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. In 1814, Moss became the site for the signing of the Convention of Moss, which effectively put an end to the Dano-Norwegian kingdom. This set the stage for economic development that has persisted to this day. On the morning of 14 July 2006, a bolide exploded above the nearby town of Rygge - moments later, several stony meteorites fell over Moss. A number of meteorites were recovered by local residents and visiting meteorite hunters, which after analysis and classification, were found to be a rare type of carbonaceous chondrite. Seal and coat-of-arms Moss became a separate city in 1786 and received its first seal the same year. The seal showed a church under some clouds, placed within a circle. Above the circle were fasces, the late 19th century symbol of freedom. A later seal, dating from around 1829, shows the same composition, but with six birds flying around the church. In the 1930s the city wanted to adopt a coat-of-arms and the birds were chosen as a possible symbol. The original birds were likely doves, a symbol of peace. In 1934, the idea of the crow was launched. The residents of Moss have long been referred to as crows. An old tale tells of a number of birds, thought to have been crows, swarming around the church spire due to a fire that started when lightning struck a birds' nest in the spire. The fire was quickly put out; birds became a motif in the city seal (and later coat-of-arms) for that reason. The coat-of-arms was granted on 2 April 1954 and shows a yellow crow on a red background. It was designed by Christian Stenersen. Norwegian lady statues Moss and Virginia Beach, Virginia in the United States are sister cities. 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. After being caught and disabled in a storm, she was headed for port at Hampton Roads, Virginia to make repairs when she encountered another storm just off Virginia Beach. Working in the high