ÅLESUND
The Art Nouveau City
Ålesund is located between the Sunnmøre Alps and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is a starting point to explore the renowned Geirangerfjord, included on the prestigious UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites, and the spectacular but underestimated Hjørundfjord.
It was the night of 23rd January 1904 when the catastrophic city fire broke out and destroyed the center of Ålesund. After the fire, a new city rose, phoenix-like literally from the ashes, in the architectural style of Art Nouveau, or Jugendstil as called in Ålesund.
Ålesund is quite different from the other Norwegian cities owing to this distinctive architectural style. The buildings with turrets, spires, beautiful ornamentations, interesting gables and iron wrought balconies remind the visitors of a fairy tale city.
Ålesund has one of the largest and most important fishing harbours in Norway. The town’s fishing fleet is one of the most modern in Europe. January through April is the season for succulent “skrei”, a special type of Arctic cod that is served as more of a delicacy than its cousin, the common cod. Ålesund has long traditions for characteristic products such as “klippfisk”, the dried and salted cod speciality which is the basic ingredient for delicious “bacalao”.