Welcome to Farsund Norway

Farsund & Listalandet
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Welcome to Farsund!
The municipality of Farsund has ca. 9.200 inhabitants, mainly concentrated on three centres of population - Farsund town, Vanse and Vestbygda. It also includes the outlying districts of Lista, Herad and Spind.
Shipping, fishing and agriculture have been the main industries in the area. Today Farsund is the largest agrcultural district in the county of Vest-Agder, having 26 km2 productive land, 88 km2 forest and 17 k m2 freshwater areas.
Farsund was already recognized as a trading centre in 1795, and in 1995 celebrated its 200-years jubilee with town status.

Vanse: was formerly the largest centre of population in the district. Today it has 2.500 inhabitants, and some of the council offices are still situated there.

Vestbygda: is built round the only harbour of any size in a particularly exposed stretch of the coast. There was a considerable emigration to the United States from this region in former times.

The scenery: around Farsund and Lista which has inspired many artists is extremely varied, with a rugged coastline, fine sandy beaches, many islands, mountainous and forest regions.
Trade and Industry: Farsund was formerly an important ship-owning town with up to 50 registered vessels. Although there are still some ship-owners based on Farsund, this activity is now overshadowed by the newer industries: Elkem Aluminium Lista, the Bredero Pipe Coating factory (undersea oil and gas pipes) and the new A-CMI car component factory, based on Lundevågen ca. 2 km from Farsund centre, employ ca. 1300 of the district¹s work force. In addition there are engineering workshops, a foundry, joinery and fish farms.

Communication: Lista has a large airfield which is at present used mainly for inland routes. There are good road connections from Farsund via Lyngdal to the main artery E-39, and to the main-line railway Oslo-Stavanger at Snartemo station.

Lista Lighthouse
Lista Lighthouse was lit 10.11, 1836. In 1850, it was suggested that the revolving light at Lista should be replaced by three permanent lights for easier identification. Between 1851 and 1852 two additional towers identical to the original one were erected. At the reorganization in 1873, the northernmost tower was kept, while the other two were torn down. In 1877, the lighthouse, which is 38 m tall, the strongest fog signal of that time, and in 1911, the wick lamps were exchanged with petroleum incandescent lamps.
Ca. 60.000 visitors come to Lista Lighthouse all the year round, where the attractions include an information centre, a meteorological and an ornithological station, art exhibitions and small concerts.

Loshavn / Eikvåg
Loshavn - located south of Farsund - is a densely built-up idyll where some of the best kept wooden houses on the South coast can be found. The history of this beautiful outport dates back to the early part of the 1700s. Loshavn was an important privateering port during the Napoleonic War (1807 - 14).
In addition to the school and boat builder¹s yard, there were also an inn and a taproom.
Apart from 5 - 6 permanent residents, today all the houses in old Loshavn are used as holiday houses.

Pennefeltet
Pennefeltet consists of approximately 3000 year old rockcarvings of ships as well as pan depressions, foot imprints and remains of old house sites from the time of the Great Migration. There are traces of stone age settlements, burial fields, and farmsteads from the Iron Age as well as stone fences from older and newer times. Below the field to the west, are the newly restored farm buildings at Penne that were built according to local building traditions, with the farm house and the outbuildings connected to each other in a row.

Lista Museum
Lista Museum was established as a country museum for the then Lista Municipality in 1921 by a private foundation.
The collections cover a long period of time - from Older Stone Age and up to recent times. Today, the museum owns 17 historical buildings. Several of them are spread across Lista where they are preserved in their natural environment. The core of the collection is the so-called Midthassel house, a magnificent skipper house from 1742. In addition, there is a separate collection of some of the works of the sculptor Mathias Skeibrok. It is the largest Skeibrok collection in existence.

Husan
Husan is the site of local administration in Farsund; town hall with the municipal council¹s hall and the assembly hall. Husan was originally a wooden structure from 1801-03, constructed by Jochum Lund. His two sons, Gabriel and Ebbe Lund, used it as their residence.
In 1918, Husan was renovated and enlarged with a new wing towards the northwest. Husan was partially destroyed by fire in 1940 (the oldest wing), and was rebuilt (in concrete) and restored, towards the end of the 1950s.
In 1990, Husan received the much coveted Europe Nostra Prize for successful restoration.
On Husan¹s top floor, there is a loft where local artists exhibit their work during the summer.

The mills at Hervoll
Two old grain mills, of which one is constructed by timber from a shipwreck, the other from stone. There have been 15 water mills in the little stream that runs from Hervoll and empties into the sea at Jølle. Of these, two have been restored and the mills are owned and used by Lista Museum. Open all year.

Varnes Fort
This battery was placed under the Artillery Group Vanse together with Hidra, Marka, Loshavn, and Hausvik. The battery had four 10,5 cm batteries with 16000 m fire range and a firing rate of 5 shots pr. minute.
Two of the cannons were placed in a casemate which was a large tunnel by the battery, and was connected to the gun site¹s commando tower. In addition came regular close combat weapons.
The battery was a small link in the enormous Westwall that was constructed by the Germans from 1940 along the entire coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Along the Norwegian west coast along, 300 batteries were constructed.
The installation was never used in acts of war. The approx. 100 soldiers at Varnes were only allowed to practice firing.

Vanse Church
Vanse Church is probably among the oldest churches in the country, and originates most likely from 1037. In 1848 it was extended to become a cross church, and visiting church musicians often refer to it as a cathedral.
The church was struck by fire in 1872, but was completely restored in 1875. The altarpiece was painted in 1866 by G. H. Lammers.
The church is built of stone with chalk plaster, and with its 1100 seats, it is the largest in the municipality.

Water Sports
The Lista coast with its fine beaches and special wind conditions offers unique opportunities to both local inhabitants and visitors. The beach at Bausje is a popular wind-surfing centre with a regatta office, showers and toilets. Wind-surfing is forbidden in the autumn and winter to protect bird life.
Farsund Yacht Club holds regattas regularly. The Diving Club in Farsund has been active salvaging from ancient wrecks, the results of which were presented at the «Skarvøy» exhibition 1995. The Tourist Office in Farsund will give information about the various opportunities for sport and recreation.

Visitors Harbour
Farsund¹s harbour for visiting boats lies in the centre of the town, with shops, bank, post office, cafés and restaurants within easy reach. It has 40 / 60 moorings with access to water, electric power, sanitary facilities, refuelling, hiring of boats and diving equipment.
The Toruist Information Office is ca. 50-60 m. from the main quay. Some of the islands nearby have their own quays, toilets and grilling facilities.

The outport Skarvøy
Such small ports were well shielded, and had several entrances. Skarvøy was such a port. Most likely, it has been used as an emergency and transit harbor for centuries. Both written sources and findings show some activities between the 14th and 18 th centuries. In 1981, the remains of a sailing vessel in the harbor was found. The Norwegian Maritime Museum, together with Farsund Diving Club, excavated the socalled «Skarvøy Wreck». They
uncovered a vessel, approx. 33 meters long and 7 meters wide, constructed from a very coarse material. Apparently, it sank sometime between 1730 and 1740.

The Lista fishing Smacks (Listaskøyta)
The sea and fishing has from time immemorial been an important way of living for the Lista people. The sea was the main artery for staying in contact with people, both along the coast and with other European contries. The harbor conditions at western Lista, were often bad.
When the fall storms started, the boats had to be pulled ashore. At first the boats were rather small and light so that they could be put on shore.
In 1890, the breakwaters in Borshavn were completed, and from then on larger boats could be afloat throughout the year.

Østhassel rescue station
During the 1890s, a breakwater and harbor were constructed at Østhassel Beach. At the same time, Østhassel Rescue Station was constructed here and at Rauna. Since then, there have been many rescue boats with a permanent crew that have saved many lives and assisted in many dramatic situations. Today you can see "Lista" and "Rauna". There are a model and a lot of equipment to look at. See also Museum
At the station is the stone monument to Tønnes Samuelsen Kåde who was a fearless lifesaver.

The Lista Beaches
Lomsesanden Beach is one of the most popular beaches, and is situated southwest of Farsund center. Lomsesanden has a local camp ground with a shop and other facilities.

Bausje
Bausje, is a long sandy beach with great opportunities for wind surfing. Here are also restrooms and shower facilities.

Haviksanden
Haviksanden is the most popular beach second only to Lomsesanden, and is easily accessible with a parking area nearby.

The Skerries
The coast outside the town of Farsund with its hundreds of islands is a favourite summer holiday region. It combines beautiful scenery with plentiful amenties for all kinds of boating, and yet is near the town itself with restaurants and other facilities.
The island of Engøy is the nearest to the town centre, and was joined to the mainland by a causeway in 1995. It is famous for det stories about there witches who were burnt at the stake in the 1600¹s.
Katland lighthouse on an island in the main sea channel into Farsund started up in 1872 with a keeper and his family living on the island until 1947. The light is now operated automatically using sun cells.
The island of Vikholmen is also known as «Madagaskar» having been given to a Mission by a private owner. An old Meeting House has been built on the island and is still used occasionally.
The island of Ullerøy is associated with a dramatic event. from the Norwegian Resistance in 1941, when a Norwegian agent was landed here from a British submarine.

Framvaren
Framvaren is a 180m deep sill fjord that almost divides Lista into two parts. The water below 15 m is totally free of oxygen. This condition is unique and has attracted international attention. It has a concentration of hydrogen sulphide that is 20 times higher than the Black Sea. The processes that are taking place in the bottom layers correspond to the processes that at one time produced the oil in the North Sea.
The characteristic geography and fauna, are reminiscent of west coast fjords. Listeid is situated in the southwestern corner of the fjord and there is a boat tow for smaller boats from there across to Sigersvold.You will also find Bøensbakkene very interesting.

Skarvodden
Strong winds, scorching sun, a scarcity of soil, and an everlasting sea spray from the ocean, is the foundation of everyday life for the plants on the pebble beach beneath Lista lighthouse. Only those plants that are especially adapted to this tough environment, can survive here.
The beach and the bare rocks have that in common that they have no wooded areas. Most trees and plants cannot tolerate the high salt content of the area.
At those places where large amounts of seaweed are washed ashore, special nutritional conditions with large contents of nitrogen, exist. At this place the curled dock (Rumex crispus) and other specialized plants grow.
Some parts of the Lista beaches have been protected as plant reserves where no flower picking is permitted. This applies to Våien and the Verevågen, among other places.

The Stone monument at Vere
Driving through Vere towards Stavestø, we come to a parking area with a leeside planting belt on the right hand. A stone fence extends southwards between the planted field and the outfield. This fence was erected at the beach during the Bronze Age. Along the top of the beach an old road leads into the woods. At Sausebakk, the landowners have refrained from planting around the burial mounds at an old place of worship. In the middle of the field, by the road, stands a stone monument, that is known by the name «Vanen». The Gods Frøy, Frøya, and Njord of Norse mythology were «vaner», godlike creatures that ruled over the earth and ocean, fertility and good weather at sea.

Walking tours in the Farsund district
There are ca. 30 km of marked paths, both along the coast with its 10 km of fine sandy beaches, and further inland with many spectacular views from the surrounding hills.
The varied paths and routes offer the visitor splendid scenery combined with places of special interest such as ancient grave-mounds, gun emplacements from World War II, nature reserve areas and so on.
The Tourist Information Office has maps of these paths.

Development and Culture History
The significance of Farsund and Lista as an area with ancient settlements is continually being confirmed by finds in the region, both in the sea along the coast and on land.
One of the largest Stone Age settlements in Southern Norway was discovered during the erection of the Aluminium Works. A series of rock drawings tells of a varied settlement leading up to historical times, and many grave excavations confirm this.
During the establishment of the Bredero Price and the car corponent factory A-CMI at Lundevågen further excavations were undertaken. Also these revealed old settlements and parts of tools. Farsund has in addiotion one of the largest archaeological collections in the county of West-Agder.

Agricultural landscape
The numerous stone fences and clearings are the most characteristic features of the agricultural landscape of Western Lista. The number, size and density of these testify to the hard labour involved in clearing this land. For thousands of years Lista farmers have regularly burnt off the undergrowth of the pastures each spring to give good growing conditions for grass. The method is still in use on the hill between Jølle and Rudjord.

Tonstad - Kjerag - Lysebotn
An all-day trip through impressive scenery, either by choosing a 2 hour hike into Kjerag, or driving down the 27 hairpin bends to Lysebotn and taking the boat to Stavanger. Take E39 to Kvinesdal, route 465 to Kvinlog and route 42 to Tonstad, route 468 to Øvre (Upper) Sirdal and down to Lysebotn.

Zoo/leisure park Kristiansand
The drive to Kristiansand takes a little more than 1,5 hour. It is well worth spending a whole day in order to experience all of the activities in the park.

Jøssingfjord - Egersund
Take E39 to Flekkefjord and the North Sea Road (route 44) towards Egersund. On your way you will pass Jøssingfjord where the German vessel Altmark was sunk.

Lindesnes
The southernmost point on the Norwegian mainland. Lindesnes Lighthouse is the oldest in the country. Restaurant and gallery at the location. Take the North Sea Road to Spangereid

Knaben
Knaben was a mining community founded on the discovery of molybdenum. Knaben Mining Company was closed in 1973. Excellent area for hiking and recreational ativities summer and winter.