Haugesund

Haugesund is a town and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway. Haugesund was separated from Torvastad as a town, and municipality of its own, in 1855. The rural municipality of Skare was merged with Haugesund January 1, 1958. The town is situated at a strategically important sound through which ships could pass without heavy sea. Haugesund’s metropolitan region has a population of 31 738 inhabitants. The town is named after the strait Haugesundet. The first element is the genitive case of the name of the farm Hauge (Norse Haugar), the last element is sund n 'strait, sound'. The name of the farm is the plural form of haugr m 'hill, mound'. Haugesund is a small municipality, only 73 km². The city has a coastline with the North Sea, however, the island of Karmøy and the small islands of Røvær shelteres a great part of the rough waters. Between Karmøy and Haugesund is a fairway, the sound of Karmsund. Downtown Haugesund has a distinctive layout of its streets, also found in Kristiansand and Oslo. Haugesund has a variety of cafés, bars and restaurants, which acts as a place of gathering for the entire Haugaland region. Haugesund is one of Norways busiest points of trade. The city has during the last 20 years confirmed its position as a trading centre for Haugaland and southern parts of Hordaland. It has several relatively large shopping centres, considering the size of the coastal city. August may be the best month for a visit to Haugesund. In addition to pleasant summer temperatures, the two major festivals, one for Jazz and one for Film, ensures that the town is pleasantly crowded at that time, including the Smedasund harbour area. Haugesund was founded in 1854 when it was divided from Torvastad, a former neighbouring municipal. The municipal consequently celebrated its 150-year anniversary in 2004. In the early years the coastal waters of Haugesund was a huge source of herring, and the city grew accordingly.

Despite being a fairly young city, the Haugesund areas were land of power during the age of Vikings. Harald Fairhair, the first king of Norway, had his home on Avaldsnes, very close to the city. Fairhair was buried on Haug lying by Karmsund, an area that later would name the city and municipal “Haugesund”. The national monument "Haraldstøtten" is erected where Harald is believed to be interred. The protective sounds of Smedasund and Karmsund, gave the city a possibility to grow in both fishing and shipping. Even to this day, Karmsund is one of Norways busiest fairways. The city is still growing geographically even though the population has increased only moderately the last decade. Today the herring is long gone, and the city is turning more and more towards the petroleum industry, like its neighbour Stavanger.