Edvard Munch called Kragerø "the pearl of the coastal towns," and he should know: he lived here from 1909 to 1915 after a nervous breakdown sent him looking for peace and quiet away from the art capitals of Europe. It worked. The light and landscape of the Kragerø archipelago reignited his passion for painting, and some of his most important works were created here, including Solen (The Sun) and Historien (History), both painted for the University of Oslo's Aula.
The town itself is a classic Sørlandsby: white wooden houses stacked up a hillside, a sheltered harbour, and 495 islands and skerries offshore. Since the 1920s it has been one of Norway's most sought-after summer destinations, sometimes called Norway's Saint-Tropez for the way its population quadruples in July when Oslo empties and the boats fill the harbour. Kayaking, swimming, and island-hopping by ferry are the main activities. Jomfruland, the long island national park, is reached by regular boat service from town.
Kragerø also has a piece of railway history that most visitors never hear about. The Kragerøbanen was a 27 kilometre branch line connecting the town to Neslandsvatn on the Sørlandsbanen. It opened in 1927 and was the town's lifeline to the national rail network for over sixty years. When branch lines across Norway were cut in the late 1980s, Kragerøbanen was among the casualties: the last train ran on 31 December 1988, and the section closest to town was later demolished to make way for a road. The rest of the trackbed still exists between Sannidal and Neslandsvatn, a quiet reminder of a time when the railway reached all the way to the coast.
The town itself is a classic Sørlandsby: white wooden houses stacked up a hillside, a sheltered harbour, and 495 islands and skerries offshore. Since the 1920s it has been one of Norway's most sought-after summer destinations, sometimes called Norway's Saint-Tropez for the way its population quadruples in July when Oslo empties and the boats fill the harbour. Kayaking, swimming, and island-hopping by ferry are the main activities. Jomfruland, the long island national park, is reached by regular boat service from town.
Kragerø also has a piece of railway history that most visitors never hear about. The Kragerøbanen was a 27 kilometre branch line connecting the town to Neslandsvatn on the Sørlandsbanen. It opened in 1927 and was the town's lifeline to the national rail network for over sixty years. When branch lines across Norway were cut in the late 1980s, Kragerøbanen was among the casualties: the last train ran on 31 December 1988, and the section closest to town was later demolished to make way for a road. The rest of the trackbed still exists between Sannidal and Neslandsvatn, a quiet reminder of a time when the railway reached all the way to the coast.
