Arctic Sea and about 4 °/o to the rest of Russia, 0.4 °/o to Finland,
3.7% to Denmark, 1.7% to France (roe). Of our paper export
70% went to the United Kingdom, and 25 % to Hamburg;
natural butter and condensed milk go almost exclusively to Great
Britain and Ireland.
VI. OUR MOST IMPORTANT COMMERCIAL TOWNS.
Of the aggregate foreign commerce of Norway in the years
1866—70 about 24 %, in 1881—85 36 %, in 18 9 1^ -9 5 42%
and in 1898 40 %, fell to the share of the capital, Kristiania,
while 19 %, 16 %, 17 % and 15 %, respectively, fell to Bergen,
and 6 %, 5l/a 7o, 7 % and 67a % to Trondhjem. To these our
three largest towns there fell a percentage of 4 9 7 a of our total
commerce from 1866 to 1870, and of 617a in 1898- The importance
of the various towns, however, is Very different according to
whether we consider imports or exports. More than half the
imports (52 %) in 1898 fell to the share of Kristiania, 16.3 % to
Bergen and 6.6 % to Trondhjem, while of the exports only 18 %
fell to the share of Kristiania, 13.2 % to Bergen, and 6.7 % to
Trondhjem. As export towns of especial importance must also be
mentioned the timber-trading towns of Fredrikstad and Drammen,
which in exports exceed even Trondhjem. Not far behind Trondhjem
comes Kristiansund, chiefly renowned for its export of salted
and dried fish (klipfisk). For imports, Stavanger is the most important
town, next to Trondhjem (3.5 %).
As far as our chief articles of export are concerned, it may
be of interest to mention that the fishery export (aggregate amount
in 1898, 46 million kr.) chiefly takes place from Bergen (16 million
kr.), Kristiansund (about 8 million kr.}, Aalesund (5 million kr.),
Trondhjem, Haugesund and Stavanger; while the timber (altogether
40 million kr.) is chiefly exported from Fredrikstad (13 million
kr.), Drammen (5 million kr ), Kristiania and Fredrikshald (each
4 million kr.), Trondhjem, Porsgrund, Arendal and Kristiansand.
Wood-pulp (in all 17.5 million kr.) is chiefly exported from Drammen
“ (6 million kr.), Kristiania (3' million' kr.), Sarpsborg (2.5
million kr.) and Skien (2 million kr.).
As a brief, summary it may be said that the export of wooden
goods takes place chiefly from the south-east, and the fishery
exports from the west and north of ..Nor way.
In earlier times Bergen, as has been already said, -was our
chief commercial town. This was the ■ case until far on into the
present century, in as much as it was only after 1835 that the
customs duties on goods imported to Kristiania regularly exceeded
the import duties levied in Bergen. The .exports from Kristiania
about 1845 were only estimated at 1.4 million kr. while those from
Bergen were estimated at 6.8 million kr., from Stavanger at 2.8
million kr., from Drammen at 2.6 million kr., and from Trondhjem
at nearly 2 million kr. In the middle of the seventies, Kristiania,
as well as Bergen, exported for about 20 million kr., Kristiansund
and Fredrikstad for about 10 million kr., Drammen for about
7 million kr. and all other towns combined for about 47 million kr.
VII. THE MOST IMPORTANT SHIPPING TOWNS.
The greater part of the total effective carrying power of
the Norwegian Mercantile Marine ¡ ¡ i p , 696,000 tons — namely
2,339,000 tons, belongs to the towns. The fleet of the most 'important
towns, sailing-vessels as well as steamships, at the end of
1898, will be seen by the table below.
Towns
Steamships Sailing vessels Aggregate
tonnage
Aggregate
effective
carrying
Number Tonnage Nnmber Tonnage power*)
1. Bergen . . . •235 151,600 108
oO CO
.159,400 553,700
2. Kristiania . 168 . 76,600 , 176 ■ B — • 194,000 393,300
3. Tonsberg. . 69
oo 31,300 84,700 223,700
4. Stavanger . 69
CO
oo
<M
’64,500 91,600 162,200
5. Arendai . . 23 8,100 ‘180 88,300 96,400 117,400
Next in importance to the towns named in the table come
Haugesund, with an effective tonnage of 86,900 tons, Drammen
(77,000 tons), • Porsgrund (57,500 tons), Grimstad (56,200 tons),
Sandefjord (53,800 tons), Fredrikstad (50,500), Kristiansand (48,100),
Kragero (47,300), Mandai (46,000), Trondhjem (42,600). As regards