Kristiansand
Kristiansand WWII History Tour
Excursion
Price from €119
Difficulty level
Level 1: Easy - suitable for most people
Booking code
HRI-KRS2B,HRI-KRS12B,HRS-KRS1
Duration
2 hours 30 minutes
Notes
Read the practical information below
Gain insight into life and work at Batterie Vara during wartime
See the world’s second largest land-mounted cannon
Visit the “House of Horror”, and find out what happened there
We first take a short sightseeing tour of Kristiansand before heading over to the Kristiansand Cannon Museum. Originally built as a German fort in WWII, Batterie Vara features the world’s second largest cannon ever to be mounted on land.
In addition to the impressive cannon itself, the bunker beneath the cannon displays interesting artefacts from the time. The nearby communication bunker focuses on the human toll of the war, telling stories of people connected to Batterie Vara during WWII.
The tour continues to The Arkivet Peace and Human Rights Centre. This building served as a Gestapo regional HQ during WWII, the basement functioning as a detention and interrogation centre. The prison cells and torture chambers from 1942-1945 have been reconstructed, and installations illustrate the grim events that took place in the basement. During the guided tour, you’ll learn about the lives of both the prisoners and prison guards of the place that came to be known as The House of Horror.
Practical information
The terrain is uneven in places and there is a 50-metre incline up to the cannon