Southern Norway (; lit. "The Southland") is the geographical

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

(''landsdel'') along the

Skagerrak The Skagerrak (; , , ) is a strait running between the North Jutlandic Island of Denmark, the east coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea. The Skagerrak contains some of the busiest shipping ...

coast of southern

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The region is an informal description since it does not have any governmental function. It roughly corresponds to the old petty kingdom of

Agder Agder is a counties of Norway, county () and districts of Norway, traditional region in the southern part of Norway and is coextensive with the Southern Norway region. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Au ...

being coextensive with the county, as well as the two former counties of

Vest-Agder Vest-Agder (; "West Agder") was one of 18 counties (''fylker'') in Norway from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, after it was merged with Aust-Agder to form Agder county. In 2016, there were 182,701 inhabitants, around 3.5% of the total popul ...

and

Aust-Agder Aust-Agder (, ) was a county (''fylke'') in Norway from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, after it was merged with Vest-Agder to form Agder county. In 2002, there were 102,945 inhabitants, which was 2.2% of Norway's population. Its area was . ...

. From New Year 2020, the two counties have been merged into one county, Agder. The total combined area of Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder counties is . The name is relatively new, having first been used in Norway around 1900. The region includes coastal areas along the Skagerrak and extends inland to the

Setesdalsheiene Setesdalsheiene () is the collective term for the mountains to the west and east of the Setesdalen valley in Agder county in Southern Norway. The river Otra flows through the valley between the mountains. This area is primarily located in the m ...

mountains. There are many large valleys running from the mountains to the south and east to the sea. The highest point in the region is

Sæbyggjenuten Sæbyggjenuten is a mountain on the border of Agder and Telemark counties in southern Norway. The tall mountain is the highest point in Bykle municipality as well as for all of Agder county, and in the whole region of Southern Norway (Sørlandet ...

at .

Etymology

''Sørlandet'' refers to the region along the Skaggerak in southeastern Norway. This name should not be confused with the Norwegian term ''Sør-Norge'' which literally means South Norway (as opposed to

North Norway Northern Norway (, , ; ) is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the three northernmost counties Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the largest towns in Northern Norway (from south to no ...

). This region was historically called ''

'' and it was a petty kingdom centuries ago. The name ''Agder'' was known in Old Norse as "Agðir", and is assumed to be connected to the word ''ǫgd'' (sharp).

History

Southern Norway is the "youngest" of the many old regions within Norway; it was established shortly after the region of

Northern Norway Northern Norway (, , ; ) is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the three northernmost counties Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the largest towns in Northern Norway (from south to no ...

. The name ''Sørlandet'' was first used by the author Vilhelm Krag. Krag proposed that Sørlandet should have been bigger than it is today, he suggested from

Egersund Egersund is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Eigersund municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The town is located along the southwestern coast of Norway, about south of the city of Stavanger (city), Stavanger. The town is situat ...

Grenland Grenland is a traditional district in Telemark county, in the south-east of Norway. "Grenland" has referred to varying locations throughout history. In modern times, Grenland refers to the areas of the municipalities of Skien, Porsgrunn, Bamble, ...

. The present day use of Sørlandet usually refers to an area smaller than that, but there is no official border. All the way back in 1865, it was talked about "the southern Norway boats". The name and modern concept of this part of the country being considered as a separate region was introduced as late as 1902 by the local author

Vilhelm Krag Vilhelm Krag (24 December 1871 – 10 July 1933) was a Norwegian poet, writer, journalist and cultural personality. Known for coining the term Sørlandet to describe a region of Norway, he was the son of Peter Rasmus Krag and younger brother ...

. Prior to this, the area was considered part of

Western Norway Western Norway (; ) is the Regions of Norway, region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the Counties of Norway, counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrative fu ...

. Southern Norway coincides roughly with the historic petty kingdom of

, which lends its name to the two constituent counties:

and

, as well as the

University of Agder The University of Agder (), formerly known as Agder College and Agder University College, is a public university with campuses in Kristiansand and Grimstad, Norway. The institution was established as a university college (Scandinavia), univer ...

. If defined as an informal region, Southern Norway is perhaps more properly defined as the

coastal belt, thus excluding the inland valleys to the north. Occasionally, adjacent parts of the county of

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. As of 1 January 2024, it had a population of 49 ...

and

Telemark Telemark () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway. Telemark borders the counties of Vestfold, Buskerud, Vestland, Rogaland and Agder. In 2020, Telemark merged with the county of Vestfold to form the county o ...

might be considered part of this region, as well. Traditionally, the easternmost border of Agder was Rygjarbit, which was thought to be Gjernestangen in the present-day municipality of

Risør is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located on the Skagerrak coast in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative centre of Ri ...

, but it could also be the strait between Askerøya and Lyngør in

Tvedestrand is List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative center is the Tvedestrand (town), t ...

Transportation

Air

The Arendal Airport, Gullknapp is a

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

airport located outside of Arendal city. The airport was founded in 1984 with a long runway. Arendal Airport, Rådhuskaien is a former water airport in the cove of downtown Arendal, but it is now closed.

Farsund Airport, Lista Farsund Airport, Lista (, ) is an airport situated on the Lista peninsula in the municipality of Farsund in Agder county, Norway. The village of Vestbygd, Vest-Agder, Vestbygd lies on the southwest side of the airport and the small village of Ore, ...

is a former public airport located with

Lista Lista is a former municipality located in the old Vest-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1965. The administrative centre was the village of Vanse where Vanse Church is located. Lista municip ...

. It opened in 1941 and closed in 1999. The airport was located at

. Mandal Airfield is a former military owned airport that is now closed. Kristiansand Airport, Kjevik is the only public airport in Southern Norway, in 2014 there were over 1 million travelers from the airport. Kjevik Airport has destinations to charter places, European cities and some of the largest Norwegian cities. The Airport opened in 1918 and is located at Tveit, from downtown Kristiansand, Kvadraturen. The IATA code is ''KRS'' and ICAO is ''ENCN''. It is owned by Avinor. Kristiansand Airport, Kongsgårdbukta is a former water-airport located at Lund, Kristiansand, Lund from 1934 to 1939. Kristiansand Naval Air Station is also a former water-airport located at Tangen (Kristiansand), Tangen from 1919 to 1949.

Bus

All bus lines and buses in Southern Norway are owned by ''Agder Kollektivtrafikk, Agder Kollektivtrafikk (AKT)''. Nettbuss serves the Kristiansand Region with local blue buses. In Kristiansand, the city buses are in service every day from 4:00 AM until 1:00 AM, extra night buses during the weekend and direct/extra buses during the rush hours. ''Setesdal Bilruter'' serves the Setesdal, Østre Agder, and Lillesand areas. Line 100 goes connects Arendal–Grimstad–Lillesand–Kristiansand. Bus lines from Setesdal go to both Arendal and Kristiansand. Line 150 goes from Arendal to

and

. ''Sørlandsruta'' serves the coastal towns and villages in Vest-Agder county. Line 200 is the main line going from Kristiansand to Mandal, Norway, Mandal, Vigeland, Norway, Vigeland, Lyngdal (town), Lyngdal, and Farsund (town), Farsund. Some of the buses collaborate with the local buses from Lyngdal to Flekkefjord and Kvinesdal.

Roads

The European route E18 highway goes through Aust-Agder county to the east side of Kristiansand (town), Kristiansand. The E18 goes near the shore and coastal towns and ends at Kristiansand. The European route E39 highway starts at the Kristiansand ferry port where it connects to Denmark and from the ferry port it heads west through Vest-Agder county. The E39 also follows the shore and coastal towns all the way to Stavanger and beyond in Western Norway. Norwegian National Road 9 starts in Kristiansand and up to Evje and through Setesdal. Norwegian National Road 41 starts in Tveit in Kristiansand, and goes past the Airport, it continues to Birkenes and Åmli in Aust-Agder and continues to

county. Norwegian County Road 43 goes from Farsund and Lista to Lyngdal and Eiken in Hægebostad.

Sea

From the Kristiansand harbour, there are ferries from Kristiansand to Hirtshals in Denmark three times daily. In Arendal, there are local ferries to the island of Tromøya.

Train

Trains from Oslo to Stavanger go through the entire Southern Norway region. There are trains from Oslo Central Station to Kristiansand Station and from Stavanger Station to Kristiansand Station. From Nelaug Station there is a local train going to Arendal Station, since the main railroad runs inland and not along the coast at Arendal.

Economy

Key industries in Southern Norway are forestry, agriculture, and tourism. Tourism is very important in the summer due to the mild climate as well as the winter with its good skiing conditions. There are popular ski resorts like Hovden, Aust-Agder, Hovden in the Setesdal valley as well as Bortelid in Åseral municipality. The farms in this region are generally small due to the topography. Dairy farming is the largest agricultural use, predominantly in Vest-Agder. The interior areas of the region tend to have more sheep farming than dairy. The most productive forests are in the interior of the region as well. The fishing industry is not very large in this region, but it does exist. Hydroelectric power generation is also a larger part of the economy in this region with many power stations on most of the larger river systems throughout the region.

List of municipalities

About 80% of the population of the two counties live along the coast, which has the warmest climate in Norway as well as offering quick access to the rich fishing grounds and maritime routes of the Skagerrak. In Southern Norway there are also a number of less populated inland municipalities. The list of the municipalities in Southern Norway are:

Image gallery

Kirkehavn Hidra.jpg, Kirkehavn on Hidra (island), Hidra, Vest-Agder, Norway LindesnesLighthouse.jpg, Lindesnes Lighthouse, Lighthouse on Cape Lindesnes Arendal03.jpg, Arendal 072907 0625.JPG, Risør Lillesand Brekkestø 1.jpg, Brekkestø Przystan ks ubt.jpeg, Kristiansand harbor