The reconstruction of Kristiansund
The peace that followed after World War II, in 1945, was a heavy price to pay. The city was destroyed. 803 of 1300 houses, of which 579 were homes, were systematically bombed for 4 days from April 28th to the 1st of May 1940, only one week after the first few bomb attacks on the town. 5 civilians lost their lives. On the picture, the pipe of the dairy is almost the only thing left that's recognizable. In the damage rapports from the fire that followed after the bombing, it's said that 724 buildings were completely destroyed and 117 partly damaged, which represents 63% of the total value summing up at 75 million NOK. Today that's equivalent to 1 billion, 638 million NOK. About the same price it costs to build a new town center.
This was a significant part of Norway's material damage in total, caused by the war. 28% of the countries damaged houses were in Kristiansund. Leaving 11 000 people homeless and forced to evacuate. Luckily, Omsundbrua had just been finished, and it was not damaged during the bombing.
Why was Kristiansund bombed? Perhaps it was because the enemy wanted to take the Bank of Norway's gold reserves, the king and the government, which could possible be staying in the area, or perhaps to clear the ground for a military base or destroy the port for the Allies, or maybe it was just a pure act of terrorism, a deterrent demonstration of military power? However, German propaganda claimed that they were under the impression that Britain had occupied the coast of Norway.
Reconstructing the town took 20 years, after a whole new zoning was made by Norwegian architects. At the end of the building manager's register of reconstructed houses, it says “no one can ever imagine how much work this has been.” The reconstruction of Ålesund (a town known for it's unique concentration of Art Nouveau architecture), after the fire in 1904, only took 3 years in comparison! It's no wonder we're particularly fond of this strange, gray and colorful, simple and complex, city of ours.
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In April, 1940, Kristiansund was bombed by German airplanes and most of the old wooden buildings were left in ruins. During the war the “burnt sites regulations” were started. This was the planning of the reconstruction, which was first properly set in to action after the war was over. Most of the people who became homeless during the war had to live in barracks, and some had to stay there for several years.
Kristiansund, was, after the war, re-built as a city with a significant reconstruction architecture in a plain style. The central parts of Kirkelandet and Nordlandet were completely reconstructed. The old wooden town with a self-grown structure of roads and property boundaries, was replaced with straight roads. Kirkelandet was now dominated by Kaibakken, a wide new street that connects the piers with the upper parts of town. The axes of the architecture points towards some magnificent scenery, such as Freikollen and Jørgenvågsalen which is to be found in the neighboring municipality, Aure. In central residential areas, some houses were equipped with classic details like beautiful door entrances. In Vuggaveien and Sveagata they set up pre-built houses, sent from the Swedish Red Cross as emergency assistance.
The 1950s were influenced by the reconstruction of the town and rich waters filled with herring during the winter. The city had now gotten a trawler fleet, which provided feedstock for the klippfish production. The inauguration of Kirkelandet Church in 1964, marked that the restoration of Kristiansund was complete.