It is located about 102 kilometres (63 miles) south-southwest of the capital city of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near its mouth onto the Skagerrak.

The first element is the genitive case of tún (n) which means "fenced area", "garden", or "field around a dwelling".

[10] For a long time, the city did not have a formal coat of arms, but instead an old medieval seal dating back to 1349 was used in its place.

The blue and white circular seal shows the Tønsberg Fortress surrounded by a ring wall on a mountain with the sea in front.

The archaeological excavations conducted in 1987–88 underneath the monastery ruins revealed several Viking graves which have served to confirm the earlier age of the original settlement.

[19] The King or his ombudsman resided in the old Royal Court at Sæheimr, today the Jarlsberg Manor (Norwegian: Jarlsberg Hovedgård), and on the farm Haugar, (from the Old Norse word haugr meaning hill or burial mound), which can be assumed to have been Tønsberg's birthplace.

[20] Slottsfjellet (Castle Mountain), north of the city centre, made for a near impregnable natural fortress.

[21] James VI of Scotland stopped in Tønsberg on his way to meet Anne of Denmark in Oslo, and David Lindsay gave a sermon on 16 November 1589.

[23]: 84 During the 1850s, Tønsberg turned into a base of operation and source of expertise for whalers in the Arctic and Antarctic Oceans.

[23]: 26  In the 1892 publication "Handbook for Travellers in Norway" by John Murray, Tønsberg was described as "the centre of the Norwegian whaling and sealing industries in the Arctic Ocean.

Bull traveled from Australia to Tønsberg in order to learn from local whaler Svend Foyn, who is recognized as the pioneer of the modern whaling industry.

[27] One of the city's most prominent residents, Svend Foyn, was a pioneer who embarked on an 1847 expedition to the Arctic, which led to a catch of 6,000 seals.

By the beginning of the 20th century, Tønsberg had lost its preeminence in the whaling industry to the neighboring city of Sandefjord.

[29][30][31] During the German occupation of Norway in World War II, the Berg concentration camp was constructed near Tønsberg.

[citation needed] Tønsberg is a city southeastern in Vestfold County, on the western shore of the Oslofjord.

[2] The urban area of the city of Tønsberg extends from Eik in the north, to Tolvsrød, Vallø and Ringshaug in the east and Borgheim on Nøtterøy in the south.

Scientific examinations in 1992 now date the burial to 834 AD, and indicate a probability that it was Queen Alvhild, the first wife of King Gudrød, who was buried here.

[44] When unearthed, the ship was buried in blue clay and covered with stones beneath the 6-metre (20 ft) high Oseberg Mound.

Tønsberg has been featured as a location in several films, most notably those set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

[45] In the 2011 film Thor, it is established that centuries ago, Tønsberg was the invasion point of the Frost Giants of Jotunheim, who sought to conquer Earth before they were defeated by Odin and the forces of Asgard.

[45] In Thor: Love and Thunder, New Asgard has become a tourist attraction but suffers political turmoil as a result of the discrimination of Earth's governments against otherworldly beings.

The Tønsberg raid by Hydra is also recreated in the first episode of What If...?, albeit it occurs much later than in Captain America: The First Avenger.

Tønsberg is also featured in the 2010 game Mount and Blade: Warband's Viking Conquest expansion as the capital of the Kingdom of Northvegr.