Skien

Skien grew at the lowest waterfalls of the Telemark waterway, where goods brought down from the interior could be transferred towards the sea. One of Norway's medieval towns, it was a meeting place for inland producers and merchants, who traded whetstones from Eidsborg among other goods. The town received market privileges in 1358.

The waterfalls later powered sawmills, and timber exports became a mainstay of Skien's trade. By the sixteenth century water-driven saws were turning the forests of Telemark into boards for distant buyers. Its wooden buildings were vulnerable to fire: the town burned repeatedly, including in 1652 and 1671. After the latter disaster the streets were straightened and widened in a new plan. Another fire in 1777 destroyed the old church, a landmark above the medieval waterfront.