Baneheia is an area in Kristiansand

Kristiansand

-History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040...

 in Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

, mostly known at the national level from the Baneheia case

Baneheia case

The Baneheia case was a notorious double child murder that took place in Baneheia in the city of Kristiansand, Norway, on May 19, 2000. The victims, Lena Sløgedal Paulsen and Stine Sofie Sørstrønen , were raped and killed. Viggo Kristiansen and Jan Helge Andersen were convicted in 2002 for the...

, as the scene of a notorious murder of two girls aged 8 and 10 that took place in 2000. The area is a local recreational area with lakes and forest. The Baneheia area, close to Downtown Kristiansand and Ravnedalen

Ravnedalen, Kristiansand

Ravnedalen is a park at Grim in Kristiansand, close to Baneheia. It was constructed 1874–1878 by military soldiers under Colonel, later Major General Joseph Frantz Oscar Wergeland's command.-History:...

 Park, was given to the citizens of Kristiansand by king Christian 4th

Christian IV of Denmark

Christian IV was the king of Denmark-Norway from 1588 until his death. With a reign of more than 59 years, he is the longest-reigning monarch of Denmark, and he is frequently remembered as one of the most popular, ambitious and proactive Danish kings, having initiated many reforms and projects...

 of Denmark-Norway when the city was founded in 1641.

Baneheia as a recreational area

The lake called '3. stampe' or 'Stampa' is a popular swimming lake with a couple of small beaches and nice water temperatures during summer. On the "Drageknatten" hill, the you can get a nice view of the city center and the docks. Baneheia is used for jogging during spring, summer and autumn and can be used for skiing during winter if it's enough snow. Some parts of the area is even available for wheelchair users.

History

Baneheia used to be quite a sad view, as the trees were gone because of the inhabitants' need of wood. In the 1800s, general Joseph Frantz Oscar Wergeland

Joseph Frantz Oscar Wergeland

Joseph Frantz Oscar Wergeland was a Norwegian military officer, cartographer and skiing pioneer.-Personal life:Wergeland was born in Christianssand and grew up at Eidsvold. He was the son of priest and politician Nicolai Wergeland, and a brother of the poet Henrik Wergeland and feminist writer...

used soldiers from the city's garrison to plant trees, build stairs, roads etc. and made Baneheia into what it is today.