Kristiansand is a city and municipality in Norway, in the county of Vest-Agder.
The administrative centre of the county and the largest city of Sørlandet (Southern Norway).
Kristiansand is the fifth-largest city in Norway and the capital of Southern
Norway. In addition to the city of Kristiansand itself, the municipality includes a number of small settlements: Skolevik (on the island of Flekkery), Strai, Justvik and Tveit. It is also home to Norway’s largest zoo, which in visitor numbers ranks in the country only behind the Holmenkollen complex in Oslo. Kristiansand is an important transport hub: it is connected by rail to Oslo and Stavanger and by ferry services to the Danish cities of Hanstholm and Hirtshals.
The area of present-day Kristiansand, at the point where the Otra River flows into the Skagerrak strait, has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The current city was founded in 1641 by the Danish king Christian IV), after whom it is named. Kristiansand was built according to a regular plan, with streets laid out perpendicularly. Various privileges, in particular exemption from taxes for 10 years, were granted to all merchants of Southern Norway who moved to the new city.
Kristiansand is a popular tourist destination, surrounded by the sea on three sides, which provides excellent conditions for fishing. Here you can relax in the quiet of magnificent beaches, in the many restaurants (there are plenty of them), enjoy local salmon dishes, or buy fresh fish at the market.
White one-storey wooden houses along winding, stone-paved streets, combined with a strictly perpendicular layout of the city’s central area-similarly called Kvadraturen-and developed with modern buildings, create a special local character. This is a paradise for lovers of calm, unhurried rest.
ClimateThe climate in Kristiansand is temperate: summers are warm, winters are cool. The Gulf Stream, heating the entire Scandinavian peninsula, influences the south of Norway especially strongly. Snow usually falls here in late November and early December. But even after heavy snowfall, it does not stay for long; along the coast it melts almost immediately. Still, there are exceptions-especially in recent years, the weather has been full of surprises.
On average, February temperatures range from −5 °C to 2 °C. And this is the coldest month. Summer is rarely hot. In July, the warmest month, temperatures stay around 11–20 °C. In any season, rain is very common. For comparison, in Kristiansand precipitation over the year is one and a half times higher than in Moscow. The rainiest month is October. The most “dry” month is April.
But despite the rainfall, Kristiansand is known as a beach holiday destination in Norway.
