Norway
Kristiansand, Norway
Kristiansand, Norway: Posebyen's Wooden Houses, a Silo Art Museum and the Southern Archipelago
Kristiansand lies on the Skagerrak, on the stretch of Norway's southern coast that is the sunniest part of the country. Its position there made it important militarily, and for centuries it served as a military stronghold. From the ship you can walk to Christiansholm Fortress on the seafront promenade and to the old gun positions on Odderøya.
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Overview
Cruise ships use the cruise terminal on Lagmannsholmen in the western harbor, opened in 2017. From the terminal you can walk to the city center, the seafront promenade, the bus terminal, the ferry terminal and the railway station.
- The bus terminal is about 100 meters from Markens gate, the main pedestrian shopping street, and next to the ferry terminal and the railway station; there is a taxi stand there too.
- The center, Kvadraturen, keeps the grid of straight streets laid out in the 1640s.
- Odderøya, the green island beside the fish market, is joined to the center by several bridges.
- Norway uses the Norwegian krone, and euros are generally not accepted in shops.
Kristiansand on Your Own
The cruise terminal is within walking distance of Kristiansand's center, and from there the fish quay, Odderøya, Posebyen and the seafront promenade to the town beach are all on foot. A simple plan is the fish market and Odderøya in the morning, Posebyen and the cathedral at midday, and the promenade to the town beach in the afternoon.
- The waterfront: Start at Fiskebrygga, the fish quay, where a fish market and several seafood restaurants line the harbor. Cross the bridges to Odderøya for trails, old cannon positions, views of the archipelago and the Kunstsilo art museum on the island.
- The old town: Posebyen, in the eastern part of the center, is the last quarter of small, white, single-story wooden houses. On Saturdays from early June to late August, a second-hand market is held there.
- The cathedral and Markens gate: The brick cathedral of 1885, with its 70-meter steeple, stands in the center, and Markens gate, the busiest street in town, runs through the grid.
- Along the promenade: The seafront walk passes the Otterdal fountain park, Christiansholm Fortress and a playground before reaching Bystranda, the town beach.
- Into the archipelago: In summer, boats from Pier 6 run out to the islands of Bragdøya, Dvergsøya and Stokken, from late June to mid-August; check before you go, as sailings are seasonal.
- Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own.
- Watch the clock: All-aboard is given in ship's time, which may not match local clocks or your phone.
Getting Around
Odderøya is joined to the center by bridges, and the seafront promenade links the center with the town beach. City and regional buses leave from the bus terminal near Markens gate.
- The bus terminal is next to the railway station and the ferry terminal, with a taxi stand.
- The seafront promenade runs through parks past Christiansholm Fortress to the town beach and then continues along the west bank of the Otra as a path of about 40 km.
- Baneheia, a wooded park of lakes and trails just north of the center, is about five minutes on foot from Markens gate.
- Kristiansand Zoo and Amusement Park lies outside the city, near the boundary with Lillesand.
- Ferries to Denmark leave from the ferry terminal in the city center, with daily departures.
Where to Eat
The fish quay is the place to eat in Kristiansand, with a fish market and seafood restaurants around the harbor basin. The city also makes Hennig-Olsen ice cream, one of the largest ice cream brands in Norway.
- Fiskebrygga still has a working fish market alongside its restaurants, and in summer locals moor their boats there.
- Hennig-Olsen ice cream is produced in Kristiansand, and there are ice cream bars on Markens gate and on Fiskebrygga.
- On Sundays the café at the southern tip of Odderøya serves waffles.
- Free concerts are held at Fiskebrygga on Tuesdays from late June to early August.
Tipping in Norway
Tipping is not expected in Norway, because restaurant staff are well paid and do not depend on tips. In restaurants, rounding the bill up is the norm, and 10 percent counts as generous.
- Practice with taxis varies: some people tip on longer fares and many do not, and no driver will mind if you don't.
- Cash can be useful for tipping a guide where card payment is not available.
Culture and Etiquette
Kristiansand is the largest city in southern Norway and is known for its music, with a concert hall on the harbor and, next door, an art museum opened in 2024 in a converted grain silo. In summer the town beach, the parks and the fish quay fill with concerts and festivals.
- Kunstsilo, opened on 11 May 2024, occupies an award-winning 1935 grain silo by the architects Arne Korsmo and Sverre Aasland. It brings together three collections, including the businessman Nicolai Tangen's collection, with some 7,500 works in all.
- Kilden Performing Arts Centre, opened in 2012 on the neighboring site, stages concerts, theater and opera.
- Ravnedalen, a park laid out by soldiers between 1874 and 1878, holds outdoor concerts and the Ravnedalen Live festival in summer.
- On Thursdays from late June to early August there are free sing-along concerts on the main square.
- Kristiansand Cathedral, consecrated in 1885, seats about 1,000 people and has a carillon of 36 bells.
History
Kristiansand was founded by King Christian IV in 1641 as a planned Renaissance town with fortresses to guard its harbors. Fire, war and the sea have shaped it since, from a quarantine station that served all of Denmark-Norway to the fighting of April 1940.
- The town's charter was signed on 5 July 1641, and the first street plan, a grid of rectangular blocks on a sandy plain west of the Otra, was approved in 1642. The grid survives as Kvadraturen.
- When Kristiansand became a garrison town in 1666, it had about 230 houses and around 1,500 inhabitants. Christiansholm Fortress was built on an islet off the eastern harbor between 1666 and 1672.
- In 1686 King Christian V moved the Danish-Norwegian naval yard to the western harbor.
- Christiansholm fired on an enemy only once, in 1807 during the Napoleonic Wars, when British warships came for a Danish-Norwegian ship of the line in the harbor.
- From 1804 to 1914, a quarantine station on Odderøya served the shipping of Denmark, Norway and Holstein, and it had its own cholera cemetery.
- The cathedral burned in 1880, and its successor was consecrated in 1885.
- In 1892 the last great town fire destroyed about a third of the wooden houses, and the burned area was rebuilt in brick. Posebyen is what survived of the old wooden town.
- On 9 April 1940, German forces invaded, and traces of the fighting can still be seen on Odderøya, some marked with information signs.
- To learn more ashore, visit Kristiansand Museum, an open-air museum at Vigeveien 22B with about 40 historic buildings and a 1:10 model of Kvadraturen as it looked in the 1890s.
Traveling with Family
Kristiansand has long been a favorite summer holiday spot for Norwegians, and the town beach, the island of Odderøya and the zoo all suit children. Plan the zoo as a half day or more, because it is outside the city.
- Younger children: Bystranda, the town beach, has shallow water, fine sand, a playground and toilets, and the Aquarama indoor pool with water slides is right next to it.
- School age: Kristiansand Zoo and Amusement Park has about 650 animals of 127 species, Cardamom Town, built from Thorbjørn Egner's children's books, and summer shows starring the pirate Captain Sabretooth.
- Teenagers: Odderøya has walking trails, abandoned cannons from several centuries and views over the archipelago, and the climb to Drageknatten in Baneheia gives a view over the city and the harbor.
- On the water: The summer boats from Pier 6 to the islands of the archipelago make a short sea trip.
- Rainy days: Kunstsilo, with its wooden spiral staircase inside the old silo, and the Odderøya museum harbor are both on Odderøya, about six minutes' walk from Markens gate.
What to Buy
Markens gate, mostly pedestrian, is Kristiansand's main shopping street, with indoor centers opening off it. For something handmade, there is a glass and jewelry workshop in the center.
- Most of the shops on Markens gate are chain stores, with a few independent ones, and the indoor centers Sandens, Lillemarkens and Slottet start from the street.
- Knapstad Kunsthåndverk, at Rådhusgata 3, is a workshop and shop for a glass blower and a jeweler.
- On Saturdays in summer, Posebyen holds a second-hand market.
- Sørlandssenteret, a large shopping center east of the city, is near the zoo and amusement park.
Beaches
Kristiansand's own town beach, Bystranda, is on the seafront promenade in the center, and there are more places to swim on Odderøya. Hamresanden, a sandy beach about 3 km long, is about 9 km east of town.
- Bystranda is a shallow beach of imported fine sand with swimming steps, a sand volleyball court, a skate ramp, a playground and toilets. It was designed to be usable by children and people with disabilities.
- Odderøya has several small beaches and rocks for swimming and fishing, and good picnic spots.
- Hamresanden can be crowded on warm summer days.
- The tidal range in the harbor is normally only about 10 cm either way.
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