DestinationÅlesund, Møre og Romsdal, Norway6 min read
Ålesund, Norway's Art Nouveau Town
Rebuilt in turrets and dragons after the fire of 1904
A fishing town reborn in Jugendstil, spread across three islands and a gateway to the Sunnmøre Alps and Geirangerfjord.
A town built in three years
On a January night in 1904, a fire swept through Ålesund and left ten thousand people homeless in the middle of winter. Help poured in from across Europe, Kaiser Wilhelm II sent ships of building materials, and in barely three years young Norwegian architects rebuilt the centre in stone, in the fashionable style of the moment: Jugendstil, the German take on Art Nouveau.
The result is one of the most harmonious townscapes in Scandinavia. Turrets, spires and sinuous window frames line the canal of Brosundet, and the façades are decorated with dragons, owls, sunflowers and Viking ornament. The Jugendstilsenteret, in a former pharmacy, tells the story well.
Ålesund is also a practical base. Geirangerfjord is a beautiful two-and-a-half-hour drive away, the Hurtigruten coastal ships call daily, and the bird island of Runde, with its summer puffin colony, is an hour south.
Do not miss
- The 418 steps up Aksla to the Fjellstua viewpoint at sunset
- Brosundet canal and the Jugendstilsenteret
- Fresh klippfisk (salted cod) at the harbour
- A day trip to the puffins of Runde, May to August
Getting here
Aksla viewpoint
About this story
Ethan NorthwindAuthor
Northwind ToursPublisher
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