Haugesund ([ˈhæʉɡəsʉn]ⓘ) is amunicipality andtown on the North Sea inRogaland county, Norway. As of December 2023, the municipality of Haugesund has a population of 37,855. The vast majority of the population (37,008) live in the Haugesund urban area in the municipality's southwest. The Haugesund urban area also extends into neighboringKarmøy municipality and has a combined population of 46,359.[4] Haugesund is the main commercial and economic centre of theHaugaland region in northern Rogaland and southernVestland. The majority of the municipality outside this area is rural or undeveloped.[5]
The 72.68-square-kilometre (28.06 sq mi) municipality is the 338th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Haugesund is the 28th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 37,855. The municipality'spopulation density is 553.5 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,434/sq mi) and its population has increased by 5.9% over the previous 10-year period.[6][7]
The Haugesund urban area, which extends into the neighboring municipality ofKarmøy, makes up about 15.5 square kilometres (6.0 sq mi) of the municipality. 8,884 people of the urban area live in Karmøy. Only about 1,000 residents of Haugesund municipality that live in the 57-square-kilometre (22 sq mi) rural portion of the municipality.[8]
The town is situated on a strategically importantsound,Karmsundet, through which ships could pass without traversing heavy seas. In the early years, the coastal waters off Haugesund were a huge source ofherring, and the town grew accordingly. Despite being barely a village back then, KingHarald Fairhair lived atAvaldsnes, very close to the modern town of Haugesund. In the last decades, the town, like its neighbours, has been turning towards the petroleum industry, with the herring being long gone.
During the last 20 years, the municipality has established its position as the main trading centre for theHaugaland region and southern parts ofVestland county. It has several relatively large shopping centres, however, this has led to a decline of the trade and shopping activity in the town centre.[9]
Despite being a fairly young town, the areas surrounding Haugesund were lands of power during theViking Age.Harald Fairhair was the first king of Norway. He had his home inAvaldsnes, also known as Homeland of the Viking Kings, only 8 km (4.9 mi) from the present town.[10][11] After his death inc. 940, it is believed Fairhair was buried atHaraldshaugen, a burial mound adjacent to theKarmsundet strait.[12] This site is the namesake of the town and municipality of Haugesund. The national monument at Haraldshaugen was raised in 1872, to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of the navalBattle of Hafrsfjord in 872. The Battle of Hafrsfjord has traditionally been regarded as when western Norway was unified under a single monarch for the first time.[13]
Karmøy pastures and St. Olav's church at Avaldsnes
Haugesund has a strong historical bond to the sea and especially theherring. In the earlier years, the coastal waters of Haugesund were a huge source for fishingherring, and the town grew accordingly. The protectivestraits of Smedasund andKarmsund gave the town potential to grow in bothfishing andshipping. Even to this day, Karmsund is one of Norway's busiest waterways. The town is still growing geographically even though the population has increased only moderately over the last decade. In modern times the herring stocks have been depleted and the town is turning towards the petroleum industry, like its neighbouring town to the south,Stavanger.
The urban village area of Haugesund (population: 1,066) was declared to be a "town" and separated from the surrounding municipality ofTorvastad on 1 February 1855 to become a separate municipality. On 1 January 1911, the small urban area ofSkåre (population: 3,847) that directly abutted the town of Haugesund was transferred to Haugesund. On 1 January 1958, the remainder of the municipality ofSkåre was merged with the town of Haugesund, creating a larger Haugesund municipality. On 1 January 1965, the island ofVibrandsøy (population: 70) was transferred from Torvastad municipality to Haugesund.[14]
The municipality (and the town) is named after the Haugesundet strait (Old Norse:Haugasund), which is named after the oldHauge farm (Old Norse:Haugar). The first element is the pluralgenitive case ofhaugr which means "hill" or "mound". The last element issund which means "strait" or "sound".[5][15]
The originalcoat of arms was granted on 29 December 1862 and it was in use until 5 March 1930 when a new coat of arms was approved. The arms were designed as a painting of a harbour scene. The old arms showed three fullherring barrels sitting on land and ananchor leaning against the barrels. In the background, the ocean harbour is showing along with three seagulls flying in the sky. Often, it was shown with a goldmural crown above the shield. The old arms showed the importance of herring fishing and processing in the town. The three barrels also represented the three parts of the municipality: the mainland and the islands ofHasseløy andRisøy. The arms were designed by A. Fenger Krog.[16][17]
A newcoat of arms was granted on 5 March 1930 to replace the old arms and to simplify them for the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the town. Theblazon is"Azure, three seagullsvolantargentper fess surmounted by amural crownOr" (Norwegian:I blått tre flyvnde sølv måker). This means the arms have a bluefield (background) and thecharge is a set of threeseagulls lined up vertically. The charge has atincture ofargent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The seagulls and blue color were chosen to represent the importance of the sea. The new arms from 1930 removed the herring barrels from the old arms due to the decline in the importance of that industry. The arms were designed byHallvard Trætteberg. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[16][17]
Haugesund municipality has a coastline with theNorth Sea, however, the island ofKarmøy and thearchipelago ofRøvær shelter it from the rough waters of the ocean. TheKarmsundet strait, located between Karmøy and Haugesund used to be very strategically important, since ships could pass without having to sail through heavy sea. Haugesund's city centre has a distinctive street layout, similar to those found inKristiansand andOslo.The municipality includes several islands.Risøy andHasseløy are densely built, and connected to the mainland by bridges.Røvær which lies further out and consists of a number of islands, is also populated and connected to the mainland by ferry.Vibrandsøy and its neighboring islands are now mainly a recreational area.Røværsholmen Lighthouse sits just off the coast of the mainRøvær island. The lakesVigdarvatnet andStakkastadvatnet are located in the municipality.
Haugesund has an oceanic climate (Cfb, marine west coast) with rainy winters and mild and pleasant summers. The all-time high 31.2 °C (88.2 °F) was recorded July 2019, and the all-time low −16.6 °C (2.1 °F) was set in January 2010 (extremes since 2003). The wettest time of year is autumn and winter, while April–July is the driest season. Haugesund Airport is situated in Karmøy municipality, about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from the town of Haugesund, and it has been recording weather data since 1975.
Climate data for Haugesund Airport Karmøy 1991-2020 (24 m, precipitation Haugesund-Rossabø, extremes 2003–2020)
Haugesund City Hall was built in 1931, celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2006.[20] The pink city hall, designed byGudolf Blakstad andHerman Munthe-Kaas,[21] is one of the finestneo-classical buildings in Norway, and has been elected the most beautiful building in Haugesund.[22] It is also included in the new Norwegian edition of the game Monopoly after it was successful in a national vote. The building may not be altered in any way without permission from the national preservation agency. It overlooks the town square and a park which was inaugurated on 28 August 1949.[22]
During the last 20 years, the municipality has established its position as the main trading centre for theHaugaland region and southern parts ofVestland county. It has several relatively large shopping centres, however, this has led to a decline of the trade and shopping activity in the town centre.[9]
Themunicipal council (Kommunestyre) of Haugesund is made up of 49 representatives that are elected every four years. The government is located at theHaugesund City Hall. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by politicalparty
Haugesund Airport, located on the island ofKarmøy to the southwest of Haugesund inKarmøy municipality, has year-round flights toOslo andGdańsk in addition to some seasonal and charter destinations.[46] The Norwegian airlineCoast Air was based at Haugesund airport, but filed for bankruptcy on 23 January 2008.[47]
Thebus station in Haugesund is located at Flotmyr on the east side of the downtown area.Long-distance bus services are available to Stavanger, Bergen, and Oslo. The local bus transport is operated byVy Buss, on a contract withKolumbus.
Haugesund Hospital provides specialist health services to around 180,000 inhabitants in North Rogaland, Sunnhordland, Hardanger and Ryfylke.The hospital offers services in both medicine and surgery, radiology / X-ray, childbirth / maternity, gynecology and fertility, habilitation and specialized treatment in mental health care.[48] There are also more than 10 public and private health centers in the municipality for either general or specialized care, including thePrivatsykehuset Haugesund.
Haugesund is the main cultural centre for its region, and is home to several festivals, the largest being theNorwegian International Film Festival andSildajazz, an international jazz festival with approximately 70bands and close to 200 concerts. Every August, The Norwegian Trad-jazz festival, theSildajazz is held. Both local and international musicians are presented at the Sildajazz.[49]
In the summer of 2004, the annual rock festival, ""RockFest"" started. It attracted local, national and international pop and rock bands, such asElton John,Madcon,DumDum Boys andKaizers Orchestra. The festival started as a part of the celebration of Haugesund's 150 year anniversary. In 2009, the last Rockfest was held, and got replaced by a new concept in 2010; Haugesund Live. Haugesund Live is a series of individual concerts, and has featured bands such asthe Baseballs,Kim Larsen andMötley Crüe.
TheNorwegian International Film Festival has since 1973 been held in Haugesund, premiering and showing international and Norwegian films. TheAmanda Award, Norway's variation of the Oscars, has been held in Haugesund since 1985[50] in concurrence with the film festival.
Haugesunds Avis is a daily newspaper published in Haugesund, but with branches inBømlo,Kopervik,Odda,Sauda andStord. Founded in 1895, it is today owned by the investment groupMecom Group, and is as such part of themedia groupEdda Media. In 2006, Haugesunds Avis had a circulation of 33 448.[51] The newspaper owns the local radio channelRadio 102.
The main campus ofStord/Haugesund University College is located in Haugesund. Established in 1994, it is the result of the merger betweenHaugesund Nursing College,Stord Teachers College, andStord Nursing College.[52] Theuniversity college has approximately 2700 students and 260 employees,[52] thus making it one of the smallest university colleges in Norway.
The county of Rogaland operates four high schools in Haugesund. The schools Skeisvang and Vardafjell prepare pupils for further for college or university studies. The schools Haugaland and Karmsund are vocational high schools. In addition, the private Haugesund Toppidrettsgymnas has a sports-oriented high school program.
The municipality has seven pure elementary schools of grades 1 to 7 (Saltveit, Gard, Austrheim, Solvang, Lillesund, Rossabø, and Brakahaug), two pure middle schools of grades 8 to 10 (Haraldsvang and Håvåsen) and three grade 1 to 10 schools (Hauge, Røvær, and Skåredalen). In addition, the Breidablik school offers elementary and middle school courses to new foreigners and refugees. The two private schools are Steinerskolen offering aWaldorf education program, and Danielsen, a Christian school offering courses for grades 8 and 9.[53]
Each of the sister cities (with exception of Emden) has given its name to a street in Haugesund. The streets are located in the same area near the border to the neighbouring municipality.[55]
Jon Fosse (born 1959), an author and dramatist awarded in 2023 with the Nobel prize in Literature. name|0287625|Jon Fosse}}. Retrieved 03 April 2021.</ref>
Turid Birkeland (1962–2015), a cultural executive and former politician
Martin Edward Mortensen (1897–1981), the son of an emigrant from the village ofSkjold near Haugesund, was listed as father on Monroe's birth certificate. A statue ofMarilyn Monroe byNils Aas stands in the harbour of Haugesund.[62]
^abcdPedersen, Idar H. (2004)."Vennskapsbyer" (in Norwegian). Haugesund kommune. Archived fromthe original on 9 October 2007. Retrieved25 October 2007.
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