Bragdøya has been owned by the municipality of Kristiansand since 1969 when they bought it with a government grant as a public open space.

The first manor house in Kristiansand was built in Bragdøya around 1770 for the family of Henrik Arnold Thaulow.

In 1915, two large warehouses were built on the west side of Bragdøya where mackerel was salted and packed for export.

The Nazi German occupiers committed executions of at least 28 Soviet POWs on Bragdøya during World War II.

There is a special boat from the city centre of Kristiansand during the Norwegian school holidays which makes a round trip of Bragdøya and several other islands.