Kristiansand information

(earlier Christianssand) is a city and municipality, and the capital of the county of Vest-Agder, Norway.
The city of Kristiansand was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The rural municipalities of Oddernes, Randesund and Tveit were merged with Kristiansand January 1, 1965.
Kristiansand was founded by King Christian IV in 1641. It was created as a market town to encourage growth in this area of strategic significance, providing a local economic base for construction of fortifications and population for defense of the area. The centre of Kristiansand is called Kvadraturen due to its square gridline of streets.
The zoological garden, Kristiansand Dyrepark (Kristiansand Zoo and Amusement Park) just east of the city, has a wide selection of animals in, for the most part, natural habitats. This includes animals such as wolves, tigers and the lynx. Due to the allocation of areas the combination of zoo and recreational park turns out surprisingly well.
Each year in July, Kristiansand is the site of the Quart Festival, a multi-day music festival - the largest of its kind in Norway.
Kristiansand is also home to Agder Theatre.
Kristiansand is connected to continental Europe by air and sea. The local airport, Kjevik, is located 12 km (7 miles) east of the city and has routes to European and Norwegian cities. From the town centre, the ferry harbour has routes to Hirtshals (Denmark) and Hanstholm (Denmark). There are also buses and trains that connect Kristiansand to other Norwegian cities. (...) more....

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