Sights in Kristiansand
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Kristiansand Dyrepark
Kristiansand Dyrepark, is the former Kristiansand Zoo off the E18 10km east of Kristiansand, has gradually expanded into what is probably the favourite holiday destination for children in Norway.
The funfair portion includes rides, pirate ship cruises, Captain Sabretooth's Treasure Trove and enchanted houses, while the zoo portion offers a surprising variety of specimens, including the near-extinct golden lion tamarin and a new African lion enclosure. If you want to enjoy the water park, be sure to bring a swimming costume.
The real highlights, however, are the Northern Wilderness (Nordisk Vilmark), where visitors are transported over the habitat of moose, wolves, lynx an…
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B
Christiansholm Fortress
The most prominent feature that sits along the Strandepromenaden is the distinctive Christiansholm Fortress. Built by royal decree between 1662 and 1672 to keep watch over the strategic Skagerrak Straits and protect the city from pirates and rambunctious Swedes, the construction featured walls up to 5m thick and an armoury buried within a concentric inner wall, all of which came at a price: 1550 local citizens were taxed to fund the project and coerced into labour. It was connected to the mainland by a bridge over a moat (filled in during the 19th century) deep enough to accommodate tall ships. The fortress served its purpose – it was never taken by enemy forces. The orig…
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C
Posebyen
The Kristiansand Posebyen takes in most of the 14 blocks at the northern end of the town's characteristic kvadraturen. It's worth taking a slow stroll around this pretty quarter, whose name was given by French soldiers who came to reposer (French for relax). A scale model (with buildings around 1m high) of the city as it appeared when designed by Christian IV is on view at Vest-Agder Folk Museum.
The annual Kristiansand guide, published by the tourist office, includes a good section 'A Stroll through Posebyen' to guide your wandering. The most well-preserved buildings include Bentsens Hus (Kronprinsengs gate 59), which dates to 1855, the former post office (Kronprinsengs …
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Kristiansand Cannon Museum
The Kristiansand Cannon Museum, 8km south of town, preserves the Germans’ heavy Vara Battery, which, along with an emplacement at Hanstholm in Denmark, ensured German control of the strategic Skagerrak Straits during WWII. At each end, four 337-tonne, 38cm cannons, reportedly the second-heaviest guns in the world and with a range of 55km controlled traffic along either end of the strait, while the unprotected middle zone was heavily mined. In the autumn of 1941, over 1400 workers and 600 soldiers occupied this site. Visitors to the museum can see the big guns as well as bunkers, barracks and munitions storage (including some daunting 800kg shells).
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Gimle Estate
The winding paths through the established 50-hectare park at Gimle Estate lead through a botanic garden that also contains rocks, minerals and stuffed animals. The estate house has 19th-century period interiors and extraordinary teeth-like columns at the front, and there’s also a historic rose garden dating from 1850. It’s just over 1km from the centre, across the Oddernes bridge.
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Vest-Agder Folk Museum
Located 4km east of town on the E18, the open-air Vest-Agder Folk Museum houses a collection of 40 farmsteads and hamlets from the Setesdalen region and Kristiansand itself. It also includes displays of traditional costumes, art and children’s toys. Folk dancing performances are sometimes held in summer at 5pm on Wednesdays. There’s also a scale model of Kristiansand Old Town.
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Ravnedalen Park
Ravnedalen Park, offers greenery and a network of lakeside hiking and skiing tracks for those keen to escape the city for a while. The park was created between 1870 and 1880 by Kristiansand's city chairman, General Oscar Wergeland. Over a 30-year period, he oversaw the planting of 150,000 coniferous trees and transformed the area into a recreational green belt.
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E
Baneheia Park
Baneheia Park, offers greenery and a network of lakeside hiking and skiing tracks for those keen to escape the city for a while. The park was created between 1870 and 1880 by Kristiansand's city chairman, General Oscar Wergeland. Over a 30-year period, he oversaw the planting of 150,000 coniferous trees and transformed the area into a recreational green belt.
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Kristiansand Cathedral
Built in 1884 in late gothic style, the Kristiansand Cathedral, with seating for 1800 people, is Norway’s third-largest church. Guided tours (adult/child Nkr20/10) of the cathedral, including the tower, run at 11am and 2pm Monday to Saturday in summer, and there are organ recitals at 1pm Tuesday to Saturday during the same period.
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