Stavanger
Top-Rated Tourist Attractions in Stavanger
1 Preikestolen (Preacher's Pulpit)
The best known tourist attraction in the Stavanger area is also one of Norway's most iconic images, the massive flat-topped cliff that rises nearly 609 meters above the waters of Lysefjord. Preikestolen is a bit of a trip to reach, involving a ferry ride, a bus, and a two-hour hike. But if you have good boots and a head for heights (it's a sheer drop from the edge), the view on a clear day is unforgettable.
2 Norwegian Petroleum Museum
The story of oil may not seem a compelling one, but this innovative museum makes it relevant as well as interesting. A lively blend of science, technology, history, environment, and social concerns, the Norwegian Petroleum Museum sits above the harbor in a building that resembles a series of oil storage drums. Graphic, audio, and interactive exhibits explore the geology of petroleum and explain why so much lies off the Norwegian Continental Shelf. They explain how these deposits are discovered, how they are recovered, and how they affect the Norwegian economy and society. Even adult visitors enjoy climbing into a diver's suit, and there are other activities for all ages.
3 Norwegian Canning Museum
Who knew sardines could be so interesting? The Venus Packing Co. was one of about 70 canneries in Stavanger and 250 in Norway as a whole, and it has been restored to its appearance at the time of World War I. Exhibits show how Norwegian sardines were caught and processed from 1879 until the mid-1950s, a period when these tiny fish were one of Norway's most important export products. You can see how the fish was processed and follow the improvements in machinery. One of the most interesting is a single machine manufactured in Germany in the 1930s that packed the cans in greaseproof paper, attached a key, and put the label in place. The collection of labels displayed on the upper floor is a colorful sampling of the more than 40,000 different designs used. Kids will like the opportunity to dress up as cannery workers and to sample Norwegian waffles in the café that's in the authentic 1800s workers cottage, restored and furnished to show how it would have looked in the 1920s (on the lower floor) and about 1960 on the second floor.
/4 Stavanger Cathedral
Located in the city center, Stavanger Cathedral was built in the 12th century by Englishman Reginald of Worcester (later known as Bishop Reinald) as a three-aisle Romanesque basilica. The choir was rebuilt in Gothic style after a fire in 1272, and the whole church was renovated in the 19th century. Notable interior features include the richly carved Baroque pulpit (1658), a stone font of the Gothic period, and the stained glass in the east window depicting New Testament scenes.
Behind the cathedral sits the former Bishop's Palace, the Kongsgård, overlooking the northern shore of the Breiavatnet - the small lake at the center of the city. The nearby Bispekapellet, or Bishop's Chapel, dates back to the early 1300s and has been carefully restored. Northwest of Stavanger's cathedral and extending to the harbor inlet (Vågen), the Market Square is a lively place to spend time shopping at its open-air stalls and soaking up some local culture on nice days.
5 Valbergtårnet
Another of Stavanger's well preserved older buildings, Valbergtårnet, can be found to the north of Market Square between Vågen and Østre Havn (East Harbor). Located in the Holmen peninsula, the oldest part of the town, Valbergtårnet is a watchtower built in 1853 on the highest point in the city. It was the home of the watchman, whose job it was to alert everyone when there was a fire. Today, it offers great views, and a little museum is on the first floor.
6 Stavanger Museum
The Stavanger Museum is much more than a single museum: the building houses exhibitions of natural and cultural history, along with the Children's Museum. It's a great one-stop shop providing a useful background of the city's cultural roots, its flora and fauna, as well as the fascinating story of how the sea has shaped the community over the centuries. Much of the museum's collections have been the legacy of generations of Stavanger seamen and missionaries, who traveled to exotic places and brought back art and cultural treasures. These ethnographic collections appear in changing exhibits, as do art, furnishings, costumes, and other pieces of the city's cultural heritage.
7 Gamle Stavanger (Old Stavanger)
One of the most picturesque areas of the city is Gamle Stavanger, a historic area where a collection of quaint older homes lie along meandering stone-paved streets. This is, in fact, the largest surviving wooden house settlement in northern Europe. Its streets are well worth exploring, as are its galleries and museums. This area is where you'll find both the Maritime Museum, on Nedre Strandgate, and the Norwegian Fish Canning Museum.
8 Stavanger Maritime Museum
Stavanger has been a city of seafarers from its earliest days, and the maritime industry has shaped it in many ways, from its early fishing fleets to its modern role as a center for offshore petroleum. So you'll learn a great deal of the city's history in the exhibits here, which trace its business and industry from the herring fisheries and ship-building of the 1800s to today's role as Norway's oil capital.
Beautifully crafted models of working boats and transatlantic liners, actual interiors, and artifacts tell part of the story, while a general store has been re-created from the interiors and merchandise of several dismantled Stavanger shops that served seafarers, fishermen, and other townspeople. A complete and authentic sail loft that operated here until the 1980s has been moved to the museum, complete with all the equipment used by sail-makers. Working at the Docks is an interactive exhibition for children, representing a harborside marketplace where they can dress up and play on a fjord boat and at market stalls and harbor businesses.
9 Breidablikk
The Berentsen family villa, Breidablikk, remains much as it was when the family lived here in the 1880s, so you'll see the original Victorian-era furniture, fabrics, chandeliers, ceramic stoves, knick-knacks, even flower arrangements, along with a collection of works by foremost Norwegian artists. Some areas of the house show furnishings of different eras when the house was inhabited - the 1950s library and dining room, even a bomb-shelter installed by the family in 1939. Servants' quarters, the laundry room, and the barn with farm tools and carriages are open to view, as are the beautifully landscaped gardens. From here, you can follow the trail to other historic gardens of Ledaal, Holmeegenes, and Munkehagen.
10 Lysefjord
To the east of Stavanger and a pleasant trip by boat lies Lysefjord, a dramatic cleft in the mountains 37 kilometers long and up to 1.9 kilometers wide, revealing stunning bright-green water. Topping it all are the sheer walls of rock rising 1,005 meters above the fjord. This breathtaking landscape is one of the best sightseeing trips in the area.
11 Ledaal House
Built as a summer residence for the Kielland family in 1799, Ledaal House is a perfectly preserved example of how Norway's elite lived in the early 19th century. The richly furnished mansion still functions as a royal residence, as well as a museum, and the entire property is owned by the state in trust. Its historic gardens are well worth seeing and are connected to three others via a historic garden trail.
12 Museum of Archaeology
While you're in Norway, you'll certainly want to know more about the Vikings, and the place to do it is at Stavanger's Museum of Archaeology. The collections include replicas of Viking ships and boats, costumes, historic weapons, tools, and artifacts. Perhaps the most popular exhibit here, though, has nothing to do with Vikings. The famous Finn, the Finnøy Polar Bear, is a 12,400-year-old skeleton recovered from the village of Judaberg on Finnøy. It is the most complete Ice Age polar bear from its time, and you can learn the fascinating story of Finn's discovery and how he compares to modern-day polar bears.
13 Flyhistorisk Museum Sola
With its focus on aircraft used at the Sola military base and Stavanger Airport, the Flyhistorisk Museum Sola collection includes a variety of completely restored aircraft, as well as aircraft parts from WW2 to the modern day. More than 30 historic aircraft includes civilian as well as military planes, plus uniforms, models of aircraft, and historic photographs. You can actually board some of the planes, a rare experience in an aviation museum, and the signage is in English as well as Norwegian. The museum is at the seaplane port, near Stavanger airport.
14 Stavanger Art Museum
Stavanger Art Museum, located in a beautiful park surrounding Lake Mosvannet just 3.2 kilometers from the city center, is home to one of the country's finest collections of Norwegian and international art. Of particular interest is the unique collection of paintings by Lars Hertervig (1830-1902), whose romantic and highly personal landscapes continue to resonate with visitors.
15 Utstein Abbey, Klosterøy
To the north of Stavanger are numerous islands and islets, one of the most popular being tiny Klosterøy. Linked to the larger island of Mosterøy by bridge, Klosterøy is famous for its Augustinian abbey, Utstein. First mentioned in the 13th century, this well-preserved monastic house can be reached from Stavanger by boat.
(thanks to: www.planetware.com)
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