bauta) unveiled in 1926 marks his grave. Sources disagree on his year of birth: church records give 1770, while older literature mentions 1766 or 1767.

The park also holds a monument to his son, the painter Mathias Stoltenberg, dating from 1971. Both monuments were made by the local artist Carl Edvard Paulsen.

What is there to see?

• A music pavilion in the middle of the park, inaugurated in 1924.
• A small pool with the sculpture "Satyren", unveiled in 1920 and created by the Danish sculptor Jens Jakob Bregnø.
• A bust of Nils Riddervold Jensen, a headmaster and politician, moved here in 2007 from its earlier location at Tønsberg middelskole.
• The Stoltenberg monuments, two memorial stones dedicated to father and son.

Planning a visit

Because the park sits beside the station, it makes an easy short stop for anyone arriving in Tønsberg by train. A walk through takes little time, but it is worth pausing to look at the monuments and the sculpture and to read whom they commemorate. The visit pairs naturally with the nearby old cemetery, where the burials from the former graveyard were relocated.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Stoltenbergparken? In central Tønsberg, near the railway station, between Grev Wedels gate, Halfdan Wilhelmsens allé, Jernbanegaten and Tollbodgaten.

Was there once a cemetery here? Yes. A burial ground operated on the site from 1811 to 1854. After it closed, the graves were moved to the nearby old cemetery.

Who was Carl Stoltenberg? A Tønsberg merchant and shipowner who represented the town at the Eidsvoll assembly in 1814.

Which sculptures and monuments are in the park? Monuments to Carl and Mathias Stoltenberg, the sculpture "Satyren" by the pool, and a bust of Nils Riddervold Jensen.

Is there a music pavilion? Yes, a music pavilion inaugurated in 1924 stands in the middle of the park.