Wergeland Park

Wergelands Park

Wergelandsparken is a green oasis located in the heart of Kvadraturen in Kristiansand. The well-known statue of Henrik Wergeland is prominently placed in the park, which is surrounded by notable neighbors such as the Cathedral and the old Latin School/Cathedral School, where notable figures like Vilhelm Krag and Gabriel Scott were students.

Oscar Wergeland (1815–1895)

Joseph Frantz Oscar was the youngest of the Wergeland siblings and the only one to return to live in Kristiansand. He entered the Military Academy at the age of 12 and became a prominent military strategist, topographer, cartographer, ski enthusiast, and landscape designer. As the head of the large Christiansandske Brigade, he was popularly known as "The General."

Oscar Wergeland was deeply devoted to the city and the welfare of its citizens. He led Christianssands Byselskab and, in 1859–60, created the park that would bear his name, Wergelandsparken, featuring shaded trees, grass, and flowers in the city center. Three years later, he initiated the preservation of Baneheia, planting a total of 40,000 trees. In the 1870s, he designed the beautiful Ravnedalen Park, where a statue of him now stands.

Gustav Vigeland (1869–1943)

Gustav Vigeland, born in Lindesnes municipality, is Norway's most renowned sculptor, with the monumental Vigeland Park in Oslo as his masterpiece. He gifted the statue of Henrik Wergeland to Kristiansand for the 100th anniversary of the poet's birth. The statue was unveiled on June 17, 1908.

Vigeland originally wanted the statue to be placed in Børsparken, justifying it by saying:
"As soon as people arrive in Christiansand, he should stand there—Henrik Wergeland—and declare: ‘I was born in this city!’ They should see it and remember it for the next time, these damned arrogant Easterners and Northerners who rush past and say there’s nothing of value in this part of the country.”

Henrik Wergeland (1808–1845)

Henrik Arnold Wergeland is one of Norway’s greatest poets. He wrote towering romantic poems, educational epics, political verses, and cheerful songs, as well as stories, articles, plays, historical works, and informative writings. He is particularly known for his fight for a multireligious society and for establishing May 17th as a political celebration.

In addition to his vast literary production, Wergeland served as Norway's first national archivist. After Norway’s liberation in May 1945, 100 years after his death, he was celebrated as a national patriot.

Read more about Henrik Wergeland under "Thaulows House, Bragdøya."

Camilla Collett, née Wergeland (1813–1895)

Jacobine Camilla Collett, née Wergeland, is one of Norway's foremost writers and essayists. In Norwegian literature, she was a pioneer in several fields: as an advocate for women’s rights, a feminist author, and a literary critic. She was also the first woman since Dorothe Engelbretsdatter to earn a living from her writing.

Collett considered herself "the woman swimming against the current." Her novel The District Governor's Daughters (1854–55) critiques arranged marriages and women’s roles in society and is regarded as Norway’s first realistic novel. Her autobiography In the Long Nights (1863) is an important source of information about the Wergeland family and its connection to Kristiansand.

Read more about Camilla Collett under "Thaulows House, Bragdøya."

The Latin School / Cathedral School (established in 1642)

The roots of Latin schools trace back to the Middle Ages, where education was primarily conducted under the Church, in monasteries, or linked to cathedrals. In 1642, King Christian IV ordered feudal lord Palle Rosenkrantz to establish a Latin school in Kristiansand. Its purpose was to create knowledgeable Christians and prepare them for university studies.

In 1686, cathedral school privileges were transferred from Stavanger to Kristiansand, and in 1736, the school received a new building. A book collection, the city’s first library, was established there in 1775. Today’s public library is located across from the old Cathedral School. Nicolai Wergeland (1780–1848), the father of Henrik, Oscar, and Camilla, taught there and was known as a skilled educator. In more recent times, authors such as Vilhelm Krag, Gabriel Scott, and Jens Bjørneboe attended the school, affectionately nicknamed "Katta."