Edited sentence: As an example, Skien protested strongly against a bridge connecting the Eastern and Western parts of Porsgrunn, on the alleged grounds of hindering the seaborne traffic to Skien, and prevented the bridge from being built until 1890.Located literally on the doorstep of the ancient city of Skien, the emergence of Porsgrunn as a city in its own right is quite peculiar.Naturally, the inhabitants of Skien saw the flourishing neighbour as a threat to their own power and economy, and tried to circumscribe the growth of Porsgrunn in several ways.This rivalry is even today very much part of the patriotic makeup of the populations of either city