KRISTIANSUND

town and port, Mre og Romsdal fylke (county), western Norway. The town is situated on three tiny coastal islets facing the Norwegian Sea; its harbour is protected by an inlet in the adjacent island of Frei and by the island of Avery (west). In the area around the town, ruins of habitations have been found that may date back to the Fosna culture (about 8000 BC). Long an important fishing port, it was incorporated as a city in 1742. Many of its residents are descendants of Scotsmen who came to supervise a fishing enterprise in the 18th century. During World War II, Kristiansund sustained heavy damage, especially by a German bombardment in April 1940. Completely rebuilt, it is now the home port for a large Norwegian trawler fleet. The town's principal export is fish (principally cod), fresh, salted, and frozen; local industry centres on fish processing. The town is postally known as Kristiansund N. (for Nord, North), to distinguish it from the similarly spelled town of Kristiansand, in southern Norway, which is postally written Kristiansand S. (for Sr, South). Pop. (1992 est.) mun., 17,121.