Haugesund

Haugesund ([ˈhæʉɡəsʉn] ) is a municipality and town on the North Sea in Rogaland 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 neighboring Karmøy municipality and has a combined population of 46,359. Haugesund is the main commercial and economic centre of the Haugaland region in northern Rogaland and southern Vestland. The majority of the municipality outside this area is rural or undeveloped.
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's population 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.
The Haugesund urban area, which extends into the neighboring municipality of Karmøy, 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.
The town is situated on a strategically important sound, Karmsundet, through which ships could pass without traversing heavy seas. In the early years, the coastal waters off Haugesund were a huge source of herring, and the town grew accordingly. Despite being barely a village back then, King Harald Fairhair lived at Avaldsnes, 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 the Haugaland region and southern parts of Vestland 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.
The Haugesund Region, a statistical metropolitan area, which consists of the municipalities Karmøy, Haugesund, Tysvær, Sveio and Bokn, has a population of approximately 100,000 people (as of 2009).
Despite being a fairly young town, the areas surrounding Haugesund were lands of power during the Viking Age. Harald Fairhair was the first king of Norway. He had his home in Avaldsnes, also known as Homeland of the Viking Kings, only 8 km (4.9 mi) from the present town. After his death in c. 940, it is believed Fairhair was buried at Haraldshaugen, a burial mound adjacent to the Karmsundet strait. 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 naval Battle 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.
Haugesund has a strong historical bond to the sea and especially the herring. In the earlier years, the coastal waters of Haugesund were a huge source for fishing herring, and the town grew accordingly. The protective straits of Smedasund and Karmsund gave the town potential to grow in both fishing and shipping. 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 of Torvastad on 1 February 1855 to become a separate municipality. On 1 January 1911, the small urban area of Skåre (population: 3,847) that directly abutted the town of Haugesund was transferred to Haugesund. On 1 January 1958, the remainder of the municipality of Skåre was merged with the town of Haugesund, creating a larger Haugesund municipality. On 1 January 1965, the island of Vibrandsøy (population: 70) was transferred from Torvastad municipality to Haugesund.
The municipality (and the town) is named after the Haugesundet strait (Old Norse: Haugasund), which is named after the old Hauge farm (Old Norse: Haugar). The first element is the plural genitive case of haugr which means "hill" or "mound". The last element is sund which means "strait" or "sound".
The original coat 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 full herring barrels sitting on land and an anchor 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 gold mural 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 of Hasseløy and Risøy. The arms were designed by A. Fenger Krog.
A new coat 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. The blazon is "Azure, three seagulls volant argent per fess surmounted by a mural crown Or" (Norwegian: I blått tre flyvnde sølv måker). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a set of three seagulls lined up vertically. The charge has a tincture of argent 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 by Hallvard Trætteberg. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.
Haugesund municipality has a coastline with the North Sea, however, the island of Karmøy and the archipelago of Røvær shelter it from the rough waters of the ocean. The Karmsundet 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 in Kristiansand and Oslo. The municipality includes several islands. Risøy and Hasseløy 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 main Røvær island. The lakes Vigdarvatnet and Stakkastadvatnet 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.
Haugesund City Hall was built in 1931, celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2006. The pink city hall, designed by Gudolf Blakstad and Herman Munthe-Kaas, is one of the finest neo-classical buildings in Norway, and has been elected the most beautiful building in Haugesund. 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.
During the last 20 years, the municipality has established its position as the main trading centre for the Haugaland region and southern parts of Vestland 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.
There are several churches in the town of Haugesund including Vår Frelsers Church, Udland Church, Rossabø Church, and Skåre Church.
Haugesund Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Haugaland og Sunnhordland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Haugesund is made up of 49 representatives that are elected every four years. The government is located at the Haugesund City Hall. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party
The mayors (Norwegian: ordfører) of Haugesund:
Haugesund Airport, located on the island of Karmøy to the southwest of Haugesund in Karmøy municipality, has year-round flights to Oslo and Gdańsk in addition to some seasonal and charter destinations. The Norwegian airline Coast Air was based at Haugesund airport, but filed for bankruptcy on 23 January 2008.
The European Route E39 bypasses Haugesund to the east, passing through Aksdal. The European Route E134 leads eastwards to Drammen outside Oslo.
The bus 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 by Vy Buss, on a contract with Kolumbus.
The town is connected to the island of Utsira by car ferry, and to the islands of Røvær and Feøy by passenger ferry. Until 2008, the Newcastle–Bergen–Stavanger ferry operated here as well.
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. There are also more than 10 public and private health centers in the municipality for either general or specialized care, including the Privatsykehuset Haugesund.
Haugesund is the main cultural centre for its region, and is home to several festivals, the largest being the Norwegian International Film Festival and Sildajazz, an international jazz festival with approximately 70 bands and close to 200 concerts. Every August, The Norwegian Trad-jazz festival, the Sildajazz is held. Both local and international musicians are presented at the Sildajazz.
In the summer of 2004, the annual rock festival, ""RockFest"" started. It attracted local, national and international pop and rock bands, such as Elton John, Madcon, DumDum Boys and Kaizers 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 as the Baseballs, Kim Larsen and Mötley Crüe.
The Norwegian International Film Festival has since 1973 been held in Haugesund, premiering and showing international and Norwegian films. The Amanda Award, Norway's variation of the Oscars, has been held in Haugesund since 1985 in concurrence with the film festival.
Haugesunds Avis is a daily newspaper published in Haugesund, but with branches in Bømlo, Kopervik, Odda, Sauda and Stord. Founded in 1895, it is today owned by the investment group Mecom Group, and is as such part of the media group Edda Media. In 2006, Haugesunds Avis had a circulation of 33 448. The newspaper owns the local radio channel Radio 102.
The Church of Norway has three parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Haugesund. It is part of the Haugaland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger.
The main campus of Stord/Haugesund University College is located in Haugesund. Established in 1994, it is the result of the merger between Haugesund Nursing College, Stord Teachers College, and Stord Nursing College. The university college has approximately 2700 students and 260 employees, 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 a Waldorf education program, and Danielsen, a Christian school offering courses for grades 8 and 9.
The strongest local football team is FK Haugesund that has stayed in the Norwegian Premier League since 2010. The team plays its home matches at Haugesund Stadion.
Other local football teams are Vard Haugesund, Djerv 1919 and SK Haugar.
Haugesund has sister city agreements with the following places:
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.