Kristiansund (town)
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Kristiansund (, ; historically spelled Christianssund and earlier named Fosna) is a
town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...
in
Kristiansund Municipality Kristiansund (, ; historically spelled Christianssund and earlier named Fosna) is a municipality on the western coast of Norway in the Nordmøre district of Møre og Romsdal county. The administrative center of the municipality is the town of ...
in
Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; en, Møre and Romsdal) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is the ...
county,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
. The town is the
administrative centre An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...
of the municipality. it is located on the islands of
Kirkelandet Kirkelandet is an island in Kristiansund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The island is split in two by the ''Vågen'' inlet, with the western half called ''Kirkelandet'' and the eastern half called ''Gomalandet''. The name of t ...
,
Innlandet Innlandet is a county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (the municipalities of Jevnaker and Lunner were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken on the same date). The ...
, and
Nordlandet Nordlandet is an island in Kristiansund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The island is located just east of the city center of Kristiansund, and is one of the boroughs of the city. The island is home to Kristiansund Airport, Kv ...
in the
Nordmøre Nordmøre (English: North- Møre) is a traditional district in the Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. The area comprises the northern third of the county including the municipalities of Kristiansund, Averøy, Tingvoll, Surnadal, Aure, Halsa, ...
region of the county. The town has a population (2018) of 18,292 and a
population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
of . Kristiansund is one of the most densely populated cities of Norway, having what is arguably the country's most urban small city centre, due to the relatively small size of the islands on which it is built and the very constricted central harbour/town area of
Kirkelandet Kirkelandet is an island in Kristiansund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The island is split in two by the ''Vågen'' inlet, with the western half called ''Kirkelandet'' and the eastern half called ''Gomalandet''. The name of t ...
.


Etymology

The town, formerly spelled ''Christianssund'', was named after the Danish-Norwegian King
Christian VI Christian VI (30 November 1699 – 6 August 1746) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1730 to 1746. The eldest surviving son of Frederick IV and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, he is considered one of Denmark-Norway's more anonymous kings, bu ...
in 1742. The last element of the name, ''sund'', means "
strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...
". The old name of the town/village (originally the island
Kirkelandet Kirkelandet is an island in Kristiansund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The island is split in two by the ''Vågen'' inlet, with the western half called ''Kirkelandet'' and the eastern half called ''Gomalandet''. The name of t ...
) was ''Fosna'' or ''Fosen'' ( non, fólgsn) which means "hiding place" (here 'hidden port'). It was also often named ''Lille Fosen'' ("the small Fosen") to distinguish it from the island ''
Storfosna Storfosna is a populated island in the municipality of Ørland in Trøndelag county, Norway. The island is located between the islands of Kråkvåg and Garten north of the mouth of the Trondheimsfjorden. The traditional district of Fosen is nam ...
'' ("the big Fosen") in
Ørland Ørland is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Fosen region. Ørland is located at the southwestern tip of the Fosen peninsula at the northern shore of the mouth of Trondheimsfjord where the Stjørnfjorden arm begins. ...
to the north. Before 1877, the name was written ''Christianssund'', from 1877 to 1888 it was spelled ''Kristianssund'', and since 1889 it has had its present spelling, ''Kristiansund''. Before the introduction of
postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...
s in Norway in 1968, it was easy to confuse the name ''Kristiansund'' with
Kristiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporation ...
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 A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
was granted on 27 June 1742. The arms were granted by King
Christian VI Christian VI (30 November 1699 – 6 August 1746) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1730 to 1746. The eldest surviving son of Frederick IV and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, he is considered one of Denmark-Norway's more anonymous kings, bu ...
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 A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...
near the town. 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 A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...
). The other myth concerning the coat of arms is that there was a mix up, between Kristiansund's and
Molde Molde () is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord. The administrative centre of the m ...
'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 Romsdal is a traditional district in the Norwegian county Møre og Romsdal, located between Nordmøre and Sunnmøre. The district of Romsdal comprises Aukra, Fræna, Midsund, Molde, Nesset, Rauma, Sandøy, and Vestnes. It is named after the val ...
fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...
s) 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 Molde () is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord. The administrative centre of the m ...
's mountains and the whales for Kristiansund.)


History


8000 BC–1066

Many scientists believe that the very first
Norwegians Norwegians ( no, nordmenn) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nation native to Norway, where they form the vast majority of the population. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegians are descended from the N ...
lived near the area of the present-day town of Kristiansund. At the end of the last Ice age some areas at the western coast of Norway were ice-free. There was also a lot of food in the sea around Kristiansund at that time, and it is believed that the first settlement arrived in Kristiansund around year 8000 BC. During the Viking ages there were many important battles around Kristiansund. The most famous one was the
Battle of Rastarkalv The Battle of Rastarkalv ( no, Slaget på Rastarkalv) took place in 955 on the southern part of the island of Frei in the present-day Kristiansund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. This was one of several battles between the force ...
on the island of
Frei Frei is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2008 when it was incorporated into Kristiansund Municipality. It was located between the Kvernesfjorden and Freifjo ...
, where the Norwegian King
Håkon the Good Haakon Haraldsson (c. 920–961), also Haakon the Good (Old Norse: ''Hákon góði'', Norwegian: ''Håkon den gode'') and Haakon Adalsteinfostre (Old Norse: ''Hákon Aðalsteinsfóstri'', Norwegian: ''Håkon Adalsteinsfostre''), was the king of ...
fought against the ''Eirikssønnene'' group. There is now a memorial monument located near Rastakalv (at
Nedre Frei Nedre Frei is a village in Kristiansund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal County, Norway. The village is located along the Freifjorden on the southern part of the island of Frei. The village sits about south of the village of Rensvik and abo ...
), where the battle was fought.


Middle ages

The nearby island of Grip was an important fishing community during the Middle Ages, and was considered to be the most important area 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
Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
. In 1631, the port was declared to be a ladested. Dutch sailors brought the knowledge of
clipfish Dried and salted cod, sometimes referred to as salt cod or saltfish or salt dolly, is cod which has been preserved by drying after salting. Cod which has been dried without the addition of salt is stockfish. Salt cod was long a major export o ...
production to Kristiansund at the end of the 17th century, and for a number of years the town was the largest exporter of clipfish in Norway, exporting goods mainly to the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
countries as Spain and Portugal. The city's clipfish production was also part of the reason why it was given town status as a
kjøpstad A (historically: ''kjøbstad'', ''kjöbstad'', or ''kaupstad'') is an old Scandinavian term for a "market town" that was used in the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway for several hundred years. The name comes from the on, kaupstaðr. Kjøpstads were ...
in 1742.


19th century to present

The town of ''Christianssund'' was established as Christianssund Municipality on 1 January 1838 (see
formannskapsdistrikt () is the name for Norwegian local self-government districts that were legally enacted on 1 January 1838. This system of municipalities was created in a bill approved by the Parliament of Norway and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January ...
law). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the
Schei Committee The Schei Committee ( no, Schei-komitéen) was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II. It convened in 1946, and its formal name was (The 1946 Committee on Municip ...
. On 1 January 1964, Kristiansund Municipality was merged with the tiny
Grip Municipality Grip () is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. With a land area of only and a population of 104, Grip was the smallest municipality in Norway during its existence from 1897 until it merged with Kristiansund in 1964. Grip m ...
(population: 104) to the northwest and the ''Dale'' area of
Bremsnes Municipality Bremsnes is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1897 until its dissolution in 1964. Bremsnes municipality surrounded the Bremsnesfjorden and it included parts of the islands of Averøya, Frei ...
on
Nordlandet Nordlandet is an island in Kristiansund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The island is located just east of the city center of Kristiansund, and is one of the boroughs of the city. The island is home to Kristiansund Airport, Kv ...
island (population: 963). The neighboring
Frei Municipality Frei is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2008 when it was incorporated into Kristiansund Municipality. It was located between the Kvernesfjorden and Freifj ...
was merged with Kristiansund on 1 January 2008 creating a much larger Kristiansund Municipality.


Media

There are two local TV stations in Kristiansund. The larger one is TVNordvest, (TV North-West) which broadcasts local news from the area around Kristiansund on a daily basis, as well as some other TV shows. The second one is TV Kristiansund, which is more of a culture channel, broadcasting cultural news from Kristiansund, like shows from the city Opera. The local newspaper of Kristiansund is
Tidens Krav ''Tidens Krav'' (''TK'') English: ''The Time's Demands'' is a local newspaper published in Kristiansund, Norway. It was founded in 1906, is published Tuesday through Saturday, and reports news from Nordmøre. The newspaper owned the local televis ...
, which also functions as a local newspaper for the other municipalities located nearby the city.


Climate

Kristiansund has a
maritime Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Princ ...
,
temperate climate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
with cool-to-warm summers and relatively short and mild winters. The landscape with its unique natural harbour combined with warm wind from the southwest of the Atlantic Ocean and the
Gulf Stream The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension the North Atlantic Current, North Atlantic Drift, is a warm and swift Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida a ...
gives Kristiansund a much warmer climate than its
latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...
would indicate.


Parks and gardens

Though fairly small in size, the town of Kristiansund contains many green parks and gardens, frequently used by the local 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. 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 serves 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 Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase physical fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running but more than walking, or to maintain a steady speed for longer periods ...
.


Transport

Started in 1876 and still going strong is the '' Sundbåt'' ("Sound Boat"/"Strait Crossing Boat") shuttle service with a capacity of a few tens of passengers, traveling between the islands that make up the town. The small motor ferry crosses the harbour from
Kirkelandet Kirkelandet is an island in Kristiansund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The island is split in two by the ''Vågen'' inlet, with the western half called ''Kirkelandet'' and the eastern half called ''Gomalandet''. The name of t ...
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,
Norwegian National Road 70 National Road 70 ( no, Riksvei 70) is a long national highway that runs from the town of Kristiansund in Kristiansund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county and the village of Oppdal in Oppdal Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The ro ...
(Rv70) is connected to
European route E39 European route E39 is the designation of a north–south road in Norway and Denmark from Klett, just south of Trondheim, to Aalborg via Bergen, Stavanger and Kristiansand. In total, there are nine ferries, more than any other single road in Eu ...
by the bridge/tunnel system called
Krifast The Kristiansund Mainland Connection ( or abbreviated ''Krifast'') is a road system consisting of the European route E39 highway and Norwegian National Road 70 that connects Kristiansund Municipality to the neighboring islands of Frei, Bergsø ...
. After passing through the underwater
Freifjord Tunnel The Freifjord Tunnel ( no, Freifjordtunnelen) is a long undersea tunnel under the Freifjorden in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The tunnel is part of the Norwegian National Road 70. The tunnel begins on the island of Frei in Kristiansund Mun ...
from the central part of Krifast, National Road 70 crosses
Frei Frei is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2008 when it was incorporated into Kristiansund Municipality. It was located between the Kvernesfjorden and Freifjo ...
, and enters Kristiansund over the
Omsund Bridge The Omsund Bridge ( no, Omsundbrua) is a bridge that crosses the strait Omsundet between the islands of Frei and Nordlandet in Kristiansund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The link is actually made up of two bridges: The main brid ...
onto Nordlandet. The Nordsund Bridge brings the Rv70 to Gomalandet and its terminus in downtown at
Kirkelandet Kirkelandet is an island in Kristiansund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The island is split in two by the ''Vågen'' inlet, with the western half called ''Kirkelandet'' and the eastern half called ''Gomalandet''. The name of t ...
. Another high bridge, the Sørsund Bridge, leads from Kirkelandet to
Innlandet Innlandet is a county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (the municipalities of Jevnaker and Lunner were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken on the same date). The ...
. E39 leads southwest to the town of
Molde Molde () is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord. The administrative centre of the m ...
and northeast via the
European route E6 European route E6 ( no, Europavei 6, sv, Europaväg 6, or simply E6) is the main north-south thoroughfare through Norway as well as the west coast of Sweden. It is long and runs from the southern tip of Sweden at Trelleborg, into Norway and t ...
to
Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denmar ...
and the city of
Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
. There used to be a car ferry going from
Kirkelandet Kirkelandet is an island in Kristiansund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The island is split in two by the ''Vågen'' inlet, with the western half called ''Kirkelandet'' and the eastern half called ''Gomalandet''. The name of t ...
island to neighboring
Averøy Municipality Averøy is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the region of Nordmøre. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bruhagen. Other villages in the municipality include Bremsnes, Kornstad, Kver ...
to the west, whose people have been commuting to town for many years for work as well as selling agricultural products. The ferry to Averøy connected Kristiansund to Norwegian National Road 64, which continued along the scenic
Atlantic Ocean Road The Atlantic Ocean Road or the Atlantic Road ( no, Atlanterhavsvegen / Atlanterhavsveien) is an long section of County Road 64 that runs through an archipelago in Hustadvika and Averøy municipalities in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It pa ...
to Molde. The ferry was replaced by the long underwater
Atlantic Ocean Tunnel The Atlantic Ocean Tunnel ( no, links=no, Atlanterhavstunnelen) is an undersea tunnel that is part of Norwegian County Road 64 which connects Kristiansund Municipality to Averøy Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The eastern end ...
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
Nordlandet Nordlandet is an island in Kristiansund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The island is located just east of the city center of Kristiansund, and is one of the boroughs of the city. The island is home to Kristiansund Airport, Kv ...
to the nearby island of Tustna in the northeast as part of County Road 680, with further road and ferry connections to the islands of
Smøla Smøla is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Nordmøre region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hopen, other villages include Dyrnes, Råket, and Veiholmen. The municipality i ...
and
Hitra Hitra is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality covers the island of Hitra and hundreds smaller islands, islets, and skerries. It is part of the Fosen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village ...
, and to
Aure Municipality Aure is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the region of Nordmøre. The administrative centre is the village of Aure. Other villages in Aure include Gullstein, Stemshaug, Todalen, Tjeldbergodden, Arasvika, and ...
on the mainland. Besides roads and car ferries and
Kristiansund Airport, Kvernberget Kristiansund Airport ( no, Kristiansund lufthavn; ) is an international airport serving Kristiansund, Norway. It is situated at Kvernberget on the island of Nordlandet and is the sole scheduled airport serving Nordmøre. The airport features a ...
, connections to/from Kristiansund consist of the traditional coastal express
Hurtigruten ''Hurtigruten'' (), formally Kystruten Bergen-Kirkenes ("coastal route Bergen- Kirkenes"), is a Norwegian public coastal route transporting passengers that travel locally, regionally and between the ports of call, and also cargo between ports no ...
boats which connect the coastal towns from
Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...
in the south to
Kirkenes Kirkenes (; ; Skolt Sami: ''Ǩeârkknjargg;'' fi, Kirkkoniemi; ; russian: Киркенес) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, in the far northeastern part of Norway. The town ...
in the north, as well as the high speed
catamaran A Formula 16 beachable catamaran Powered catamaran passenger ferry at Salem, Massachusetts, United States A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a multi-hulled watercraft featuring two parallel hulls of equal size. It is a geometry-stab ...
passenger service
Kystekspressen Partsrederiet Kystekspressen ANS branded as Kystekspressen or ''the Coast Express'' is a shipping company that operates passenger ferry services between Trondheim and Kristiansund, Norway. Three ships are used on the route, that includes the branc ...
to Trondheim. Another option to get to Kristiansund is to fly with
Scandinavian Airlines Scandinavian Airlines, more commonly known and styled as SAS, is the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. ''SAS'' is an abbreviation of the company's full name, Scandinavian Airlines System or legally Scandinavian Airlines System Denmark ...
from several other Norwegian cities.


Commerce and industry

Kristiansund is known as the major ''bacalhau'' city of Norway.
Bacalhau () is the Portuguese word for cod and—in a culinary context—dried and salted cod. Fresh (unsalted) cod is referred to as (fresh cod). Portuguese and other cuisines dishes are common in Portugal, and also in former Portuguese colonies ...
is made of salted, dried codfish, Salted, dried cod, used in bacalao (see
Baccalà Dried and salted cod, sometimes referred to as salt cod or saltfish or salt dolly, is cod which has been preserved by drying after salting. Cod which has been dried without the addition of salt is stockfish. Salt cod was long a major export o ...
and
Bacalhau () is the Portuguese word for cod and—in a culinary context—dried and salted cod. Fresh (unsalted) cod is referred to as (fresh cod). Portuguese and other cuisines dishes are common in Portugal, and also in former Portuguese colonies ...
), 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.
and has traditionally been exported in large amounts to Spain,
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, and Latin America as food suitable during
Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...
. In recent years Kristiansund has become the major
oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
and gas city at the mid-northwestern coast. Oil companies like
Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...
and
Statoil Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian state owned enterprise, state-owned multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger. It is primarily a petroleum company, petroleum company, operating in 36 countries with ad ...
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
fish processing The term fish processing refers to the processes associated with fish and fish products between the time fish are caught or harvested, and the time the final product is delivered to the customer. Although the term refers specifically to fish, in ...
and international shipping, there used to be as many as seven
consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth coun ...
s in Kristiansund, mainly to Latin countries. Currently, there are only five left: Britain,
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
,
Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
, the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, and
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
.


See also

*
List of towns and cities in Norway Below is a list of towns and cities in Norway. The Norwegian word for town or city is ''by''. Cities were formerly categorized as ''kjøpstad'' (market town) or '' ladested'' (small seaport), each with special rights. The special trading rights fo ...


References

{{Authority control Kristiansund Nordmøre Populated coastal places in Norway Cities and towns in Norway Port cities and towns in Norway Populated places in Møre og Romsdal 1742 establishments in Norway