Kristiansund - The Harbour

The "Lyhsalmenningen" marks the western end of Storkaia and is named after Thomas August Lyhs, who lived here in the 19th century. Thomas Lyhs was a businessman and at the same time very interested in culture. Among other things, he had both a library and a theater building established in Kristiansund. Thomas Lyhs had a property close to the place that is today called Lyhsalmenningen, and here he operated, among other things, a beer brewery. At Lyhsalmenningen, there used to be a sea staircase which made it possible to go ashore here from small boats. One of the town's ferrymen was also stationed at Lyhsalmenningen. The ferryman who stayed here rowed passengers and goods in a small rowing boat that plyed between Lyhsalmenningen and the sea stairs at the area called Port Arthur at Innlandet. From Lyhsalmenningen there is a good view of Sørsundbrua, Sørsundet and the characteristic mountain Bremsneshatten on Averøya.

Dalen Gård is protected by decision of the The Directorate for Cultural Heritage and is currently owned by Kristiansund municipality. "Øvre Fosenvågen", which was the original name, was started as a quite simple farm in the 1780s by Walter Miln. In the early days, no one lived on the site, which then only consisted of a barn with a milk cellar and surrounding meadows. At one time, there were several such farms located around the town. In a time with little developed infrastructure between town and country, these farms played an important role as a food supply for the town's population. At the beginning of the 19th century, the farm came into the possession of the Knudtzon family. The whole place was then called Knudtzondalen, and the farm itself was named Dalen farm. In the years 1808-1810, new cultivation and ditching were carried out on the farm. In the same period, the house that Walter Miln had had in the town was moved and set up here. The farmhouse originally stood in a north-south direction, but became around 1870 turned 90 degrees for weather reasons. In 1846, Nicoaly Heinrich Knudtzon sold the farm to Hans Larsen Dahl for 4,000 riksdaler. By the standards of the time, Dalen was a fairly large farm with 17 dairy cows, 1 ox and 3 horses. In 1853, Dahl leased the farm to teacher and merchant Iver Hansen. Hansen started a restaurant with dance performances on the farm, which made Dalen a popular place to go on Sundays. However, this was not popular with provost Folkmann Schaanning. He complained to the bishop and in the same year Hansen was transferred to Røros as a teacher and bell ringer. Dahl had financial problems and sold the farm to Gregorius Aune from Surnadal in 1853. Two years later, fellow resident Jon Pedersen Glærum bought Dalen farm and moved to the city. In 1883, his son Peder took over the farm. He then ran it until 1921, when his son Jon Glærum became farmer. His son again, Per, was the last to run the place which was then in general called Glærumgården. In 1952, the municipality expropriated all cultivated land from the farm, in order to build the Atlanten stadium sports facility. Around 1970, Glærum ended farm operations after development in Folkeparken made further operation impossible. In 2004, the municipality expropriated the rest of the property. In 2013, the farm was declared protected by the Directorate for Cultural Heritage. It is quite unique that in the middle of a city there is a complete farm facility (loop farm) in the form of a row garden with a total of 6 buildings. In 2016, Dalen Gård Venneforening was founded. The Venneforeningen has an operating agreement with the municipality and has put a lot of effort into the care and maintenance of the building stock.

The first Storkaia was built in 1914 and ran between the Peer and Lyhsalmenningen. In the early 2000s, the quay was replaced by a new, large, modern quay which is also adapted to today's safety requirements. At the same time as the construction of the new Storkai, the buildings along the quay were also completely renovated and several new business premises were built. Most of the buildings along the quay were built together to form a huge shopping center which today is called Alti-Storkaia. At the request of the building antiquarian, the front of the old dairy building was renovated, and now stands as a historical memory neatly integrated into the connected mass of buildings along Storkaia. The shopping center was officially opened in November 2005. The street level at Storkaia was named Arnulf Øverland's street and is named after the great Norwegian writer Arnulf Øverland, who was born in Kristiansund in 1889. The new Storkaia and Arnulf Øverlands street were officially opened by King Harald on 20 June 2006. On this day, the king and crown prince were visiting Kristiansund in connection with the 100-year marking of the coronation journey that King Haakon and Queen Maud made in 1906 before the king was crowned in Nidaros Cathedral.

Kristiansund has three dishes that are characterized as local "national dishes". There are Blainnaball, Bacalao and "Fishan". All with fish and potato as the main ingredient. Blainnaball is a locally developed dish, while Bacalao and "Fishan" are imported from abroad. "Fishan" came to Kristiansund in 1950 and is an abbreviation for "Fish and chips". In English-speaking countries there is a long tradition of buying "Fish and chips" from fast food joints, but in Kristiansund this was completely unknown until 1950 when Arne and Elvira Moe started selling from a small stall on the quay. This was possibly the first fast food restaurant in Norway to sell fish and chips. In Moe's stall there were two choices on the menu. It was "fried fish and chips" or "Sausage and chips". When serving, you always got a little salt and a little dash of vinegar over the delicacy. The food was served in a paper boat and was usually eaten on the spot, just like in England. The locals called the food dish "Fishan" and the outlet was called "Fishanbua". Both the smell and the taste were absolutely excellent, and it is no exaggeration to say that the locals loved "fish" - and their "mouths watered" when they walked along the quay and got the whiff of the smell of fish. Fishanbua quickly became a success, and there was often a queue in front of the stall. On 17 May there was always a long queue, and for many it became a tradition for several years to eat "fishan" on National Day. Elvira Moe stopped production at the beginning of the 1970s, but the tradition of "fishan" was continued and is still alive and well.

The old stick anchor, which lies as a decoration at the bottom of the Kaibakken, belonged to a large sailing ship that sank at Lyngværet on Smøla in 1920. The ship was a large steel full-rigger and was built in Scotland in 1902. In 1915, it was bought by a Norwegian shipping company and then got the name "Stella" In November 1920, "Stella" was loaded with coal from America and arrived in Griphølen on its way to Kristiansund in bad weather. "Stella" had been given a pilot on board, but the schooner's sails were so worn due to storms and storms on the long journey, that it was not possible to maneuver it well enough in the bad weather. The voyage ended with the schooner running aground at Lyngværet on Smøla and sinking. Both the crew and the pilot survived. The wreck was bought by a local diver who salvaged much of the coal as well as parts of the schooner and rigging. The anchor was for a number of years used as a bottom anchor for mooring buoys in Kristiansund - before it was finally taken ashore and stored at Innlandet. Following the idea and initiative of the harbor master, the anchor was moved to Kirklandet after a few years to be used as a maritime decoration outside the harbor authority's building in Kaibakken.

The sculpture "Sildegutten", "the Herring boy", on the Peer was created by sculptor Tore Bjørn Skjølsvik and was given as a gift to Kristiansund municipality from the bank "Sparebank1 Nordvest" in connection with their 175th anniversary. In the 1950s, the herring was referred to as "the silver of the sea" and was of great importance to business life in Kristiansund and the area around. During the annual herring season, the harbor basin was full of herring snarers and dories. Back then there was a lot of money in circulation and a bustling life around the clock. The sculpture shows a young boy with a herring strung on a string, which was a common sight in Kristiansund in the sildtia. When the boats came into the quay, laden with herring, there were always some boys standing on the edge of the quay asking if they could have some herring - which they attached to a steel wire. The herring was then, for a cheap price, sold to passers-by who would use the herring for dinner.

The clock on Piren was set up in 1930 and was placed where a Storm Warning sign had previously stood. The clock quickly became a beloved landmark on the quay and stood in the area where most of the scheduled boats docked. Besides, it was practical to have a clock there in a time when people didn't walk around with watches on their arms. When the clock was installed, the newspaper wrote: "On the quay, where the departure and arrival times for the ships are made available every hour of the day, a great loss will now be remedied as you have access from all sides to ascertain the normal time." The dials were positioned so that the clock could be seen both from land and sea. The clock survived the bombing of Kristiansund at the end of April 1940, and it ticked faithfully through the war, the rebuilding of the city and on into the new millennium. However, at the end of the 1990s, the clock began to show clear signs of heavy wear. The three dials ran differently, the movement was worn and repair was impossible as spare parts could not be obtained. The clock was in danger of being scrapped. Then the charity association "Gamle Kripos" came in as saving angels. They thought it was sad that this landmark should no longer grace the city centre. So in 2015 they started a fund raiser which together with a generous contribution from the bank of Surnadal brought in a total of 140,000 kroner. It was then ready to start the "new clock on Piren" campaign - and of course the new clock was to be exactly the same as the old one. The clock was carefully taken down. The innards were sent to watchmaker Gulsrud in Oslo. He built a new digital Swiss movement. And the dials, they were of course made identical to the old ones. The clock house was locally refurbished and restored by the municipality's technical department. In February 2016, everything was ready. Then the new movement was fitted into the watch case, the clock was lifted into place and mounted on the plinth. And finally at the beginning of March 2016, the new clock was formally handed over to the municipality by mayor Kjell Neergaard. During the handover, the charity association "Gamle Kripos" was warmly thanked for the initiative and the efforts.

"Klippfiskkjerringa", "the klipfish woman", was a gift to Kristiansund from the trade association in connection with the town's 250th anniversary in 1992. The sculpture was made by sculptor Tore Bjørn Skjølsvik after a motif drawn by graphic artist Tor Johansen. The sculpture is a tribute to the klipfish workers, who for over 300 years contributed to the city's large and international export industry. The "Klippfiskkjerringa" is a unique Kristiansund symbol, and is one of the most beloved and photographed works of art in Kristiansund. The culpture was unveiled by Queen Sonja on the city's birthday on 29th of June 1992.

Minebøssa is a memorial to sailors from Kristiansund who lost their lives during the 1st and 2nd World Wars. The memorial plaques bear the names of the sailors who died. Minebøssa has previously stood in three other places. The final location at the far end of Piren took place in 1991 in connection with a beautification of the area which also included new bridge construction with a built-in compass rose, lighting and railings. The memorial to fallen sailors is decorated every year on Liberation Day on 8 May and on National Day on 17 May. On the steps up to the city council hall in the Town Hall, there is a large commemorative plaque with the names of all Christiansund who lost their lives due to the two world wars. In Kristiansund, a total of 16 war memorials have been erected for those who died as a direct result of the two world wars.

In earlier times, in the age of sailing ships, a worldwide weather warning system was established along the weather-exposed coasts. These were signal masts where, with the help of hoisted symbols and lights, the seafarers could be warned about weather and wind. The people of Kristiansund call the signal mast on Bjørnehaugen "Stormvarslet", the Storm Warning. The weather mast was originally on Piren but was moved to Bjørnehaugen at Nordlandet in 1930. Today, worldwide, only the Storm Warning in Kristiansund is still in active use. In the past, there were separate daily forecasts. Then balls and cones were raised in fixed combinations to show wind strength and wind direction. When darkness came, the balls and cones were replaced by white, red and green lights. Today, only light signals are used, and the lights are controlled automatically according to digital messages from the Meteorological Institute. If winds of gale-force or stronger are reported, the light on the Storm Warning is lit. The most used are two white lights and this means that a gale is reported from the south-west. If a storm or stronger wind is reported, a third candle is lit. It is green and always at the bottom. Close to the "Stormvarslet" is the popular and local "Hollywood sign". It is actively used to market local events, preferably of general cultural interest. The sign usually says "Kristiansund".

As far back as we know, people have lived on Kristiansund's islands. For generations our ancestors lived off the rich fish stocks along the coast. The need for transport between the city's islands has always been great and many had their own boat which they rowed to get across the strait. As the population increased throughout the 19th century "ferrymen" began to ply between the straits, and they transported both passengers and goods. This eventually became a good shop, and the municipality decided to employ municipal ferrymen. In the middle of the 19th century, the city's inhabitants began to wish for something better than sitting in a rowing boat in all kinds of weather, and local merchants in the city established the Kristiansund Steamboat Association in 1875. On the 18th of November 1876, the company put its first boat into traffic. It was called Kvik. Soon after, two more boats followed, Rap and Fram. People called the three boats "sundbåter", meaning "strait boats". The company was a success from the start! Since 1876, the ferry Sundbåten has been in continuous operation in the harbour. During the First World War, Kristiansund Municipality took over the ownership and operation, and for over 110 years has run a public transport company in the city. In 1997, the residents of Kristiansund named the ferry a cultural monument of the city and the people. After a trial project in the period 2019 – 2020 which was financed by Møre og Romsdal County, the city council decided in 2021 that the ferry should be free for all travelers on the regular route. Since 1876, the company has transported over 133 million passengers at the port. In recent years, the number of passengers has doubled, and the company currently carries approximately 200,000 passengers per year. Sundbåten is today a symbol of a sustainable approach to a growing need for transport, and is the world's oldest public transport company in continuous operation. Sundbåten is part of the solution to the challenges the future brings with regard to transport and movement. In addition, the ferry is an icon in the city and local history, and part of the soul and identity of Kristiansund and its population.

The large brick building in Vågeveien 4 is probably the first large commercial building to be built in the reconstruction town of Kristiansund. The building was owned by the company Jonas Eriksen AS and was officially opened in December 1947. The company Jonas Eriksen had a large business at street level as well as an office and warehouse on the floors above. Jonas Eriksen AS started its business operations at this location in 1902 in a wooden wharf. At the end of April 1940, this pier, along with 800 other buildings, was destroyed by the fierce German bombing of the city. In August of the same year, Jonas Eriksen had a temporary business barracks set up on the site, and immediately after peace came in 1945, they applied to build a large business farm here in reinforced concrete. In accordance with the proposals from the planning architects, the building council decided that the three business yards in Vågeveien and the business yards along Storkaia should be built in concrete and have a pier-like appearance with slats between the yards. When Jonas Eriksen ceased operations in 2014, the building was bought by Kristiansund municipality and eventually converted into a municipal administration building.

Campus Kristiansund will be a joint knowledge environment for education, research and innovation in Kristiansund from 2024. The concept brings together university and vocational school offers and the local innovation environment, companies and several regional research environments. This is a collaboration between the Molde University College, Kristiansund and Nordmøre Business Forum, Kristiansund municipality and Møre and Romsdal county council. The first of three stages in the development at Devoldholmen is the campus, which is approximately 20,500 square metres. It will contain teaching rooms, offices, laboratories and various special rooms, as well as a number of communal facilities such as reception, restaurant, meeting room/auditorium, collaboration areas and coffee bar. Molde University College will move into premises of over 3,000 square meters in Campus Kristiansund for teaching purposes, offices, library and student areas. This plot of land on Devoldholmen has a good location in the heart of Kristiansund city centre, and is close to the city's public transport hub which brings together bus routes, speedboat, Sundbåten and Hurtigruten. Stages two and three at Devoldholmen will be developed into attractive offices, trade, catering or hotels. Sustainable property and urban development is emphasized in the project, and the campus will be developed as an energy-efficient building. It is no coincidence that the colors of the buildings are strong. When Kristiansund was to be rebuilt after it was heavily bombed during the Second World War, these colors were used. Today, the colors run again throughout the city centre. Kristiansund is therefore called the polychrome city, and the Campus will reflect this color palette in the facade. The material in the facade is thought to be metal with different profiles, and with solid wood in the supporting structures.

The buildings "Brodkorpgården" and "Håndtverkeren" are two of the very few houses in the center of Kristiansund and which were not destroyed by the bombing of the city in 1940. "Brodkorpgården" was built in 1786 for Chancellor Hans Brodkorb, and is the older of the two buildings. It is built in Louis XVI style and has a particularly beautiful entrance portal. In 1835, the son-in-law Eilert Christie had the second farm built, which is located next door. Christiegården is built in the Empire style and is today called «The Craftsman» Both of the old merchant farms are listed. In 1800, the Christies family received royal permission to establish a private burial site in Nordlandet, where we now have a driveway to Byskogen and Seivika. In 1800, the Brodtkorb family received royal permission to establish a private burial site "Alders hvile" at the summer site Roligheten, close to where Kirklandet church stands today.

Where "Kulturfabrikken" now has its premises, it used to be a shipyard. It was called Nerkrana shipyard and was closed down at the beginning of the 20th century. Then a gasworks was built on the site. The gas plant produced gas that was piped to subscribers in Kristiansund, and used, among other things, for gas stoves in the kitchen and to heat water in the hot water tanks in private households. After the gasworks were closed down in the mid-1960s, the area was called "Gassverktomta" and the name is still used. In the 1970s, a fur animal kitchen was built on the gas plant site. The front kitchen caused a number of odor problems and many were happy when the operation was closed down in 2016. In parallel with the pre-kitchen shutting down operations, an idea was developed for reusing the building into a multi-purpose house for culture - and after a relatively short planning period, the idea became a reality. Kulturfabrikken bought the building at the beginning of 2019, and in October of the same year, after an intense construction period of 148 days, it was officially opened. Kulturfabrikken has two concert halls, three rehearsal rooms and space for outdoor seating. The building is universally designed and has the "accessibility mark". The municipality has been responsible for beautifying the outdoor areas around the cultural site. The small red building just behind the "Kulturfabrikken" was previously a shipyard, but is now decorated as a fish restaurant.

This area, where the shipyard "Mellemværftet" is located, has been used for landing and maintenance of ships since the 18th century. The workshop was built in 1856 and the buildings stand today as they did in the latter half of the 19th century. Sailing ships of various sizes were built and maintained at the shipyard. The shipyard consists of three slips, as well as a workshop building, material wharf and housing for the shipyard owners and their families. The Mellemværftet is used today in a vessel heritage context and is a living museum shipyard. At the quay outside of Mellemværftet there is a permanent mooring place for veteran boats. Amongst others the old lifeboat RS 16 "Christiansund" is located here, which was designed by Colin Archer and built in Porsgrunn in 1901.

The small islet outside the "Kulturfabrikken" is called Kranaskjæret Here there used to be a mast buck and a keel hauling system for larger sailing ships. Four walkways were bolted to the rock on the islet and with the help of these the ships were tilted over to the side so that they had access to the entire side of the ship all the way down to the keel for maintenance work. In 2018, a restaurant was built on the island - The restaurant has the name "Kranaskjæret"

The small residential house that bears the name "Garberghuset" was originally the cabin of a Spanish schooner that came into distress outside Kristiansund in the middle of the 19th century. At night the schooner was towed to Vågen in Kristiansund where it sank like this and only parts of the deck and rig were visible over the water the next morning. The cabin was taken ashore and was for a period used as a bathhouse for school children. After a few years, at the beginning of the 20th century, the cabin was set up on a foundation wall and converted into a residence. The "Garberghuset" was later both rebuilt and extended, but the core is still the old cabin from the Spanish schooner.

Vågen Skatepark can be found in the heart of Vågen and the park was officially opened by Mayor Kjell Neergaard in November 2019. This is a modern concrete park, built for all skill levels and suitable for everyone, from beginners to professional athletes. The skate park contains, among other things, a large bowl with a flybox integrated into the street area. There you can experience a pyramid, wallride, a large eurobank, quarterpipe, handrail and hubbaledge, as well as a small bowl corner which creates an incredibly good flow throughout the park. The skate park has good speed conditions and is approximately 1000 square meters in size. Around the park there are several seating areas with the opportunity for fun, barbecue, free WI-FI, parking and a great view of the marina and the harbor pool. The nearest neighbor is "Kaffebrenneriet", with indoor and outdoor serving of coffee, baked goods and more. The municipality has also been responsible for beautifying the outdoor area around the cultural site.

The Patrick Volckmar coffee roastery and museum cafe in Vågen has its premises in one of the city's oldest reinforced concrete buildings. The cafe is central to the museum Nordmørsmusea's use of the Vågen area. Here there are market days on some Saturdays, events inside and outside the house, as well as a separate coffee brand where the coffee beans are roasted on site. The biggest attraction in the building is probably the wood-fired coffee roaster from 1870. The roaster is centrally located in the middle of the building. Inside the cafe, on certain days you can see how coffee is roasted and how it was done in the old days. When the coffee is roasted here in Kristiansund, it depends on feeling and experience, and here there is no digital control or timer that controls the process. The coffee roaster in Kristiansund is probably the oldest still in operation in Norway, and was once given to the museum on the condition that it be set up again, repaired and used actively. The cafe offers indoor and outdoor coffee, baked goods and the sale of various goods.

Kristiansund Mekaniske Verksted is the remaining yard that is still in full operation in the Vågen area. The yard has two slips, a workshop, several berths and a good reputation for maintaining boats of highly varying sizes. Originally, Kristiansund boatbuilding was established here in 1899. The yard was later bought by engineer Ole Mollan and was then named Kristiansund mechanical workshop as a result of fewer sailing ships and more and more motorized boats. Several of the sailing ships were probably rebuilt for engine operation at this boat workshop.

Stornaustet in Vågen is a bit special because the back of the building juts a bit into the road. The building dates from 1742 and was originally a large boathouse. This is the oldest building on this island, Gomalandet.

The Boat Club's large wharf was originally built as a granary and stood in Sunndal. Around 1900, the pier was dismantled and moved to Vågen in Kristiansund. There it was used as a salt storage before it was converted into a central workshop for the Rescue Company. After the rescue company moved their central workshop out of town, the wharf was taken over by the Boat Club in Kristiansund and is used, among other things, as meeting and party premises.

Gomalandet cemetery is Kristiansund's first public cemetery and was put into use in 1822. Before this time, the dead from Kristiansund were transported by boat and buried at Bremsnes in Averøy. The Gomalandet cemetery is one of Norway's most distinctive. This is because the burial site was built using a lot of soil from Spain and Portugal. The soil was taken to Kristiansund by sailships. The clipfish trade with Spain and Portugal was often one-way transport, and there was usually limited goods to be transported back after the cuttlefish had been delivered. The sailing ships had to have cargo on board to be able to sail in strong winds without capsizing. To get enough weight in the boats, they took earth and stone on board as ballast. This ballast soil was unloaded at fixed locations when the sailing vessels returned to Kristiansund. One of the dumping grounds was just below this burial site. On Gomalandet, there was limited land on which to plan burial sites. The problem was solved by filling it with copious amounts of ballast soil. With the ballast soil also came seeds from foreign plant species, which means that the ballast soil is also botanically interesting. At this burial site, which is still in use, several of the city's most famous historical figures were buried. Among others the Grand Consul and commercial genius Nicolay Heinrich Knudtzon. In his time, he was the world's largest clipper fish exporter, a member of parliament and one of Norway's richest men. The municipality had its own hearse boat which was used when the coffins had to be transported to the Gomalandet cemetery. The place where the coffins were brought ashore was called the "corpse pier". There was also a boathouse where the coffins were kept until the day of the funeral.

The wharf Milnbrygga was built in 1749 by William Gordon. He was one of the founders of the modern clipfish industry in Norway. However, the wharf is named after Walter Miln, who bought the wharf in 1772. Miln was one of several British merchants who settled in Kristiansund in the middle of the 18th century when clipfish production became a major export industry. Milnbrygga consists of three main wings and was built in several stages. Milnbrygga was in commercial use by the clipfish industry until 1990 and shows clear traces of rebuilding and adaptations as clipfish production developed. After production was shut down, the wharf was taken over by the Nordmørsmusea. Milnbrygga is today Norway's only clipfish museum. The museum contains complete equipment for cutfish production, as well as several photo exhibitions.

Innlandet is the smallest of the city's islands or "lands", and in the area around the Sundbåten docking point is the city's oldest preserved buildings. These were spared during the bombing of the city in World War II. In the 17th century a small settlement developed here, by the harbor between the three islands in Kristiansund. A flourishing timber trade lead the state to establish a customs station in the 1630s. The Customs house at Innlandet was in use from the 1680s to 1744. In the 17th and 19th centuries, the klipfish adventure contributed to further development and growth, and the settlement at the harbor on Innlandet grew into what became the city's first centre. The district grew up with narrow streets and alleys, small and large boathouses, wharves, homes and outbuildings. Here we also find the city's first hospital (1792-1877), the city's first school, the so-called "Rovengården" (1836), and the city's first "town hall". At Innlandet, you will also find the popular bathing spot "Skjærva", which is frequently used in the summer for swimming, ball games and sunbathing. Annual music festivals are also organized here. Feel free to take the time to feel the charm and atmosphere through a short walk between old buildings in Tahiti. Yes - you heard that right - this part of the city is also called Tahiti! Perhaps the atmosphere was extra warm and southern here, during the sailing days? This is the explanation behind the name of the Tahiti Festival, which has been organized at Innlandet since the year 2000.

Nordlandet is the second largest island in Kristiansund municipality and the easternmost of the four "lands" on which the city is located. Nordsundet, the north strait, separates the island from Gomalandet, and Markussundet, the Marcus strait, separates Nordlandet from Innlandet. There is much evidence that the first people in Norway lived here and in similar coastal areas. In 1909, the geologist Anders Nummedal discovered flint tools from people who came to our coastal areas after the last ice age, about 11,000 years ago. This is called the Fosnaculture, as a collective term for the oldest finds from the Stone Age that have been made in Norway. When Kristiansund was bombed at the end of April 1940, the center of Nordlandet was left in ruins. Nordlandet church with a few surrounding houses escaped, but the rest of the central buildings in Nordlandet were lost. In October 1940, the well-known urban planner architect Sverre Pedersen drew up a zoning proposal for a new center in Nordlandet. The reconstruction architects then began to plan the district in detail according to this proposal. Nordlandet gained a new distinctive character and became part of the reconstruction architecture in Kristiansund. Nordlandet's highest point is Kvernberget, a widely used hiking terrain in the urban area. The trip up is easy, either via Sherpa stairs or a regular path. From the top of Kvernberget there is a fantastic view in all directions. At Nordlandet, we also have Bjønnahaugen, a smaill hill where the port's old storm warning sign is still in operation. Much of the development in Kristiansund over the past 30 years has taken place at Nordlandet. Kristiansund Airport, Kvernberget, is located here as well as a helicopter base for the oil operations at Haltenbanken. Not far away is Vestbase; a business park and logistics center for the operations in the Norwegian Sea with large areas and modern quay and tank facilities. Løkkemyra was originally regulated as an industrial area, but is now also a commercial center in Kristiansund. From olden times, Nordlandet has been called Morocco in the vernacular. The nickname is said to have come after a rowing boat with agricultural products on its way to the city was attacked and robbed by people from Nordlandet. Morocco used to be known as a "pirate state" and carried out extensive piracy in the Mediterranean until about 1830. Many Norwegian and Danish ships fell victim to pirates, and a number of Norwegian sailors experienced being held as slaves in the area. That is why Nordlandet was renamed Morocco.