The oldest ever remains of an 8,000+ year old human in Norway has been found at
Søgne, she endured an almost exclusively marine diet. In Kristiansand, a
Sarup-style
Neolithic funeral site from 3,400 BC has been excavated. Just before and after the onset of the
common era, the region was uniquely rich in sites dedicated to the God Ull (Ullr), and also had a semi-urban settlement at Oddernes (Kristiansand). Norway's first possible all-national king,
Halvdan Svarte, was raised probably in the
Kvinesdal valley at a matrimonial manor, his mother was presumably the daughter of King Harald of Agder. He was followed by his son King
Harald Fairhair, who had his easternmost manor at Kongsgård near Kristiansand. Churches are known since Viking ages. Vest-Agder was not particularly preeminent in the later Viking and Medieval Ages.
Mandal (Vesterrisør) and Kristiansand (Ottrunes) had semi-urban trading centers from the 1300s onwards, but did not enjoy urban economic privileges until the 1632 (Mandal) and 1641 (Kristiansand). A general lack of agricultural fertility made the region remaining a relatively poor part of Norway through the centuries. In the 16th century,
Dutch merchant vessels began to visit ports in southern Norway to purchase
salmon and other goods. Soon thereafter the export of
timber began, as
oak from southern Norway was exceptionally well suited for
shipbuilding. As the
Netherlands developed in the 17th century, it began to suffer from a severe labor shortage, and many families from Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder emigrated to the Netherlands, especially the coastal areas. In the 19th century, emigration to the
United States started. One of the most important causes of this emigration was the emergence of
steamships. While Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder historically had very strong positions in the manufacture and repair of
sailing ships, the shift to steamships was poorly utilised and resulted in a cyclical slope for the shipbuilding and shipping industries. Emigration to the United States was a means of escaping from the high unemployment that followed. Many
Americans returning to the county after
Norway became prosperous. This feature is particularly predominant in
Kvinesdal and
Farsund in the west, which maintains strong cultural links with the
United States. During
World War II the area had substantial fortifications and German personnel, with major bases and airfields in Lista, Mandal and Kristiansand.
Batterie Vara near Kristiansand was constructed as one out of two 40 cm coastal artillery forts covering the Skagerrak Sea in conjunction with a similar fort in northern Denmark. After the war, Kristiansand grew considerably whereas other cities lost much of their relative economic and demographic importance. ==Municipalities==