Søgne Gamle Prestegård

Unique cultural centre in a richly historical area. Located in Søgne, 15 minutes by car from Kristiansand. The variety of cultural events all year round include concerts and exhibitions.

Summer programme with concerts, activities, sales exhibitions and café.

The Parsonage in Søgne has roots dating back to the Middle Ages. In 1989, the municipality of Søgne and the Vest-Agder County Municipality established a foundation to create a cultural center in the old buildings on the farm. Today, Søgne Gamle Prestegård stands as a vital and modern center for the dissemination of local history, literature, visual arts, music, theater, film, dance, with a cultural school for young people, activities for the elderly, and more. From 2024, Søgne became part of the municipality of Kristiansand.

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (1832 – 1910) and Søgne
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson is one of Norway's most famous authors and was an extremely active cultural figure as a poet, social debater, editor, public speaker, and dramatist. His extensive literary output includes tales of rural life, plays, poetry, novels, articles, speeches, and letters. He wrote the lyrics for Norway’s national anthem, "Ja, vi elsker," and was granted a pension by the Norwegian Parliament in 1863. In 1903, he became the first Norwegian poet to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. The author’s father, Peder Bjørnson, was the parish priest in Søgne from 1853 to 1869, and the son spent several short and long stays here over the years. Among other works, his literary debut, the saga play Mellom Slagene (1857), was written here. Also – fully or partially – Halte-Hulda (1858), Arne (1859), En glad gut (1860), and the famous short story “Faderen” (1860) were written here. The literary historian Edvard Beyer wrote about the latter: “No saga storyteller, no short story writer – not even Hemingway – has managed to say so much with so few words.”

In 1858, Bjørnson married Karoline Reimers in the beautiful church of Søgne, and the marriage lasted for life. From 1875, the family had their permanent home at Aulestad in Gausdal, after a life of moving around, including in Bergen, Christiania, Copenhagen, and Rome. Nonetheless, Bjørnson continued with extensive travel, both as a public speaker throughout the country and with visits to America and Paris. From 1887 until his death, he lived mostly at Aulestad in the summer, while the winter months were often spent in Italy, Munich, or Paris.

In the garden of the parsonage, there is a bust of Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, created by the artist Torje Leland from Vigmostad in 1932.

Exhibitions
Gallery Fjøset at the cultural center in Søgne is a modern refurbished gallery where there are changing art exhibitions throughout the year.

The first people in Agder
The exhibition shows exciting Stone Age finds from several places in Agder. The skull and three other bones are currently not in the exhibition, due to further research on the findings. You can see a copy of the skull of the woman who has been given the nickname "Sol" ("Sun"), which is almost 9,000 years old and was found in Søgne.

Hitler's secret weapon
In a mountain cave you can see and touch Hitler's secret weapon - the one person submarine Biber. The submarines were equipped with two powerful torpedoes on each side and the purpose of stationing them in Søgne was to use them against allied ships that they expected to arrive. The submarine has been partially restored and is a world-class curiosity, and Hitler's secret weapon in Søgne.

Rental of premises
The buildings are located in scenic surroundings and are suitable for courses, conferences and parties.