Its administrative district covers areas east of the town, such as the island of Dillingøy in the lake Vansjø.

During the Viking era, the place was known as Varna (from the Old Norse vorn, or protection)[5] and was the site of a cooperative for battleships held by local warlords on behalf of the king.

The first literary reference to the name Mo(u)ſs(ß) is from Bishop Eystein Aslaksson's Red book (NRA AM fol.

This may have had background in an important battle in 1716 that was fought in the town square in Moss in which Norwegian troops commanded by Vincent Budde prevailed over invading Swedish forces, sent by Charles XII to capture Akershus Fortress.

In 1767 a local resident built a "pleasure pavilion" near the town, which survives as the Hotel Refsnes Gods.

On the morning of 14 July 2006, a bolide exploded above the nearby town of Rygge - moments later, several stony meteorites fell over Moss.

The fire was quickly put out; birds became a motif in the city seal (and later coat-of-arms) for that reason.

On Good Friday, 27 March 1891, the Norwegian bark Dictator, whose home port was Moss, was lost in the treacherous waters of the Graveyard of the Atlantic.

The ship had been en route to England from Pensacola, Florida with a cargo of Georgia Pine lumber.

Working in the high winds and seas, lifesaving crews from shore were able to save some of the 17 persons aboard.

It was placed in a vertical position facing the ocean near the boardwalk as a memorial to those who died in the shipwreck.

In 1962, Norwegian sculptor Ørnulf Bast was commissioned to create two nine-foot bronze replicas of the original figurehead by the City of Moss.

One was presented as a gift to Virginia Beach, and an exact duplicate was erected in Moss to unite the two sister cities.

On 13 October 1995, Queen Sonja of Norway visited the Norwegian Lady statue in Virginia Beach, and placed memorial flowers.

Moss is located on the eastern shore of Oslofjord, 60 km south of Oslo.

Rygge airport is located more inland and will have colder lows in winter and autumn than the town.