Editing Skien (section)

==General information==
The [[Skien (town)|town of Skien]] was established as an urban municipality on 1 January 1838 (see [[formannskapsdistrikt]] law). On 1 January 1856, an area of [[Gjerpen|Gjerpen Municipality]] (population: 1,286) was [[Municipal annexation|annexed]] by the growing town of Skien. Again, on 1 July 1916, another area of [[Gjerpen|Gjerpen Municipality]] (population: 1,332) and an area of [[Solum, Norway|Solum Municipality]] (population: 1,042) was [[Municipal annexation|annexed]] by the growing town of Skien. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the [[Schei Committee]]. On 1 January 1964, the [[Skien (town)|town of Skien]] (population: 15,805) was merged with the neighboring [[Solum, Norway|Solum Municipality]] (population: 13,706) and [[Gjerpen|Gjerpen Municipality]] (population: 15,300) plus the [[Valebø]] area of [[Holla, Telemark|Holla Municipality]] (population: 259). These areas became the new Skien Municipality.<ref name="Dag">{{Cite web |last=Jukvam |first=Dag |year=1999 |title=Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen |url=http://www.ssb.no/emner/00/90/rapp_9913/rapp_9913.pdf |publisher=[[Statistics Norway|Statistisk sentralbyrå]] |language=no |isbn=9788253746845}}</ref>

===Name===
The municipality (originally the [[Skien (town)|town of Skien]]) is named after the Skien river ({{langx|non|Skiða}}) since it ran through the town. The name is the plural [[genitive case]] of the word {{wikt-lang|non|skið}} which means "[[ski]]", likely referring to the straight path of the river.<ref name="snl" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rygh |first=Oluf |url=https://www.nb.no/items/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2006120600018 |title=Norske gaardnavne: Bratsbergs amt |date=1914 |publisher=W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri |edition=7 |location=Kristiania, Norge |pages=126–127 |language=no |authorlink=Oluf Rygh}}</ref>

===Coat of arms===
The [[coat of arms]] is derived from the oldest known seal of the city, dating back to 1609. The [[blazon]] is ''"[[Gules]], two crossed ski-poles  with central star between two skis [[addorsed]] between two flower plants issuant from a [[terrace in base]] Or"''. This means the arms have a red [[field (heraldry)|field]] (background) and the [[charge (heraldry)|charge]] is a two ski poles forming a [[cross]] with a star at the crosspoint located in between two [[ski]]s which in turn are between two tall flower plants growing out of a flat ground at the bottom of the shield. A [[mural crown]] is usually displayed above the shield. The charge has a [[tincture (heraldry)|tincture]] of [[Or (heraldry)|Or]] which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The skis are a semi-[[canting arms|canting]] element (based on the meaning of the town's name) and the cross is a [[Religious symbolism|religious symbol]]. There have been several theories about the meaning of the cross, but its meaning is not clearly known. It has been suggested that it is a symbol for the main church in Skien, the Holy Cross church. The small star may be a symbol of [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|St. Mary]] as the second medieval church of Skien was devoted to her. Besides the skis and cross, there are two [[Ranunculus acris|meadow buttercups]] on each side. The municipal flag is white with a small image of coat of arms next to the name "Skien kommune".<ref name="NK">{{Cite web |title=Civic heraldry of Norway – Norske Kommunevåpen |url=https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Skien |access-date=2023-09-24 |publisher=Heraldry of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Skien, Telemark (Norway) |url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/no-08-06.html |access-date=2023-09-24 |website=Flags of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Skien kommune, våpen |url=https://foto.digitalarkivet.no/fotoweb/archives/5003-Kommunev%C3%A5pen/Kart%20og%20tegninger%20og%20segl/Skien%20fra%20SNL.JPG.info#c=%2Ffotoweb%2Farchives%2F5003-Kommunev%25C3%25A5pen%2F%3Fq%3Dskien |access-date=2023-09-24 |website=Digitalarkivet |publisher=Arkivverket |language=no}}</ref>

In 1854, the arms were shown as two skis, but the cross was now made from [[ski pole]]s, as another canting element. This remained so until the early half of the 20th century. In the 1980s, the city officially adopted the current arms, which are identical to the oldest seal. The colours are the colours that have been used since the 19th century. The differences between the seal and the present arms are that in the arms the cross is placed on top of the skis and the star is changed from a four-pointed star to a six-pointed star, and that the cross is made of ski-poles.<ref name="NK" /> {{see also-text|Arms of [[Alvdal#Coat of arms|Alvdal]] and [[Trysil#Coat of arms|Trysil]]}}