Kragero Sportell

My favorite place on earth

by hegeharr

"Chill"

You can never be certain that the weather will be fine in Norway, not even in the middle of summer. But there are always ways to chill. Read an interesting book, drink some fresh juice and fall asleep under a worn blanket...

"Visit the island Jomfruland"

Jomfruland lies as a a long and narrow barrier between the Skagerak ocean and the smaller islands towards mainland. The inner part has farms and small forests (and a camp site for those interested), the outer part, facing the ocean, consists mainly of stones. It's a cozy place with the occasional cultural happening like the Under to tårn festival ("Under two towers" - the concerts are held in the garden where the two lighthouses are), the Jomfrulandsutstilling (Jomfruland Exhibition) with local artists, etc...

My summerhouse in Kragerø

by glamourprincess

"Summer in Kragerø"

My family has a summerhouse on the beautiful south coast of Norway. I've stayed there for a few weeks every summer and it's nice to get away from the busy, polluted (but still lovely) city of Oslo. Kragerø is a small town on the coast of Norway, about a 3-hour drive by car/bus from Oslo.

"The magical sea"

The best thing about Kragerø is being out on the sea. There are lots of different islets and islands you can only reach by boat. Jomfruland is without a doubt my favorite. A long, narrow island with sandy beaches, green forests, farms, "wild" cows, rocky beaches..beautiful nature!

A cute litte town at the south-eastern coast

by Rusket

"58.52 N 9.25 E"

Although Kragerø is only half an hour from Brøsjø by car, the climate is totally different. Kragerø is the southernmost city of Telemark, at the south-eastern coast of Norway, 194 km from Oslo, 145 km from Kristiansand. Population appr. 11.000, appr. 4000 holiday homes, and an archipelago of 495 islands and islets.

http://www.visitkragero.no/
http://www.kragero.kommune.no/

"Retrospective glance"

Kragerø is mentioned in writing in 1623, and acquired status as a city in 1666. At that time overseas lumber trade was thriving. A few wealthy merchants controlled the trade as well as mines, ironworks, shipyards, sawmills, mills and waterways. In 1807 the "golden years" of Kragerø ended, when the neutral kingdom Denmark / Norway was forced to take part in the Napoleon war.

Later export of ice became important, and from 1850 shipping expanded. In 1880 there were more than 40 shipyards, 168 sailing ships and 1614 sailors. Development of modern freezing technique and steem engines and steel hulled ships ended this period of wealth.

"Modern Kragerø"

A high percentage of the inhabitants are employed in different kinds of factories and workshops. But one of the main companies, Tangen Shipyard, was shut down in 2003.

Kragerø has a tradition for art, culture and boating, and there are several festivals and other arrangements each year. An exotic arrangement is the summer ski race in june: Snow is driven by trucks from high up in the mountains and spread in the streets. The race gathers skiers from norwegian and sometimes international elite, and has become quite popular ;-)

Kragerø Railway Line

by Rusket

"The railway station"

Beautiful building, but sadly enough, no trains :-( The last one left this station 31.12.1988.

But it is still used for the good of travellers: There is a bus station, a taxi station and a tourist information center, and a short distance to the ferries and taxi boats.

Ar this site you find pictures from 1988, when the line was still active:
http://forsk.njk.no/stdb/VisEkspsted.php?Stnr=7705&detaljert=1&baneID=210

"Seen from the city side"

This used to be the main entrance. The sign over the entrance still says "Kragerø Railway Station" :-)

"View from the station"

An artifically made fjord named Blindtarmen (Appendix) ends right here, where the end of the tracks used to be.

""The tracks""

Now used as a bus and taxi terminal.

"Tunnel"

The former railroad tunnel, now used as a road tunnel.

"Railway bridge"

Not a very good picture, taken through a bus window. You can see the mirror image of the photographer ;-)

The tracks are physically removed from the lower part of the line. But some of the old bridges are still intact.

"Intact part of the line"

The intact part of the line ends at Neslandsvatn

"Turntable"

At Neslandsvatn you can still find the old turntable.

Narrow streets and wooden houses

by Rusket

"The railway station"

This is not narrow, and the building is not wooden! That is due to the fact that this used to be Kragerø Railway Station. The local railway line between Neslandsvatn and Kragerø was abandoned 31.12.1988. But the station building is still there, nowadays used as a tourist information center and a bus station.

More about this in my railway travelogue.

"City Square"

A place to relax after strolling along the narrow streets of the inner city, with a bank, a pharmacy, a couple of resraurants / cafes and some shops.

"View from the square"

Nort-west corner of the square, with a view of one of the broader streets.

"Narrow street"

"Another narrow street"

"A very narrow street"

"Fire hydrant"

Most needed in this city of wooden buildings. To the right you can see one of the few non-wooden ones.

"Cars!"

Ooops, they allow cars to drive through these narrow street. Be careful when walking, there are no sidewalks.