Kristiansand’s WWII Memories

by coach & on foot

Learn about life in occupied Norway during World War II on this fascinating experience.

Leaving Kristiansand, a short drive brings you to Movik and a coastal artillery fortress that was officially known as the Vara Battery. It’s now known as the Cannon Museum and houses the second largest cannon in the world to ever be mounted on land. The gigantic 38cm (15in) cannons were brought here during the occupation so that the Germans could guard the Skagerak shipping lanes. They were placed here and at Hanstholm in Denmark, about 115km (72m) away, across the Skagerak.

On this guided visit to the museum, you can examine the historical exhibits on display in the bunkers below the battery.

Leaving the museum, you will continue to the State Archive Building, Stiftelsen Arkivet, now a centre for information, documentation, education, research, art and culture. In January 1942 the Gestapo took over this building and made it their regional headquarters in southern Norway. Sections of the basement were used as prison cells and torture chambers. The events that took place here are illustrated with the help of realistic copies of equipment and mannequins, which give an idea of the activities and atmosphere of this place between 1942 and 1945. It is the only former Gestapo headquarters in Norway to have been preserved.

After a guided visit, you will have some free time to explore, before returning by coach to the pier.