Kristiansund

Kristiansund [krɪstjɑnˈsʉn]  ( listen) (historically Christianssund) is a city and municipality on the western coast of Norway in the Nordmøre district of Møre og Romsdal county. It was officially awarded township status in 1742, and it is still the major town for the region. The administrative center of the municipality is the city of Kristiansund. Other settlements in the municipality include the villages of Kvalvåg, Rensvik, and Nedre Frei.

The city of Kristiansund is the largest settlement in the municipality. The 7.91-square-kilometre (1,950-acre) city has a population (2013) of 18,002 which gives the city a population density of 2,276 inhabitants per square kilometre (5,890/sq mi).

General information

The parish of Christianssund was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). On 1 January 1897, the Grip archipelago was separated from Kristiansund Municipality to become a separate municipality. On 1 January 1964, Kristiansund Municipality was merged with the tiny Grip Municipality (population: 104) to the northwest and the Dale area of Bremsnes Municipality on Nordlandet island (population: 963). The neighboring Frei Municipality was merged with Kristiansund on 1 January 2008 creating a much larger Kristiansund Municipality.