About us

ARKIVET Peace and Human Rights Centre is located centrally in Kristiansand and is one of seven peace and human rights centres in Norway. The centre serves as both a memorial and a forward-looking research and dissemination centre with a broad scope.

Rooted in local warhistory

ARKIVET Peace and Human Rights Centre is located at Vesterveien 4, just outside Kristiansand city centre, in what was the Gestapo’s headquarters in Southern Norway during World War II. From 1942 to 1945, the building functioned as the police station for the German security police. Cells and torture chambers were installed in what had previously been a state archive. Many were subjected to brutal interrogations and torture.

During the war, the building became known as the “House of Horrors” and the “Stronghold of Torture.”

Current activities

Today, ARKIVET Peace and Human Rights Centre focuses on four key areas: research, dissemination, documentation, and education.

Our mission

• Preserve the historical building Arkivet and develop it as a platform for communication.
• Contribute to Norway’s obligations to educate children and youth about democracy and human rights.
• Engage in active dissemination work that promotes a society based on openness, democracy, human dignity, and diversity.
• Help strengthen democracy, peace, and human rights through knowledge sharing and value-based activities grounded in research and documentation.

ARKIVET Peace and Human Rights Centre is a certified Eco-Lighthouse enterprise. (Eco-Lighthouse, or Miljøfyrtårn, is a Norwegian certification for businesses that meet certain environmental standards.)