The city of Kristiansand as a miniature city - Kristiansand Museum, Norway

This is a great miniature exhibition that shows copies of some of the wooden buildings that existed in Kristiansand around the year 1900. The houses are accurate and detailed. The exhibition is located in a separate building at Kristiansand Museum. You have to pay to enter the building, but if you walk past on a day the museum is closed, you can look at the city through the large windows. However, it is a different experience to walk in streets on the inside.

The oldest part of town still has many well preserved houses built in wood. As you can see on the map, the town lay out was a route patern and forms a quadrate. Thats why we call the city center Kvadraturen ( qaurdrate). Many of the wooden houses do not excist any more. Some have been demolished. Some vanished in one of the many city fires. Instead of rebuilding in wood, concrete was chosen. The map shows the miniature town which is placed in the north western corner. This area is called Posebyen and it's the only Renaisance town in Norway that is consistenly kept. We don't have too many wooden houses left, so they are worthy of protection.

Børsen / The stock exchange

This magnificent building was built right after the city experienced a major fire in 1734. The columns were added later though. This was the stock exhange. The building was demolished in the 1960s, to give way to a multi-story concrete instead. The photograph shows what the street looked like in the 1900s and what it looked like with the replaced building.

The people who have been responsible for building these miniature houses are a group of dedicated retirees. What they have done is reconstructing the houses exactly as the originals, but on a scale of 1:10. It was very exciting to walk through the streets and read the information and names of the wellknown streets. I recognized some of the buildings. since they still exist. Others are gone forever, replaced by new buildings.

The map shows an area (quarters 5 and 6) in the north-eastern corner of Kvadratuen. The colored buildings are all on display in the mini-town. The blue ones can still be seen in the city, but the red were demolished in the 1960s and replaced by new buildings.

Tordenskjolds gate

Tordenskjolds gate as it once looked like. These houses no longer exist. But if we go a little further down the same street we come to a building that still stands to this day - Ekserserhuset.

Ekserserhuset

Ekserserhuset was built in 1807 -1808. It was used for military training of soldiers during the Napoleonic Wars. Inside there is a large hall, which was used for exercises. After the war it was used for other activities. Among other things, I remember the flea markets. I did sometimes go there to check if I could find something usefull. But as of today the building is not in use.

Holdbergs gata

Then I turn around the corner to Holbergsgata and am now at the back of Ekserserhuset.

Kristians IVs gate

Kronprinsens gate

Now I round the corner of Kristian IVs gate and Kronprinsensgate. Here all the houses are still intact. Back to Tordenskjoldsgt where I started. I did make sure I walked all the streets and looked into the backyards as well. Something I cannot do for real!

Tordenskjolds gate, July 2026

This is how Tordenskjoldsgate looks today. There are new buildings and a corner with a parking lot. The only building that is still here, is the Ekserserhuset.

Ekserserhuset, 2026

This part of the street hasn't changed too much. Ekserserhuset still looks the same. So does the small white house. But at the corner there is a newer building

Kristians Ivs gate, 2026

Kronprinsens gate, 2026

The corner of Kristian IVs gate and Kronprinsensgate. The houses are still here, but they have changed. The blue house on the corner is where you will find a cafe. The next blue is housing a bakery. The white is beautifully preserved.

There is a quite a lot of information you can read at the exhibition. This notice indicates that the retirees who have buillt this minature houses, have received a Cultural Prize. The newspaper clippings also show how they are mentioned for the great job they have done. They have shown us what our city once looked like. The exhibition was a good experience. So is walking the streets in town. I do pay more attention to the houses now.

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An open air museum with buildings dating back to the 1500s, Kristiansand, Norway

U.J

Kristiansand, Norway

All the photoes are mine, Ulla Jensen (flickr, Instagram and facebook)

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