Kristiansand

Not to be confused with Kristiansund, a city in Møre og Romsdal, western Norway.
Kristiansand

Coat of arms
Nickname(s): Port of Norway
Kristiansand
Coordinates: 58°8′46″N 7°59′41″E / 58.14611°N 7.99472°E
Country Norway
Municipality Kristiansand
County Vest-Agder
District Kristiansandregion
Established 1641
Government
 • Mayor Arvid Grundekjøn
Area
 • City 261.11 km2 (100.82 sq mi)
 • Urban 25.03 km2 (9.66 sq mi)
 • Metro 1,892.8 km2 (730.8 sq mi)
Population (2015)
 • City 87,446
 • Density 330/km2 (870/sq mi)
 • Urban 154,346
 • Urban density 6,200/km2 (16,000/sq mi)
 • Metro 155,648
 • Metro density 82/km2 (210/sq mi)
 • Municipality/ Urban rank 5th/5th
 • Metro rank 5th
Demonym Kristiansander
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Website kristiansand.kommune.no

Kristiansand [ˈkrɪstjɑnˈsɑn]  ( listen) [1] is a city, municipality and the county capital of Vest-Agder county in Southern Norway. Kristiansand municipality is the fifth largest in Norway, with a population of 85,681 as of 1 January 2014.[2] The Kristiansand urban area had a population of 154,346 on 1 January 2013, and is thus the fifth largest urban area in Norway. In addition, Statistics Norway counts 4 other densely populated areas in the municipality: Skålevik (Flekkerøy) with a population of 3,526, Strai with a population of 1,636, Justvik with a population of 1,803[3] and Tveit with a population of 1,396 (as of January 2012).

History

Oddernes Church in Kristiansand, erected around 1040
Kristiansand in summer 1800, painted by J. W. Edy

The Kristiansand area has been inhabited since prehistoric times. In 1996 the well-preserved skeleton of a woman dating to approximately 6500 BC was discovered in the neighboring municipality of Søgne, which demonstrates very early habitation of the archipelago. Grauthelleren (Grathelleren) on Fidjane is believed to be a Stone Age settlement. The first discovery in Norway of a Sarup enclosure (a Neolithic form of ritual enclosure first identified at Sarup on the Danish island of Funen) was made in 2010 at Hamresanden and dates to c. 3400 BC. Archaeological excavations to the east of Oddernes Church have uncovered rural settlements that existed during the centuries immediately before and after the beginning of our era. Together with a corresponding discovery in Rogaland, these are unique in the Norwegian context; isolated farms, rather than villages, were the norm in ancient Norway. Other discoveries in grave mounds around the church, in the Lund section of the city, indicate habitation beginning c. 400 AD, and 25 cooking pits that were found immediately outside the church wall in 1907 are probably even older. One of the largest pre-Christian burial grounds in South Norway was formerly located to the south and west of the church. A royal centre is thought to have existed at Oddernes before 800, and the church was built around 1040.

Before the stone church was built, one or perhaps two wooden post churches are believed to have stood on the same spot. A few years ago, excavations were carried out under and around the runestone when it was moved to the church porch; the grave finds indicated that the churchyard must already have been unusually large in the High Middle Ages. This means that the area must have had a large population before it was reduced by the Black Death.

In the 14th and 15th centuries, there was already a busy port and a small village on the Otra at the lowest point of today's Lund neighborhood (Lahelle). Another important element in the development of Kristiansand was the harbor on the island of Flekkerøy, which was the most important on the Skagerrak beginning in the 16th century and was first fortified under King Christian III in 1555. In 1635, King Christian IV ordered his feudal seigneur, Palle Rosenkrantz, to move from Nedenes and build a royal palace on the island.

The town's foundation

In any event, Christian IV (renowned for his many city foundations) visited the location in 1630 and 1635, and on 5 July 1641 formally founded the town of Christianssand on the "sand" on the opposite bank of the Torridalselva (Otra). The town was laid out in Renaissance style on a grid plan (the central section now known as Kvadraturen = The Quarters), and merchants throughout Agder were commanded to move to the new town. In return, they were to receive a variety of trading privileges and a ten-year tax exemption. In 1666, Christianssand became a garrison town, and in 1682, King Christian V decided to relocate the bishopric there from Stavanger. Hence, the young city became the main city of the Christiansand Stift.

Kristiansand Cathedral, rebuilt in brick in 1885 after several fires ravaged the city in the 19th century

Christianssand experienced a first and devastating fire in 1734. Later in the 18th century, after the American Revolutionary War, the town's shipbuilders experienced a boom that lasted until the Napoleonic Wars, when the continental blockade and naval warfare struck trade a severe blow. Denmark–Norway supported France and was subjected to relentless attack by Britain, as recounted in Ibsen's Terje Vigen. Only in the 1830s did the economy begin to recover, and the growth in the Norwegian shipping industry was important for Christianssand.

Another important development during the 19th century was the foundation in 1881 of Eg Sindssygeasyl, the second central psychiatric institution in Norway, after Gaustad. The psychiatric hospital drew highly specialized doctors to the city and also provided many jobs for women.

The last major fire, in 1892, left half the original section of the city in ashes, as far as the cathedral, which had been rebuilt in brick after a previous fire in 1880.

With the development of hydropower in southern Norway, the city gradually developed an industrial base, particularly with the establishment in 1910 of the nickel refinery Kristiansands Nikkelraffineringsverk AS (later Falconbridge Nikkelverk, now Glencore Nikkelverk). From an economic perspective, the First World War was a good time for Kristiansand, as a neutral shipping city. The crises that followed with the gold standard politics of the 1920s and the world economic crisis of the 1930s were also deeply felt in a trading city like Kristiansand.

The Posebyen section of old Kristiansand is Northern Europe's longest sequence of attached wooden buildings.

The labour movement had important pioneers in the city, and Leon Trotsky spent about a year of his exile in the archipelago offshore from Kristiansand. Arnulf Øverland took him from Randesund to Ny-Hellesund in Søgne in 1936.[4] In the interwar period Kristiansand was a centre for intellectuals, especially after the architect Thilo Schoder settled there in 1932.

Kristiansand was attacked by German naval forces on 9 April 1940 and occupied by a force of 800 men. Post-war construction included further development of the Lund section, and in the 1960s and 1970s Vågsbygd to the west was developed into a section with 20,000 inhabitants. In the 1980s, industry and business in the city declined. But beginning in the second half of the 1990s, business increased in momentum with the development of enterprises for marine and offshore equipment, security technology and drilling.

The older municipal archives for Kristiansand (and the former municipalities) are currently held at the Inter-Municipal Archives in Vest-Agder (IKAVA). This includes documents concerning, for example, local councils, chairmanships, poor boards, school boards and archives including among other things personal documents in the form of client records, tax records, and also school records.

Name

The city is named for King Christian IV, who founded it on 5 July 1641. The second element, sand, refers to the sandy headland the city was built on (see also Lillesand).

The name was often written Christianssand until 1877, although the map of the mapmaker Pontoppidan from 1785 spelled the name Christiansand (single 's'). This year an official spelling reform with the purpose of making the city names more Norwegian it was changed to Kristianssand. (Kristiansund and Kristiania, now Oslo, had their spellings changed under the same reform.) Despite that, a number of businesses and associations retain the "Ch" spelling. The name was again changed to its present form, Kristiansand (single 's'), in 1889.

In 2012, the city's mayor, Arvid Grundekjøn, proposed that the city be renamed Christianssand, arguing that "Kristiansand" is grammatically meaningless and that Christianssand stands for tradition.[5] This was not very well accepted by the locals and the mayor has not pushed this further.

Coat-of-arms

The arms of Kristiansand were granted on 8 December 1909 and are based on the oldest seal of the city, dating from 1643. In 1643 King Christian IV granted the young town the right to use a seal with the Norwegian lion and the royal crown. The crown indicates that the city was founded by the king. The other major element in the arms is a tree. As the species of tree is not specified, there are several known versions with differently shaped trees. A second seal, from 1658, shows a tree with leaves and what look like pine cones.[6] On the base of the crown are the letters R. F. P., standing for Regna Firma Pietas, "Piety strengthens the realm"; this was Christian IV's motto. Around the seal of the city is its motto, Cavsa Triumphat Tandem Bona, "A good cause prevails in the end".[7]

Geography

Bystranda

Kristiansand is strategically located on the Skagerrak, and until the opening of the Kiel Canal between the North Sea and the Baltic was very important militarily and geopolitically. This meant that for centuries it served as a military stronghold, first as Harald Fairhair's royal residence, then as a Danish-Norwegian fortress, and later as a garrison town. Kristiansand is a gateway to and from the continent, with ferry service to Denmark and a terminus of the railway line along the southern edge of South Norway.

Geologically, this part of Agder is part of the Swedo-Norwegian Base Mountain Shield, the southwestern section of the Baltic Shield, and consists of two main geological formations of Proterozoic rocks that were formed in the Gothic and later Swedo-Norwegian orogenies, with significant metamorphism during the latter.[8] There is a substrate of 1,600–1,450 million-year-old slate, quartzite, marble and amphibolite with some hornblende gneiss, and overlaid on this acidic surface structures of both granite and granodiorite (in general 1,250–1,000 million years old, in some places 1,550–1,480 million years old). The Bamblefelt geological area starts to the east of the municipality and extends to Grenland.

The last Swedo-Norwegian formations are evident in large formations of granite. There are also incidences of gabbro and diorite, less commonly eclogite. The Caledonian orogeny did not affect this area. Faults run southwest-northeast.[9] In ancient times there was a volcano off Flekkeroy, which left deposits of volcanic rock just north of central Kristiansand, on the site of the estate of Eg, now occupied by the Hospital of Southern Norway.

Climate

Tangen Park

The parts of the Agder counties on the Skagerrak coast, including Kristiansand, have a temperate climate with warm summers and cool winters. Snow generally occurs in late December and in January and February; it may be heavy (the snow record at Kjevik airport is 170 centimetres (67 in)) but rarely stays long on the coast; see Climate of Norway. The Gulf Stream provides local warming through surface currents along the Norwegian trench.

In the summer most locals go to the Fiskebrygga, the archipelago opposite the city, and Hamresanden Beach, which is located about 10 minutes from the city centre near Kjevik airport. People from Denmark, Sweden, Germany, the UK and other European countries also visit this beach in the summer during their travels.

The climate in the city is warmer than most other places at the same latitude, for example Anchorage, Alaska and Magadan at the east coast of Russia. The average annual temperature ranges from 7-9 degrees Celsius (44-48 F). In the winter, the temperature seldom drops below -10 (14 F), but it usually happens 2-3 times a year. Average temperature in the coldest month, January ranges from -3 (26.6 F) as a low to +2 (35.6 F) as average high. But temperatures have tended to be higher in recent years. And in the warmest month July, the average dayly temperature ranges from 14 degrees (57.2 F) as a low to 25 degrees (77 F) as a high. The highest temperature ever recorded in Kristiansand was 32.6 degrees Celsius (90.68 F) at Kristiansand airport, Kjevik. The temperature seldom reaches 30 (86 F) degrees, but most days in July reaches 22 degrees (71.6 F) or more. The annual rainfall in Kristiansand is 1,380 mm (54 in). The highest average temperature for Kristiansand in July was set in 2014 where there was an average temperature of 19.2 degrees (66.6 F).

Climate data for Kristiansand (2013)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 13.9
(57)		 15.8
(60.4)		 21.9
(71.4)		 23.7
(74.7)		 27.7
(81.9)		 30.4
(86.7)		 32.0
(89.6)		 32.6
(90.7)		 28.0
(82.4)		 22.4
(72.3)		 15.5
(59.9)		 13.6
(56.5)		 32.6
(90.7)
Average high °C (°F) 3.0
(37.4)		 4.0
(39.2)		 9.0
(48.2)		 14.0
(57.2)		 18.0
(64.4)		 23.0
(73.4)		 25.0
(77)		 23.0
(73.4)		 17.5
(63.5)		 13.5
(56.3)		 10.0
(50)		 4.0
(39.2)		 13.7
(56.7)
Daily mean °C (°F) 0.0
(32)		 0.3
(32.5)		 4.5
(40.1)		 8.0
(46.4)		 12.0
(53.6)		 18.0
(64.4)		 19.6
(67.3)		 18.3
(64.9)		 13.0
(55.4)		 9.0
(48.2)		 6.0
(42.8)		 1.0
(33.8)		 9.1
(48.4)
Average low °C (°F) −3
(27)		 −3.5
(25.7)		 0.0
(32)		 2.0
(35.6)		 6.0
(42.8)		 13.0
(55.4)		 14.2
(57.6)		 13.5
(56.3)		 8.5
(47.3)		 4.5
(40.1)		 2.0
(35.6)		 −2
(28)		 4.6
(40.3)
Record low °C (°F) −25.0
(−13)		 −27.3
(−17.1)		 −18.5
(−1.3)		 −14.3
(6.3)		 −5.0
(23)		 2.0
(35.6)		 3.0
(37.4)		 2.5
(36.5)		 −2.5
(27.5)		 −5.0
(23)		 −12.0
(10.4)		 −19.0
(−2.2)		 −27.3
(−17.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 121
(4.76)		 80
(3.15)		 87
(3.43)		 59
(2.32)		 86
(3.39)		 75
(2.95)		 88
(3.46)		 118
(4.65)		 141
(5.55)		 164
(6.46)		 164
(6.46)		 116
(4.57)		 1,380
(54.33)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 15
(5.9)		 20
(7.9)		 5
(2)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0.5
(0.2)		 15
(5.9)		 50.5
(19.88)
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 13 10 8 8 9 9 9 11 10 15 14 13 129
Avg. snowy days 8 8 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 25
Source: , The Weather Network,[10] [11]

Near the city, there are deep woods. In Baneheia and at the former coastal artillery fortress on Odderøya, there are lighted ski trails and walking paths specially prepared for wheelchair users.

Two major rivers, the Otra and the Tovdalselva, flow into the Skagerrak at Kristiansand.

Popular beaches

Hamresanden

Boroughs

There is 18 districts and 130 basic unions.

Kvadraturen is the city center of Kristiansand. The area belonged to the farms Eg and Grim, and was a sandy plain covered with forest, and was called Sanden or Grimsmoen. Settlements were before the city was founded focused on loading and dumps at Lund, along Otra or Torridalselven and along Topdalsfjorden by Odderøya and Flekkeroy port. Christian IV's town plan outlined the city center with 56 rectangular squares with five long blocks and eight cross streets. It was the squares along the Otra and east and west harbor, which was built first. Today Kvadraturen part of the district Kvadraturen/Eg, which has (as of 1 January 2005) 5510 inhabitants. The area Posebyen in Kvadraturen is Northern Europe's longest continuous wooden buildings. In the district are among others Kristiansand Cathedral, Wergeland Park, and the terminal for ferries to Hirtshals and Kristiansand Station is located in the district's western corner.

The east side of Kvadraturen

Vågsbygd is the largest borough of Kristiansand in Norway with approx. 22,000 inhabitants. Until 1965, Vågsbygd was a part of Oddernes municipality. The district extends south and west of the city center of Kristiansand. From Møvig in Vågsbygd are good views of the to Fredriksholm Fortress and on to Flekkerøy, which is often not considered as parts of Vågsbygd. On Kroodden in Vågsbygd is Kristiansand Cannon Museum, an authentic fortress from World War II. Agriculture is largely left in Vågsbygd and replaced by residential and industrial areas. Vågsbygd has considerable industry, who has survived major changes. The largest employer is all the same Elkem Solar producing super clean Silicon for solar cells, which are located in premises that Elkem previous Ferrosilicon factory Fiskå Verk. On Andøya it established a significant and advanced mechanical industry which produces offshore and marine cranes and other marine equipment in Andøya Industrial Park. Amfi Vågsbyd is a major shopping center. On Andøya in Vågsbygd is Bredalsholmen Shipyard and Preservation Centre, a Centre for protection of vessels at the former Bredalsholmen yard. Bredalsholmen Shipyard and Preservation Centre is a national hub for maintenance of museum ships and cherish worthy coastal culture, and a drydock with considerable capacity.

The city center port in Vågsbygd

Lund is the second largest borough in Kristiansand with a population of 9,000 inhabitants in 2012. 14 June 1921 was the first 2.75 km ² of Lund transferred to Kristiansand and 1 January 1965 was also the rest of Lund part of Kristiansand in the municipal amalgamation. In Lund, there are traces of humans dating back to the early Iron Age, the Viking Age until the early Middle Ages various locations. There has been a settlement since the Stone Age. In the Viking Age was a great man farm here. Runestone at Oddernes church provides a connection to this farm. A large field with burial mounds formerly existed south and west of the church, may also be associated with this farm. In 1492 came the robbers from the sea and attacks Lund. This is mentioned in two letters located in the National Archives. The letters describe the attack took place with a lot of violence against both women and men and that it was killed on both sides. No one know who the robbers were, but their centurion named Per Syvertsen. The name suggests that he and his crew came from Norway or Denmark.

Indre and Ytre Randesund is located between Kvåsefjorden in Høvåg and the Topdalsfjord in Oddernes. Several small islands are situated alongside the cost of Randesund, among them Randøya and Herøya, both popular with summer tourists. The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the island, Randøen (now known as Randøya). The first part of the name is rand (Old Norse: rǫnd) which means "boundary" or "edge" and the last part of the name is sund which means "strait". The name was previously spelled Randøsund.

Tveit is a village and a former municipality in Vest-Agder county. It is located in the present-day municipality of Kristiansand. Tveit is home to Kristiansand Airport, Kjevik. Tveit is located along the lower part of the Tovdalselva river, known as Topdalselva from the border with Aust-Agder. The population of Tveit is approximately 2,831 (2004).

Lund side
Kristiansand boroughs area [12]
Nr Boroughs Population
1 Flekkerøy 3,270
2 Voiebyen 6,520
3 Vågsbygd 22,000
4 Slettheia 4,460
5 Hellemyr 2,990
6 Tinnheia 3,880
7 Grim 5,200
8 Kvadraturen 5,200
9 Lund 10,950
10 Gimlekollen 5,750
11 Strai 1,860
12 Mosby 2,090
13 Justvik 2,770
14 Ålefjær 410
15 Tveit 2,980
16 Hånes 4,210
17 Søm 9,410
18 Randesund 2,480

Districts

Kristiansand districts area
Nr Districts Boroughs Population [13]
1 Vågsbygd Flekkerøy, Vågsbygd, Slettheia, Voiebyen 36,281
2 Grim Grim, Hellemyr, Mosby, Strai, Tinnheia 16,020
3 Kvadraturen Eg, Kvadraturen 5,200
4 Lund Gimlekollen, Justvik, Lund, Ålefjær 30,830
5 Strømme Hånes, Randesund, Søm, Tveit 19,080

Basic unions

Some of the most populous basic unions in the following boroughs:

Flekkerøy

  • Kjære/Andås
  • Lindebø/Skålevik
  • Mæbø/Høyfjellet

Voiebyen

  • Andøya
  • Bråvann
  • Møvik
  • Skutevik
  • Voiebyen nordvest
  • Voiebyen nordøst
  • Voiebyen sørvest
  • Voiebyen sørøst

Vågsbygd

  • Augeland terrasse
  • Augelandslia
  • Kjerrheia
  • Kjos Haveby nord
  • Kjos Haveby sør
  • Nordtjønnåsen
  • Skyllingsheia
  • Vågsbygd sentrum
  • Vågsbygd søndre
  • Åsane

Slettheia

  • Fiskåtangen
  • Gislemyr
  • Kartheia
  • Nedre Slettheia
  • Slettheia sør
  • Slettheitoppen vest
  • Slettheitoppen øst
  • Slettheiveien

Hellemyr

  • Breimyr
  • Fidjane
  • Fjellro
  • Hellemyr nordøst
  • Hellemyr vest

Tinnheia

  • Hannevikåsen
  • Hannevika terrasse
  • Kolsberg
  • Tinnheia nordvest
  • Tinnheia sørøst

Grim

  • Bellevue
  • Dalane
  • Enrum
  • Grimsmyra
  • Møllevannet
  • Klappane
  • Paradis
  • Suldalen

Kvadraturen

  • Byskogen
  • Eg
  • Kvadraturen nordvest
  • Kvadraturen nordøst
  • Kvadraturen sørvest
  • Kvadraturen sørøst

Lund

  • Galgeberg
  • Gimlemoen
  • Flaten
  • Hamreheia
  • Kokleheia
  • Kongsgård
  • Kuholmen
  • Marvika
  • Nedre Lund
  • Oddemarka
  • Skaugo
  • Solbygg
  • Sødal
  • Tobienborg
  • Valhalla
  • Valhalla nord
  • Valhalla sør
  • Vige

Gimlekollen

  • Bjørndalssletta
  • Gimlekollen
  • Gimlekollen vest
  • Gimlekollen øst
  • Narviga
  • Prestebekken
  • Prestheia
  • Volleåsen

Strai

  • Ytre Strai
  • Intre Strai

Mosby

  • Haus
  • Heisel
  • Høietun
  • Lindekleiv
  • Mosby
  • Øvre Mosby

Justvik

  • Bleget
  • Greppestølåsen
  • Justneshalvøya
  • Justvik
  • Jærnesheia
  • Kvernhusheia

Ålefjær

  • Ålefjær

Søm

  • Bliksheia
  • Elgstien
  • Haumyrheia
  • Kjelleviktoppen
  • Knarreviktoppen
  • Korsvik vest
  • Korsvik øst
  • Strømme
  • Søm
  • Søm øst
  • Sømslia
  • Vardåsen

Tveit

  • Brattvollshei
  • Dønnestad
  • Hamresanden
  • Kjevik
  • Ryen
  • Solsletta

Hånes

  • Berhus
  • Brattbakken
  • Grovika
  • Hånes
  • Hånes nordvest
  • Hånes nordøst
  • Hånestangen
  • Vigevollåsen

Randesund

  • Dversnes
  • Fidjeåsen
  • Odderhei
  • Rabbersvik
  • Tømmerstø

Notable streets

Vestre Strandgate with the public transport area

Economy

Eastern Kristiansand during night

Christianssands Bryggeri is a producer of beer and soft drinks with a long history in the city. The brewery was established in 1859, and all products are made with spring water from the company's own spring, called Christian IVs kilde (Christian IV's spring).

Hennig-Olsen is an ice cream factory with headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Kristiansand. The factory opened in 1960, but the Hennig-Olsen family has produced ice cream in Kristiansand since 1924, when Sven Hennig-Olsen started doing so in the back of his tobacco kiosk.

Glencore Nikkelverk (nickel factory) was founded in 1910 as Kristiansand Nikkelraffineringsverk A/S. The company is owned by the Anglo-Swiss company Glencore Xstrata and has about 500 employees.[14]

The Korsvik industrial area on the east side of the Kristiansandsfjord is home to companies working on drilling technology, cranes, winches and other equipment for the worldwide petroleum industry, among them National Oilwell Varco and Aker MH.

Hennig-Olsen ice-cream factory in Hannevika

Elkem, owned by China National Bluestar since 2011, operated a refining plant for ferrosilicon and microsilica at Fiskå in Vågsbygd for many years and was replaced in the beginning of the 20th century by Elkem Solar which produces polycrystalline silicon for wafers used in the solar cell industry. It has about 225 employees.[15]

Sørlandsparken is an industrial park outside of Kristiansand city centrum but in the municipality. It includes warehouses to smaller stores. Sørlandssenteret is located in the park with over 195 stores as of 2015. In 2014, the mall opened up a new part, making it Norway's largest mall.

Sørlandschips is a Norwegian produced crisps brand. The potatoes Comes often from Denmark. Sørlandschips owned by Scandza AS and is one of Norway's most popular potato chip brand today. It has a variety of tastes and spices.

Dampbageriet is a large bakery chain based in Vest-Agder, it was established in Kristiansand in 1862 and has 4 stores in Kristiansand.

Telenors main office for Southern Norway

Sparebanken Sør is a savings bank serving Vest-Agder, Aust-Agder and Telemark. It was established in 1824 when Christiansand Sparebank opened up, it was one of the first in Norway.

Hennig-Olsen Iskremfabrikk is a major Norwegian ice-cream company based and started up in Kristiansand. The fabric is located at Hannevika.

As a relatively large shipping town, Kristiansand was a profitable location for shipbuilders Kristiansands Mekaniske Verksted and P. Høivolds Mekaniske Verksted. At one time, shipping companies were the backbone of the local economy, but not many survive. The Rasmussen Group, previously a shipping firm, is now an investment company.[16][17] Kristiansand continues to have major shipbuilding and repair facilities that support Norway's North Sea oil industry. The static inverter plant of the HVDC Cross-Skagerrak is located near Kristiansand.

Kristiansand Dyrepark is the zoo that sells most giraffe in Europe.

Culture

Kilden Performing Arts Centre
Kristiansand Zoo and Amusement Park

The Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra and Wind Ensemble merged in 2003. The orchestra now performs at the Kilden Performing Arts Centre, which opened in January 2012.[18] This is also the new home of Agder Theatre, founded in 1991.

Sørlandets Art Museum is in the centre of Kristiansand, in the former buildings of the cathedral school. It was established in 1995 building on the former collection of Christiansands billedgalleri, and is the second-largest regional art museum in Norway. It includes both fine art and crafts and runs an extensive programme of activities that includes exhibitions of the permanent collection, temporary exhibitions of contemporary art, and touring exhibitions to schools and child-care facilities.[19]

Christianssands Kunstforening, now renamed Kristiansand Kunsthall, is one of the oldest and largest art associations in Norway, founded in 1881, and has approximately 650 square metres (7,000 sq ft) of exhibition space for contemporary art in central Kristiansand. The association began assembling a permanent collection in 1902; this is now housed in Sørlandets Art Museum.

Cultiva, a local foundation, was established to ensure a portion of the profits made from selling shares in Agder Energy Ltd have lasting benefits to the community, focusing on art, culture, creativity and building competence; it supported projects in Kristiansand until the financial crisis forced cut-backs in 2011. In addition the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage endowed a cultural free port, Porto Rico, as one of the pilot projects of its "value creation project" in the 2000s.

In 2007 Kristiansand was awarded the designation Norges kulturkommune (Norway's culture municipality), a distinction awarded every other year by the Norwegian Culture Forum.

Fiskebrygga is a former fish landing on either side of the Gravane canal, which separates the city centre from Odderøya; it was refurbished in the 1990s and now has wood-fronted buildings housing restaurants and shops including a fish market. It is very popular in summer, when the canal is also heavily used by boats.

The municipality millennium is Tresse - Retranchement, the city party space in front of Christiansholm Fortress, bottom Festningsgata the Baltic sea. The millennium was celebrated here include a large sign. A small sign to mark the Millennium for the future are made, but per. 2011 not installed in anticipation of the festival grounds shall be given a facelift. It should also dug a channel within the fortress, so this again is left on an island. These projects are waiting for political consideration and funding. Tusenårstreet were planted on the lawn between the festival grounds and playground/ice rink in Tresse.

Sports

The city's best known football team, IK Start, moved in 2007 to a new home stadium, Sør Arena. The city is also home to other football teams, including Fløy (Flekkerøy), Vigør and IK Våg. Kristiansand is also known for its handball teams (Kristiansands IF and IK Våg Vipers), basketball (Kristiansand Pirates) and volleyball (Grim VBK) clubs and has a baseball team (Kristiansand Suns).

Tourism

Palmesus, Scandinavia's largest beach festival

Kristiansand is a summer tourist destination, attracting many visitors in particular to its zoo, Kristiansand Zoo and Amusement Park, just east of the city. This is the second most visited attraction in Norway, after Holmenkollen, and had 925,000 visitors in 2012. Its animals, most of which are housed in natural habitats, include wolves, tigers, lions and the lynx. The zoo is open 365 days a year, while the amusement park is open during the summer season only.

The Quart festival was an annual music festival that took place in Kristiansand over five days in early July. There were large stages on Odderøya and smaller venues around the city. Founded in 1991 as Qvadradurmusivalen, the festival changed its name to the more catchy Quart Festival the following year. It included internationally known performers and was also known for booking acts that later became internationally known. For several years it was the largest music festival in Norway, but beginning in summer 2007 it was challenged by the Hovefestivalen on Tromøya, Arendal, and some Oslo-based festivals. In early June 2008 the organization declared bankruptcy; the festival returned in 2009 under the name Quart, but again went bankrupt.

Kristiansand is home to many other festivals as well, running throughout the year. Protestfestival, held in September, was launched in 2000 and aims to address apathy and indifference in politics, and includes debates, concerts and lectures combined with performance art and documentaries. Protestfestival claims to attract anarchists, communists, hippies as well as conservative Christians and capitalists and to encourage communication among these radically different groups.[20] Others include Southern Discomfort, also in September, the Bragdøya Blues Festival in June, the Dark Season Festival in October, and Cultural Night and the International Children Film Festival in April.

Demographic

A Vietnamese grocery store in Kristiansand
Number of minorities in Kristiansand by country of origin per 1. January 2013[21]
Rank Ancestry Number
1 Poland1,940
2 Vietnam1,890
3 Iraq1,390
4 Chile1,300
5 Kosovo1,280
6 Denmark1,160
7 Somalia1,070
8 Bosnia and Herzegovina940
9 Germany880
10 Afghanistan880
11 Russia840
12 Iran790
13 Sweden700
14 Pakistan550
15 Eritrea540
16 United Kingdom500
17 United States420
18 Thailand390
19 Iceland390
20 Turkey380
21 Palestine360
22 Philippines350
23 Syria320
24 Ethiopia330
25 Lithuania320
26 Cambodia320
27Other countries5,880
The 5 most popular borough of immigrants
Nr Borough Percent[22]
1 Slettheia 36%
2 Kvadraturen 24%
3 Grim 22%
4 Hellemyr 20%
5 Tinnheia 19%
The 5 least popular borough of immigrants
Nr Borough Percent [23]
1 Flekkerøy 7%
2 Randesund 7%
3 Gimlekollen 8%
4 Søm 10%
5 Tveit 10%

Notable people

Henrik Wergeland
Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway

Crime

Courthouse in Kristiansand

Kristiansand has three police stations. The one in the city center, the main one for Southern Norway, Agder Police District. While on less serious crimes only covers some these parts of Kristiansand, Kvadraturen, Grim and Lund. Vågsbygd police station covers the Vågsbygd district while Randesund police station covers Randesund, Søm, Hånes and Tveit.

Most crim-cases reported in Kristiansand takes place on Kvadraturen. In south of Markens gate with Tollbodgata and Dronningens gate were there are stores open 24 hours a day and most nightclubs and bars are located. In 2014 it was most reported cases there in the entire city.

It was over 56 cases reported in this area and 123 on Kvadraturen in 2013 and in 2012 over 150 cases were reported on Kvadraturen meaning the crime rate has gone down. In the Vågsbygd police district it was reported over 50 cases going down 27% since 2012. On Randesund police station it was 61 cases reported and has going down 9% since 2012 to 2013. Outside of Kvadraturen, Vågsbygd and Randesund there were reported 110 cases reported in the municipality, mostly from Grim.

In entire Kristiansand there were over 350 cases reported as of 2014. 34% of all the cases are done by minors on Kvadraturen. The most cases on Kvadraturen is narcotics, violence and nonprofit crimes, but most shop lifting. 6 cases of violence were against police and most violence were performed with knifes. [24]

Minors

Agder Police District headquarter

In crime preformed by people under 18, there were most reported 16 year old boys in 2013. Although adding the numbers of boys and girls together, the largest number of crime for the age was 14. It is simultaneously more that reports a mixed sex image where girls show an equal activity as boys. Some Instead there are also girls who are leading the way. Several executives tells increased used of bullying, intimidation and violence among girls. It looks including out that girls make greater use of social media such behavior. Some also report increased cannabis use among girls. The figures from the police show that nearly one in three young people who commit crimes have minority backgrounds. Of the 163 youths who embarked offense first half is 47 immigrants or Norwegian-born to immigrant parents. This represents 29% of the total number. The decline in the number of young offenders apply primarily the oldest group from 15 to 17 years. Kristiansand has several 14-year-olds than 17-year-olds who commit offenses. Girls make up more current through increased use of threats and violence.[25]

Contact from Voiebyen, Vågsbygd, Grim, Søm and Lund expressed concern about boys who challenge them with their behavior by breaking rules, commit vandalism, threaten classmates and try out various drugs. One of the schools have also been several incidents of violence against teachers and classmates. It is composed issues related to several of these students and they have various reasons major challenges in adapting to school requirements and expectations. Several executives from schools stated that they experience an increase in the number of pupils, both boys and girls, who are struggling mentally. They mention students with depression, social anxiety, eating disorder, self-mutilation and sleep problems. This worries them and they fear that some of these students, as a result of their poor mental health, are more vulnerable to make choices that can lead them into the environment with drugs and crime. To meet these challenges and provide these young people needed and customized follow-up, it is crucial to have a holistic focus and a good interdepartmental and interdisciplinary collaboration.[26]

Health

Hospital of Southern Norway in Kristiansand

Sørlandet Sykehus HF is a hospital group in Southern Norway, they have three hospitals in Flekkefjord, Arendal and the main one on E.g. in Kristiansand. It is only a 6 minutes drive from the city centrum Kvadraturen. The headquarter of Sørlandet Sykehus HF is also located in Kristiansand. The hospital has departments in Vågsbygd and Oddernes.

E.g. hospital is an asylum/psychiatric hospital next to Sørlandet hospital. It was opened in 1881 by dr. Axel H. Lindboe, this became Norway's third insane asylum.

St. Josef hospital was a catholic hospital located at Kvadraturen, it was opened in 1885 and driven by his sisters. The hospital closed down in 1967.

There are 11 retirement homes in Kristiansand and most of them are located on Kvadraturen. One rehabilitation center, ca 15 fitness centers, 20 dentist offices, 10 medical centers and around 25 pharmacies.

Education

The University of Agder was established in 2007, based on Agder College, which had been founded in 1994 by the amalgamation of six previous institutions: Kristiansand Teacher Training College, Agder District College, Kristiansand College of Nursing, Arendal College of Nursing, Agder Engineering and District College (Grimstad) and Agder Conservatory of Music. The university has about 10,000 students, of whom 7,500 are in Kristiansand and the remaining 2,500 in Grimstad. In Kristiansand it is housed on a campus on the former parade ground of Gimlemoen in the Lund section. The university offers a wide range of studies at all levels, organised into five faculties: Humanities and Education, Engineering and Science, Health and Sport, Economics and Social Sciences, and Fine Arts. Gimlemoen is also the site of Sørlandet kunnskapspark, a research park built with funds from sources including the Cultiva foundation that houses a number of companies with a degree of professional affiliation with the university, such as Agderforskning, a social science research institute that is part of the publishing company Cappelen Damm.[27]

University of Agder

Noroff University College was established in 2012 and is a private university offering three specialised degrees two in Interactive media (Games or Animation) and one in Digital Forensics. The University College builds on Noroff's existing vocational school which in addition to Kristiansand has facilities in Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger and Trondhiem.

Kristiansand was a garrison and cathedral town from 1664; Kristiansand Cathedral School was founded in 1684 and a Latin school in 1734. There are currently four public senior secondary schools: Kristiansand Cathedral School Gimle,[28] Vågsbygd High School, Kvadraturen skolesenter and Tangen High School

Private senior secondary schools include Noroff Senior Secondary School and Sonans utdanning (education). The private school Sørlandets Maritime Senior Secondary School is also based in Kristiansand. This school offers two courses of study, Technology and Industrial Production and maritime subjects. It is a boarding school; students live and undergo training aboard the training ship MS Sjøkurs, a steamer that previously operated on the Hurtigruten.

Kristiansand is also host to an International School on Kongsgård Alle in Lund. The School opened in January 2008 to provide an international education through English to students from grade 1 to grade 10. This IB authorised school moved into a brand new purpose built building in Summer 2014, to house the expanding school which now has over 100 students.

List of schools in Kristiansand[29][30]

Kvadraturen skolesenter is the largest High School in Southern Norway
Name Type District Students Status
Dvergsnes skole Elementary Oddernes 360 Public
Fagerholt skole Elementary Lund N/A Public
Fiskå skole Junior High Vågsbygd 300 Public
Flekkerøy skole Elementary Vågsbygd N/A Public
Grim skole Junior High Grim 500 Public
Haumyrheia skole Junior High Oddernes 300 Public
Havlimyra skole Junior High Lund N/A Public
Hellemyr skole Elementary Grim N/A Public
Holte skole Junior High Oddernes 250 Public
Hånes skole Elementary Oddernes N/A Public
Justvik skole Elementary Lund N/A Public
Karl Johan minneskole (memorial) Elementary Grim 250 Public
Karuss skole Elementary and Junior High Vågsbygd N/A Public
Kongsgård skolesenter Elementary Lund 900 Private
Kringsjå skole Elementary Randesund N/A Public
Krossen skole Elementary Grim N/A Public
Kristiansand Cathedral School High School Lund 1,360 Public
Kristiansand International School Elementary and Junior High Lund N/A Private
Kvadraturen skolesenter High School Kvadraturen 1,500 Public
Lindebøskauen skole Junior High Vågsbygd N/A Public
Lovisenlund skole Elementary Lund N/A Public
Mosby skole Elementary Mosby N/A Public
Møvig skole Junior High Vågsbygd 400 Public
NLA Mediehøgskolen Gimlekollen College Lund 130 Private
Noroff vidergående High School Kvadraturen 90 Private
Oddemarka skole Junior High Lund N/A Public
Prestheia skole Elementary Lund N/A Public
Sjøstrand skole Elementary Vågsbygd N/A Public
Slettheia skole Elementary Vågsbygd N/A Public
Solholmen skole Elementary Grim 200 Public
Steinerskolen Elementarty and Junior High Lund N/A Private
Strømme skole Elementary Oddernes 370 Public
Sørlandets maritime videregående skole High School MS "Sjøkurs" 60 Private
Tangen vidergående High School Kvadraturen 1,000 Public
Tordenskjoldsgate skole Elementary Kvadraturen 150 Public
Torkelsmyra skole Elementary Vågsbygd N/A Public
Torridal skole Elementary and Junior High Grim N/A Public
Universitetet i Agder University Lund 11,500 Public
Vardåsen skole Elementary Oddernes 350 Public
Ve skole Elementary and Junior High Oddernes N/A Public
Vigvoll skole Junior High Oddernes 200 Public
Voiebyen skole Elementary Vågsbygd N/A Public
Vågsbygd skole Elementary Vågsbygd 270 Public
Vågsbygd vidergående High School Vågsbygd 800 Public
Frank Wild Minneskole (memorial) Elementary Lund N/A Public
Øvre Slettheia skole Elementary Vågsbygd N/A Public
Åsane skole Elementary Vågsbygd N/A Public

Transportation

E18 in Lund, Kristiansand
Kristiansand Bus Terminal with Kristiansand Station in the background
Kristiansand Airport, Kjevik

Kristiansand is an important transport and communications node, connected to continental Europe by air and sea.

Sea

From the city centre, the ferry harbour has routes to Hirtshals (Denmark) and Hanstholm (Denmark).[31]

Road

European Road 18 is the largest highway in Kristiansand. It starts after E39 goes to Denmark before the city bridge on Kvadraturen. E18 continues out Kristiansand municipality and through Arendal, Oslo and ends in Stockholm. European Road 39 starts in Trondheim and has it course through Western Norway before following the costal municipalities in Vest-Agder. When E39 comes to Kristiansand, it goes to the harbor and continues through Denmark. Norwegian National Road 9 is a road starting in Kristiansand, through Grim and then through Vennesla municipality before leaving Vest-Agder. The national road ends in Telemark.

Norwegian National Road 41 Norwegian National Road 41 starts in Hånes. It is the road out to Kristiansand Airport, Kjevik, it continues to Birkenes and ends in Kviteseid, Telemark. County road 401 is the old E18 before it got upgraded. It starts on Søm and ends in Lillesand, it goes via Høvåg. County road 452 is the old road to Vennesla city centrum. It starts on Lund, then goes through Justvik and Ålefjær before Vennesla municipality. County road 456 is the main road in Vågsbygd and afterwords ending in Søgne. County road 457 takes up from 456 in Voiebyen and ends at Flekkerøy. County road 471 is the largest road in downtown Kristiansand. It ends at Lund and goes besides the University.

Bus

Buses in the city and region are now operated by Nettbuss Sør (South): until the end of 2010 they were run by Bussen Trafikkselskap. All regional bus lines goes through three stops in Kvadraturen. Some bus lines goes vice versa from the west coast to the east cost of the city.

Kristiansand Bus Terminal or Kristiansand Rutebilstasjon is the main bus terminal for the city. It is located with the train station Kristiansand S. The bus terminal has local, regional and long-distance bus routes. It is mostly used by Nettbuss but a lot of other bus companies as well.

Railway

Kristiansand Station opened in 1895 and located in the west side of the city. It is owned by Norwegian National Rail Administration. The Sørlandsbanen line goes in small towns in Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder counties. Express trains go east to Oslo S. Regional lines goes to Stavanger[32]

Air

The local airport, Kjevik, is located 12 km (7.5 mi) east of the city and has routes to European and Norwegian cities.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Kristiansand is twinned with:

See also

References

  1. ↑ Even though the names are different, Kristiansand is often noted as Kristiansand S (S for South) to distinguish it from Kristiansund, also in Norway, in such cases noted as Kristiansund N. The practice originated before postal codes were introduced, as mail sometimes was sent to the wrong city. Occasional mix-ups with the Swedish city of Kristianstad have also been known to happen."EUROPE | Soldiers' map mix-up". BBC News. 26 May 2000. Retrieved 2013-05-14.
  2. ↑ "Folkemengd og kvartalsvise befolkningsendringar, 3. kvartal 2013" (in Norwegian). 21 November 2013.
  3. ↑ "Justvik - landsby i kommunen Kristiansand. Befolkningen - hvor mange mennesker Justvik". Befolkningen.com. Retrieved 2013-05-14.
  4. ↑ Langfeldt, Jan G. (2004). Langfeldt-slektens og Ny-Hellesunds historie (in Norwegian). p. 80. ISBN 82-994591-2-5.
  5. ↑ "Kristiansand eller Christianssand? - Sørlandet - NRK Nyheter". Nrk.no. Retrieved 2013-05-14.
  6. ↑ Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2008-09-27.
  7. ↑ "Regler om bruk av Kristiansands byvåpen og segl i ikke kommunalt øyemed" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Municipality of Kristiansand. 23 August 1989. Retrieved 2013-12-24.
  8. ↑ Ivar B. Ramberg et al., Landet blir til – Norges geologi, Norsk geologisk forening 2006 (2007), p. 71
  9. ↑ Berggrunnskart over Norge, Norwegian Geological Survey, 2006 (Norwegian)
  10. ↑ "Climate Statistics for Kristiansand-Duekniben, Norway (2013-2014)". 26 November 2014.
  11. ↑ "Yr - Været som var". yr.no. Retrieved 2014.}
  12. ↑ "Befolkning i Kristiansand". ssb.no. Retrieved 2014.
  13. ↑ "Befolkning i Kristiansand". ssb.no. Retrieved 2014.
  14. ↑ Velkommen til Glencore Nikkelverk AS XtrataNickel.no. Retrieved 20 November 2013
  15. ↑ Peder Qvale (12 September 2012)Lite solskinn for Elkem Solar Teknisk Ukeblad. Retrieved 29 December 2013 (Norwegian)
  16. ↑ Harald Berglihn, "Rasmussengruppen reddet av aksjer og finans", Dagens Næringsliv, 31 May 2011, retrieved 20 November 2013 (Norwegian)
  17. ↑ Rasmussengruppen AS Rasmussengruppen.no. Retrieved 29 December 2013 (Norwegian)
  18. ↑ Kilden Performing Arts Centre
  19. ↑ Sørlandets Kunstmuseum, Homepage in English
  20. ↑ Protestfestivalen (English)
  21. ↑ "Ungdom og kriminalitet" (PDF). kristiansand.kommune.no. Retrieved 2013.
  22. ↑ "Befolkning i Kristiansand". ssb.no. Retrieved 2014.
  23. ↑ "Befolkning i Kristiansand". ssb.no. Retrieved 2014.
  24. ↑ "Kriminalitet i Kristiansand kommune" (PDF). kristiansand.kommune.no. Retrieved 2014.
  25. ↑ "Ungdom og kriminalitet i Kristiansand" (PDF). Agderforskning.no. Retrieved 2009.
  26. ↑ "Ungdom og kriminalitet i Kristiansand". pkforum.no. Retrieved 2012.
  27. ↑ University of Agder, official website(English)
  28. ↑ Kristiansand Cathedral School, history (official website) (Norwegian)
  29. ↑ "Min skole (My school)". minskole.no. Retrieved 2015.
  30. ↑ "Skoleportal / Vest-Agder fylkeskommune". vaf.no. Retrieved 2015.
  31. ↑ Kristiansand Port
  32. ↑ NSB Homepage
  33. ↑ "Münster partnerstaedte". muenster.de. Retrieved 2013-05-09.

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Kristiansand.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kristiansand.
Look up Kristiansand in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.