The history
The history of Sundboats
As long as we know people have lived on the islands of Kristiansund. They made their living from the sea. But it was the timber-trade that made the basis for the first growth. In the late 17th century the people
of the area learnt how to make “klippfish”. That knowledge made the basis for over to hundred years of prosperity. Until 1742 the place was called Fosna. It then got town privileges and was called Kristiansund, named after the Danish king.
The need for transport between the different islands (”lands”) of the town was considerable before the bridges were constructed (the latest in 1961). Many people had their own boat. As the number of people grew during the 19th century some men (and one lady) started to row people and goods for money. For many this evolved into a nice little business. The municipality then decided to take more responsibility for the transport, and granted licences to those who wanted to row.
But the comfort in the small rowing boats was poor, especially in bad weather. People wanted something better. In 1875 some local businessmen founded a company called Kristiansund Steamship Company, and put its first boat, “Kvik” (Quick) into traffic on November the 18th 1876. Soon after two more boats followed, “Rap” (Swift) and “Fram” (Forward). People talked about the boats as “Sundboats”.
From thestart the company was a huge success.
The company paid a yearly dividend to its shareholders. But during the First World War the company got financial problems. The coal-prices soared, and the company couldn´t increase the ticket-price accordingly. The deficits forced the company to give up, but the municipality continued the operations. The company, which now had a fleet of six boats, changed name to Kristiansund Municipal Sundboat Company. From 1928 the company was managed by the port-authorities.
In late April 1940 Kristiansund was severely damaged by German bombing. One of the boats sank bye one of the piers, and for a brief period the operations were halted. But when they resumed their traffic, the Sundboats were as important as ever for the community. During the war-years they went regularly to places outside the harbour. In the year 1943-44 the boats carried 2 635 900 passengers, which still is a yearly record. In 1951 the company replaced the coin-tickets with paper-tickets, and the last steamboat went out of service.
In 1958 a new “Rapp” was built. It still operates the harbour. For many years the company lost passengers. The main reason was that people now could afford their car. Increasingly more people also lived and worked outside the harbour-area. Fortunately this trend has turned the last few years. It now serves about 90 thousand passengers yearly. In 1997 the people of Kristiansund voted almost unanimously for the Sundboat as the symbol of the town. In 2005 the company built the first new boat for 40 years. The name is “Angvik”. So the Sundboats have tied the different “lands” of Kristiansund together for over 130 years continuously.
