Being a top tourist attraction in Norway, Ålesund has been rated Norway's most beautiful town. Located in the beautiful Northwest where the fjords and mountains meet the atlantic ocean, Ålesund is rated among the most beautiful harbor towns in Europe. Ålesund also has Norway's most beautiful collection of art-nouveau buildings, which is also why the town often is called "the art-nouveau town". Here we'll go through the history of this amazing town.
View over Brosundet from the viewpoint on mt. Aksla.
Early Ålesund
Ålesund got town status in 1837. There had been settlements in the area Borgund and on the island Giske since the 12th century, but it was first in the 1700s Ålesund became the center in the region. The population growed much during the 1800s, then mostly as a fishing-village. Ålesund got its first church in 1855.
The fire in 1904
On the night of 23 january 1904, during a fierce storm from the Northwest, a factory in the far west of the town caught fire. Although the fire brigade was called out, it was impossible to stop the (now huge) fire. As the town was built in wood, the fire spread quickly with the storm, and soon the whole town was in fire. Over 850 houses were consumed in the fire, leaving 10.000 people homeless. Amazingly, only one person died. The fire died out in the afternoon of 24 January, over 2km east of where the fire originally had started. The fire in Ålesund 1904 was one of the biggest fires during peacetime recorded in Europe.
Rebuilding the town
Ålesund was rebuilt in record time. It took only 3 years to rebuild the whole town center. This due to the much help to rebuild the town came both from other places in Norway as well as other countries. Most notable was the help from Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, who sent 4 ships loaded with equipment, food etc. The town was rebuilt in the (then popular) art-nouveau style. The buildings from this time still characterize the town center, and plays a big role in why Ålesund is rated among the most beautiful harbor towns in Europe, and as Norway's most beautiful town.
The Second World War
Ålesund managed it relativly good during the Second World War when Norway was occupied by Germany. For exampel, the town of Kristiansund (a few hours drive North of Ålesund) was up to 80% destroyed by the bombing Germany made in 1940. 800 of the 1300 buildings in Kristiansund was destroyed.
After the War
In 1957, Ålesund airport was opened. And in 1968, the district Borgund was included in Ålesund district. Ålesund was one of the few towns in Norway to have a bird-island in the town center, but it was destroyed in 1971/1973. The islands outside Ålesund got land-connection to the town in 1987.
Ålesund Today
Åleusund has a population of around 50.000 inhabitants, making it the 9th largest town in Norway. The town is a popular tourist destination, with around 1 million tourists that visit Ålesund every year, many on board on the cruiseships. Around 77% of the population in Ålesund is a member of the Norwegian church. Ålesund is connected via the E39 to Trondheim and Bergen, and via the E136 to Oslo.
A photo gallery of Ålesund.
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LettFaktura Blogg
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Published by: LettFaktura Blogg | Date: 1/3-2019 | Subject: History of Ålesund | Photos by: Fjord Photos | Contact us: www.lettfaktura.no/kontaktoss.html | Keywords: #Ålesund #Alesund #Aalesund #History #Town #Norway #Norge #VisitAlesund #Sunnmøre #ArtNouveau #Buildings #Architecture
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