Everything about Lillesand totally explained
is a town and
municipality in the
county of
Aust-Agder,
Norway.
The town of Lillesand was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see
formannskapsdistrikt). The rural municipalities of
Høvåg and
Vestre Moland were merged with Lillesand January 1, 1962.
Kalundborg (
Denmark),
Nynäshamn (
Sweden),
Kimito (
Finland) and
Eyrabakki (
Iceland) are all towns
twinned (for example,
sister cities) with Lillesand.
The name
The
Norse form of the name was just
Sandr - with the meaning 'sand beach'. The first element
lille 'little' was added after the founding of
Kristiansand in 1641, to distinguish it from the greater and more important one.
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times (
1987). It shows three
anchors.
(See also the coat-of-arms of
Narvik and
Nøtterøy.)
Geography
The town belongs to the geographical region of
Sørlandet.
Lillesand is bordered on the north by
Birkenes municipality and up the coast to the east by
Grimstad municipality in Aust-Adger. Down the coast to the west it's bordered by
Kristiansand municipality in
Vest-Agder county.
Brekkestø is a part of the municipality of Lillesand.
Recreation
The Norwegian National Park Skjærgårdsparken lies between
Risør and Lillesand. Skjærgårdsparken is a paradise of islands,
skerries, and rocks.
The
Blindleia is an inland waterway that starts in
Gamle Hellesund in
Høvåg near
Kristiansand in southern
Norway, and continues past
Lillesand. It is a salt water passage protected from the open sea by the offshore archipelago.
Navigation through the Blindleia passage requires attention to detail, but isn't difficult – as there are no tides, and very little current. The minimal tidal change in the skerries is due to its geographical location; the tidal flow that comes in from the
Atlantic splits on the
British Isles. One tidal stream goes through the
English Channel, while the other goes around the north of the British Isles. The stream of the English Channel reaches the coast of Norway before the wave traveling around the British Islands. These two
tidal “waves” are completely
out of phase when they meet here, neutralizing the tidal effect.
History
Sanden, which consisted of the small area near the harbor, was the original name for the municipality of Lillesand.
Lillesand is built on the ancient estate of Lofthus, and the rebel Christian Lofthus was captured on this estate in ~
1780.
In
1821, when Lillesand became a
privileged port, it had a population of only 300.
In the 19th century Lillesand had 9 shipyards.
Lillesand Church, consecrated in
1889, stands on a hill at Kirkeheia. It is in the
Gothic Revival/Swiss style.
By 1895 the merchant fleet was 95 vessels strong. But the death of the sailing ship caused severe economic difficulties for Lillesand. Sailing ships had been inexpensive and could be built from local timber. Steamers were built of steel, were expensive and required more capital than locals could muster. Shipyards were closed. Many of the residents emigrated from there to
America.
Lillesand remained a fishing village, though even this occupation suffered as the
herring left the coast.
The
Saltholmen lighthouse, located on an island off Lillesand, is a nineteenth century lighthouse with a slate roof and a concrete tower for the light. It operated as a manned lighthouse from
1882 to
1952. Saltholmen ("Salty Islet") is named after the salt extraction industry once there, established by
Hans Nielsen Hauge.
The
Lillesand-Flaksvandbanen operated between Lillesand and Flaksvann from
1896 to
1953.
The
Orzeł, a Polish submarine sank the German
troop transport Rio de Janeiro on
April 8 1940 off Lillesand. The Rio de Janeiro was on its way to take part in the initial landings of
Operation Weserübung - the invasion of
Norway.
Famous residents
In
1918,
Knut Hamsun bought Nørholm, an old and somewhat
dilapidated manor house between Lillesand and Grimstad. Knut Hamsun lived and wrote at Nørholm until he died there in
1952.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Lillesand'.
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