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Fredridstad is situated in Østfold fylke (county), south of Oslo, south-eastern Norway. Located on the eastern shore of Oslofjorden at the mouth of the Glomma (Glåma) River, it was founded in 1567 by Frederick II after Swedish troops had burnt Hellig Sarpefossen. The new town was named after the King. It is a fortress town and port.

The Fredrikstad area is steeped in history. There were settlers in the district as early as the Stone Age, 4000 years ago. The first documented local person was Earl Alv Erlingson (alias Mindre Alv) who lived at Isegran. Icelandic Sagas mention that he made a good living by plundering ships, which sailed between Norway and Denmark. He also tried to steal goods and gold from the king in Oslo, he almost succeeded. Mindre Alv's castle is today part of the fortifications maintained by Fredrikstad Museum.

As Fredristad was fortified in the 17^th century, it has remains of the original fortifications. It’s 17^th-century fortress, once the strongest in Norway and the main depot for the fleet and army, was decommissioned in 1903.

In the 1860's the Fredrikstad area was well suited to the industry of the time, and flowered for several decades by producing and exporting timber (hence "Plank Town"), bricks etc. It was during these days that people began to settle on the west side of the river.

During World War I competition was so stiff that new ways of earning a living had to be found. The chemical industry, shipyards and the production of shoes and textiles provided work to many in the area up until the 1960's when foreign competition contributed to the closing down of the shoe and textile factories. The same thing happened to the shipyards in the 1980's. Fredrikstad’s development from a fortress through a timber and shipbuilding town to today's diversification demonstrates a history of innovation, flexibility and foresight.

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