Southern Norway ( no, Sørlandet; lit. "The Southland") is the geographical

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

(''landsdel'') along the Skagerrak coast of southern

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, 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 ...

. 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 county (''fylke'') and traditional region in the southern part of Norway. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder counties were merged. Since the early 1900s, the term Sørlandet ("south ...

as well as the two former counties of

Vest-Agder Vest-Agder (; "West Agder") was one of 18 counties (''fylker'') in Norway up until 1 January 2020, when it was merged with Aust-Agder to form Agder county. In 2016, there were 182,701 inhabitants, around 3.5% of the total population of Norway. ...

and

Aust-Agder Aust-Agder (, en, "East Agder") was a county (''fylke'') in Norway until 1 January 2020, when 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 . The ...

. 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 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 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). 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 ( nb, Nord-Norge, , nn, Nord-Noreg; se, Davvi-Norga) is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the two northernmost counties Nordland and Troms og Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the lar ...

. 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 to Grenland. 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. Prior to this, the area was considered part of

Western Norway Western Norway ( nb, Vestlandet, Vest-Norge; nn, Vest-Noreg) is the region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrativ ...

. 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. If defined as an informal region, Southern Norway is perhaps more properly defined as the Skagerrak coastal belt, thus excluding the inland valleys to the north. Occasionally, adjacent parts of the county of

Rogaland Rogaland () is a county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Vestfold og Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. In 2020, it had a population of 479,892. The admin ...

and

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

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

Tvedestrand is municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative center is the town of Tvedestrand. There are many villages in the municipality including Dypvåg, Fiane, Gjeving, Gødder ...

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 with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

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 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 municipal ...

. 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 Kristiansand Airport ( no, Kristiansand lufthavn; ) is an international airport serving Kristiansand Municipality in Agder county, Norway. The airport is located in the district of Tveit in the Oddernes borough, about by road and by air from ...

is the only public

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

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 Tveit is a village and surrounding district in Oddernes borough in the city of Kristiansand in Agder county, Norway. The Tveit district is located in the northeastern part of Kristiansand, northeast of the Topdalsfjorden along the lower part of ...

, from downtown Kristiansand, Kvadraturen. The IATA code is ''KRS'' and ICAO is ''ENCN''. It is owned by

Avinor Avinor AS is a state-owned limited company that operates most of the civil airports in Norway. The Norwegian state, via the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications, controls 100 percent of the share capital. Avinor was created on ...

. Kristiansand Airport, Kongsgårdbukta is a former water-airport located at

Lund Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish province of Scania, across the Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipality, Scania County. The Öre ...

from 1934 to 1939.

Kristiansand Naval Air Station Kristiansand Naval Air Station ( no, Marinens flystasjon Kristiansand) was a water military air base operated by the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service between 1919 and 1940. Situated at Tangen in the city center of Kristiansand, Norway, it consi ...

is also a former water-airport located at Tangen from 1919 to 1949.

Bus

All bus lines and buses in Southern Norway are owned by '' Agder Kollektivtrafikk (AKT)''.

Nettbuss Vy Buss, formerly branded as Nettbuss, is the largest bus company in Norway, owned by Vy. It was established on 10 February 2000 as the continuation of the bus operations from former NSB Biltrafikk. In addition to bus services in major parts of ...

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 Setesdal (; older name: Sætersdal) is a valley and a traditional district in Agder County in southern Norway. It consists of the municipalities of Bykle, Valle, Bygland, Iveland, and Evje og Hornnes. The Otra river flows through the ...

Østre Agder Østre Agder is a district or region in Agder county in southern Norway. The district covers the eastern, coastal areas of the county including the eight municipalities of Arendal, Tvedestrand, Risør, Grimstad, Gjerstad, Vegårshei, Åmli, and ...

, and Lillesand areas. Line 100 goes connects

Arendal Arendal () is a municipality in Agder county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the region of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Arendal (which is also the seat of Agder county). Some of the notab ...

–

Grimstad Grimstad () is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It belongs to the geographical region of Sørlandet. The administrative center of the municipality is the town of Grimstad. Some of the villages in Grimstad include Eide, Espenes, Fevik ...

– Lillesand–

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 incorporati ...

. Bus lines from Setesdal go to both Arendal and Kristiansand. Line 150 goes from Arendal to

and Risør. ''Sørlandsruta'' serves the coastal towns and villages in Vest-Agder county. Line 200 is the main line going from Kristiansand to

Mandal A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

, Vigeland,

Lyngdal is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Alleen. Some of the main villages in Lyngdal include Austad, Byremo, Fleseland, ...

, and Farsund. Some of the buses collaborate with the local buses from Lyngdal to Flekkefjord and Kvinesdal.

Roads

The

European route E18 European route E18 runs from Craigavon in Northern Ireland to Saint Petersburg in Russia, passing through Scotland, England, Norway, Sweden and Finland. It is about in length. Although the designation implies the possibility of a thro ...

highway goes through Aust-Agder county to the east side of

. The E18 goes near the shore and coastal towns and ends at Kristiansand. The

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 Eur ...

highway starts at the Kristiansand ferry port where it connects to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

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 Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...

and beyond in Western Norway. Norwegian National Road 9 starts in Kristiansand and up to

Evje Evje is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1877 until 1960. It was located in what is now the eastern part of the present-day municipality of Evje og Hornnes in the Setesdal valley of Agd ...

and through

. Norwegian National Road 41 starts in

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

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 Oslo Central Station ( no, Oslo sentralstasjon, abbreviated ) is the main railway station in Oslo, and the largest railway station within the entire Norwegian railway system. It connects with Jernbanetorget station. It's the terminus of Dramm ...

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 Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

, and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

. 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 in the

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 Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...

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, Vest-Agder, Norway LindesnesLighthouse.jpg, Lighthouse on Cape Lindesnes Arendal03.jpg, Arendal 072907 0625.JPG, Risør Lillesand Brekkestø 1.jpg,

Brekkestø Brekkestø is a small village on the southern coast of Norway. It is located on the island of Justøya within the municipality of Lillesand in Agder county, in the region known as Sørlandet. The village is mainly on Justøya, but there are hous ...

Przystan ks ubt.jpeg, Kristiansand harbor