Kristiansund

The 87-square-kilometre (34 sq mi) municipality is the 333rd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Kristiansund is the 53rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 24,159. The municipality's population density is 280.4 inhabitants per square kilometre (726/sq mi) and its population has increased by 0.1% over the previous 10-year period.[5]^[6]

General information

The

Toponymy

The municipality is named after the

Before the introduction of postal codes in Norway in 1968, it was easy to confuse the name Kristiansund with Kristiansand in the south. It was therefore obligatory to always add an N (for north) to Kristiansund (Kristiansund N) and an S (for south) to Kristiansand (Kristiansand S). This is pretty much still practiced and also occurs in some other contexts than postal addresses.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 27 June 1742. The arms were granted by King Christian VI and are described as a silver or white river flowing from a cliff, with salmon jumping upwards on a blue background. The waterfall may possibly be the Lille Fosen waterfall near the town.^[8][9]

There are two myths as to why the arms show a waterfall. The first one is because the old name of the town (Fosen) was misinterpreted as Fossund (as a compound of foss which means waterfall and sund which means strait).^[9]

The other myth concerning the coat of arms is that there was a mix up, between Kristiansund's and Molde's intended shield. The Dano-Norwegian government officials in charge of the giving of the coats, had a party to remember the momentous occasion and became too drunk and hungover to remember which was which, and so Molde got the coat with a whale (which are scarce in between the Romsdal fjords) and Kristiansund got the waterfall (since Molde is on the mainland and Kristiansund lies in the open sea, it would be more likely that the waterfall was intended for Molde's mountains and the whales for Kristiansund.)

Churches

The

Kristiansund is built on four main islands, with many smaller islands. The island of

The island of Grip was an important fishing community during the Middle Ages, and was considered to be the most important municipality in the region at the time. The natural harbour in Lille-fosen, close to where Kristiansund is located today was also frequently used for fishing purposes.

17th to 18th century

During the 17th century, a small settlement developed around the area we know today as Kristiansund harbour. As more and more settlers arrived, the area became an important trading port for fishing and the lumber transportation along the coast. The Dano-Norwegian government established a customs station here, which was controlled by the main trading port in

Dutch sailors brought the knowledge of

The town of Christianssund was established as the municipality of Christianssund on 1 January 1838 (see

Media

The local newspaper of Kristiansund is Tidens Krav, which also functions as a semi-regional newspaper for the other municipalities located nearby the city. Other online newspapers for the city exists, such as KSU.no. A local radio station, also named KSU 24/7, was founded in 2016.

Climate

Kristiansund has a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb) with cool-to-warm summers and mild winters. The city structure with the unique natural harbour of the city combined with Atlantic air from the southwest and the Gulf Stream gives Kristiansund a much warmer climate than its latitude would indicate. The all-time high 32 °C (90 °F) was set 28 July 2018. The warmest month on record at Kristiansund Airport was July 2014 with mean 17.1 °C (62.8 °F) and average daily high 21.9 °C (71.4 °F). The all-time low −14.3 °C (6.3 °F) was recorded 23 February 2010. The coldest month on record at Kristiansund Airport was December 2010 with mean −2.7 °C (27.1 °F) and average daily low −4.9 °C (23.2 °F). The coldest month recorded at earlier weather stations in Kristiansund was February 1947 with mean −3.6 °C (25.5 °F) (recordings since 1871).

Government

Kristiansund Municipality is responsible for

The mayors (Norwegian: ordfører) of Kristiansund:^[39]

Twin towns

Kirstiansund has

• Kokkola, Finland
• Härnösand, Sweden
• Fredericia, Denmark

Together the three cities hold a tournament called Nordiske Dager ("Nordic Days").

Parks and gardens

Though fairly small in size, the city of Kristiansund contains many green parks and gardens, frequently used by the city's inhabitants. There are two larger parks near the city centre. The first one is located near Langveien, and was constructed in the aftermath of World War II . The second one is located in Vanndamman. This area used to be part of the city water supply, due to the large amount of small lakes in the area. (hence the name "Vanndamman" (The Water ponds)) The two parks are partly linked together, but the Langveien-park serve more as an urban recreation area due to the short walking distance from the city centre, while the Vanndamman-park is more suitable for outings and jogging.

Transport

Started in 1876 and still going strong is the

to Innlandet, then goes on to Nordlandet, to Gomalandet, and back to Kirkelandet, repeating the round trip in half-hour intervals morning to evening on weekdays. The Sundbåt bears the distinction of being the world's oldest motorized regular public transport system in continuous service.

The road to Kristiansund from the mainland,

Sørsund Bridge, leads from Kirkelandet to Innlandet. E39 leads southwest to the town of Molde and northeast via the European route E6 to Trøndelag and the city of Trondheim

.

There used to be a

Atlanterhavsvegen to Molde. The ferry was replaced by the 5.7-kilometre (3.5 mi) long underwater Atlantic Ocean Tunnel

in December 2009. Because both tunnels are forbidden for bicyclists, Kristiansund cannot easily be reached by bicycle.

A second car ferry goes from Seivika on

Aure Municipality

on the mainland.

Besides roads and car ferries and Kristiansund Airport, Kvernberget, connections to/from Kristiansund consist of the traditional coastal express Hurtigruten connecting coastal towns from Bergen in the south to Kirkenes in the north, and the high speed catamaran passenger service Kystekspressen to Trondheim. Another option to get to Kristiansund is to fly with Scandinavian Airlines from several other Norwegian cities.

Commerce and industry

Kristiansund is known as the major bacalhau city of Norway.

Statoil have offices in Kristiansund from where they serve their offshore installations at Haltenbanken

(one of the northernmost underwater oil fields in the world).

Due to the city's heavy involvement in

consulates in Kristiansund, mainly to Latin countries. Currently, there are only five left: Britain, Finland, Latvia, the Netherlands, and Portugal

.

Culture and sports

Kristiansund is an important cultural centre in the region of Nordmøre. The city is probably best known for housing one of Norway's oldest operas, which was established in 1928 by Edvard Bræin. There is an annual opera festival held every February in Kristiansund named The Opera Weeks (Operafestukene). In addition to this, Kristiansund is also host city of Northern Europes largest photo festival, Nordic Light. Even though this is a rather "young" festival, (Est. 2006) it has grown to become one of the most important of its kind in Europe, attracting famous photographers from all around the world, like Don McCullin, Jock Sturges and William Klein.^[41] Other smaller festivals held in Kristiansund include The Tahiti Festival and Kristiansund Church, Art and Culture Festival (shortened to the KKKK-festival in Norwegian).

Kristiansund's main

Clausenengen, which together with support from local businesses helped in creating a united elite club commitment.^[42] The club started at the 4th level (tredje divisjon) of the Norwegian football league system, and qualified for the 2017 season to play at the top level (Eliteserien

). The team finished 7th in its first season at the top level, beating all expectation, and has since climbed upwards; Finishing 5th at the top level in 2020.

Other popular sports in Kristiansund include

Handball

.

Tourist attractions

• The archipelago of
  Grip Municipality, the smallest municipality of Norway. Today it is a deserted fishing village, but is a popular tourist attraction for the special architecture and unique location. Norway's smallest stave church
  , which was constructed in the end of the 15th century is also located at Grip.
• Sundbåtene in Kristiansund claims to be the world's oldest public transport system, founded in 1876. The small "Sundbåt" passenger ferries crosses between the four "lands" of the city.
• The old city structure in Vågen is a center for the historical fishing settlement in Kristiansund. Mellemværftet is also located here, which is an old shipbuilding facility for sailing ships. The Norwegian Clipfish Museum is also located here.
• Innlandet is an old city part of Kristiansund with very special and unique coastal architecture. Innlandet is the part of Kristiansund that was least damaged during the bombings of Kristiansund during World War II .
• Nordic Light is an annual festival of photography arranged for the first time in 2006, and is currently the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The festival is represented by Morten Krogvold.
• Festiviteten (Kristiansund Opera) is the oldest opera house in Norway. It is built in Art Nouveau-style, and was completed in 1914. It is one of the few older buildings in the city centre of Kristiansund that survived the bombing of the city during World War II .
• Tahitifestivalen is an annual music festival that is arranged in Kristiansund. The festival is arranged by Frode Alnæs and the cafè Dødeladen on Innlandet. The festival was first introduced for the first time in 2000. There has been artist like Dance with a Stranger, Madcon, Hellbillies, Madrugada, Bigbang and many more.
• Varden is an old lookout tower located 78 meters above sea level. At the top you get magnificent views to the shipping lane with the fishing village Grip on the horizon. The panorama goes 360 degrees with the Nordmøre mountains as a powerful backdrop. Open every day with free access where you can view the mountains and fjords of Nordmøre.

Notable people

Main category: People from Kristiansund

The following people are from, or have their roots in, Kristiansund.

The Arts

• Edvard Bræin (1887-1957), an organist, composer, and orchestra conductor
• Arnulf Øverland (1889–1968), a poet, wrote to inspire the Norwegian resistance movement
• Tordis Maurstad (1901–1997), a Norwegian stage actress^[43]
• Ragnar Vold (1906–1967), a journalist, non-fiction writer, and novelist
• Vera Zorina (1917–2003), a ballerina, theatre, and film actress who was brought up in Kristiansund^[44]
• Edvard Fliflet Bræin (1924–1976), a Norwegian composer and orchestra conductor
• Karsten Alnæs (born 1938), a fiction and popular history writer (parents were from Kristiansund)
• Ingar Knudtsen (born 1944), a fantasy & science fiction author who lives in Kristiansund
• Petter Schramm (1946-2014), a Norwegian poet who grew up in Kristiansund
• Øivind Elgenes (born 1958), a Norwegian vocalist, guitarist, and composer
• Frode Alnæs (born 1959), a singer and jazz guitarist who features with Dance with a Stranger
• Helge Tømmervåg (1961-2023), an electronic musician, stage name Mind over MIDI
• Dagfinn Koch (born 1964), a musician who writes chamber music and for orchestra, opera and ballet
• Jan Erik Mikalsen (born 1979), a Norwegian composer of contemporary classical music
• 120 Days (2001–2012), a rock band, formerly known as "The Beautiful People"

Public Service & business

• Wilhelm Frimann Koren Christie (1778–1849), a representative at the Norwegian Constituent Assembly
• John Moses (1781–1849), a merchant, politician, and representative at the Norwegian Constituent Assembly
• Norwegian Constitutional Assembly
• Peter Christian Knudtzon (1789-1864), a Danish businessman and ship-owner
• Nicolai Hanson (1870–1899), a Norwegian zoologist and Antarctic explorer
• Wollert Krohn-Hansen (1889—1973), a pastor and Bishop of Sør-Hålogaland from 1952-1959
• Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation
  from 1949 to 1962
• Niels Werring (1897–1990), a Norwegian ship-owner of Wilh. Wilhelmsen Holding ASA
• Chief of Defence
  from 1999 to 2005

Sport

• Ansgar Løvold (1888–1961), a wrestler, butcher, and philanthropist
• Arne Gaupset (1894–1976), a sport wrestler who competed at the 1924 Summer Olympics
• Robert Gaupset (1906–1964), a wrestler who competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics
• Ivar Stokke (1911–1993), a sport wrestler who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics
• Babe Didrikson Zaharias (1914–1956), a U.S. golfer, athlete, and two-time Olympic gold medalist (her father Ole came from Kristiansund)
• Anders Giske (born 1959), a footballer with 288 club caps and 38 for Norway
• Gøran Sørloth (born 1962), a former footballer with 250 club caps and 55 for Norway
• Gudrun Høie (born 1970), an amateur sport wrestler and four-time world champion
• Anne Holten (born 1972), a Norwegian sport wrestler and twice world champion
• Øyvind Leonhardsen (born 1970), a footballer with 402 club caps and 86 for Norway
• Petter Rudi (born 1973), a retired footballer with 350 club caps and 46 for Norway
• Ole Gunnar Solskjær (born 1973), a footballer with 386 club caps and 67 for Norway
• Trond Andersen (born 1975), a former footballer with 334 club caps and 38 for Norway
• Jonny Hansen (born 1981), a footballer
• Aurora Mikalsen (born 1996), a footballer for Norway women's national football team

References

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39. ^ Lund, Aslaug Husby; Wist, Hedvig (1992). En by å bli glad i. Byhistorie og dikt (in Norwegian). Kristiansund kommune. p. 36.
40. Baccalà and Bacalhau
    ), is known locally as klippfisk ("Cliff Fish", eng. clipfish), the name coming from the rounded, barren cliffs on which the fish were traditionally left to dry in the open air after being opened, gutted, flattened, salted, and pressed.
41. ^ "Nordic Light Fotohus". Nle.no. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
42. ^ "The Club".
43. IMDb
    . Retrieved 30 March 2021.
44. IMDb
    . Retrieved 29 March 2021.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kristiansund.

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Christiansund".

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Kristiansund.

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway (in Norwegian)
• Some Photographs of a tour to Kristiansund in August 1986
• "Christiansund" .
  The American Cyclopædia
  . 1879.