Ålesund ( Norwegian Ålesund , outdated Aalesund) is a city on the west coast of Norway , in the county Møre og Romsdal . The population of 40.8 thousand inhabitants.
| Norwegian commune | |||
| Ålesund | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Norwegian Ålesund | |||
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| A country |  Norway | ||
| Historical region | Westland | ||
| County (county) | More og Romsdal | ||
| Adm Centre | Ålesund | ||
| Population ( 2006 ) | 42 670 people | ||
| Density | 433.3 person / km² | ||
| Officer tongue | neutral | ||
| Population change over 10 years | % | ||
| Square | 98.48 km² | ||
| Coordinates of the administrative center: | |||
| Date of education | |||
| Mayor | Bjorn Tömmerdal | ||
| Timezone | UTC + 1 , in the summer UTC + 2 | ||
| ISO 3166-2 code | NO-1504 | ||
| http://www.alesund.kommune.no/ (Norse) | |||
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One of the few surviving cities in the world, built in the style of " Ar Nouveau ", so it is a tourist center.
It has a mild climate due to the proximity of the Gulf Stream .
There is a large seaport . Vigra Airport.
Content
Geography
Alesund is located between the Hjurond fjord and the Geiranger fjord , a UNESCO World Heritage Site .
Administratively, Ålesund is included in the Møre og Romsdal county and is located on seven islands:
- Hessa ( Hessa) ,
- Asproy ( Aspøy) ,
- Nørvej ( Nørvøya) ,
- Oxnoy ( Oksnøy) ,
- Ellingsøy,
- Humla ( Humla),
- Turla ( Tørla) .
The center of the city stands on the islands of Asprey and Nörvej, and the islands of Hessa and Oksnoy occupy residential areas. The island of Ellingøy (second in size) is accessible only by sea or by road through the town of Skodje , where in 1987 an underwater tunnel was built.
The area of the municipality of Ålesund is 93 km². The population density is 430 people / km².
The city has a pronounced maritime climate with mild, but windy winters. The coldest month of the year is January, with an average monthly temperature of 1.3 ° C. The lowest temperature recorded in the entire history of observations is only −11 ° C.
History
According to legend, Rollo or Robert I, founder of the princes of Normandy dynasty ( 10th century ), hails from the settlement of Giske, north-west of Ålesund.
A special urban landscape of Ålesund (neoclassical and neo-gothic stone buildings with reliefs, turrets and emblems) was formed as a result of the tragedy. On the night of January 23, 1904, the city was almost completely destroyed by the strongest fire (as in other cities in Norway, the houses of Alesund were all wooden). Surprisingly, only one person died in the fire, but more than 10 thousand people were left homeless.
Restoration of the city involved an architect, a supporter of the style of "Ar Nouveau", popular at the time in Europe. The German Kaiser Wilhelm II , who liked to rest in the vicinity of the city, partially financed the restoration of the city. Thus, most of the city’s buildings were built between 1904 and 1907, and turrets, spiers and other interesting architectural details made the city one of the most peculiar cities in Norway and a popular tourist destination.
Economy
Alesund is one of the largest and most important centers of the Norwegian fishing industry. The urban fishing fleet is one of the most modern in Europe .
The furniture industry is also well developed in Ålesund and the surrounding area. Here are the offices and production areas of furniture manufacturing companies such as Ekornes , StressLess chair and Stokke company .
A major role in the economy of the city is played by the tourism industry. Alesund is one of the ports to which the tourist ferry of the Hurtigruten company from the UK comes twice a day. In summer, charter flights from Russia to the local Vigra airport are organized from Russia .
Museums
In the Museum of Alesund, you can find out how the city looked like before the devastating fire, and what great efforts the inhabitants made to try to extinguish it. In addition, the “Art Nouveau Center” ( Jugendstilsenteret ) operates in the city, the exposition of which shows the use of the Art Nouveau style in Alesund both in the construction of buildings and in interior design and furniture.
Three kilometers west of Alesund is the Atlantic Park, one of the largest aquariums in Scandinavia . Here you can see life as it exists in the northern waters of the Atlantic Ocean . The water in the aquariums is pumped directly from the ocean through the pipeline, so the fish in them exist in their natural environment. At 13:00 every day, visitors can watch the diver plunge into the tank of the largest aquarium to feed the fish found there - halibut , cod , eel and many other species.
The ethnographic open-air museum, the Sunnmöre Museum, located 4 kilometers east of Alesund, has approximately 50 historical buildings in the region preserved. Here you can see the boats of the Vikings , peasant outfits, outbuildings, models of village houses and churches.
Sports
The local football team - Ålesund ( Aalesunds Fotballklubb (AaFK) ) was founded in 1914 . The team first hit the Norwegian Premier League in the 2003 season . The team’s new home stadium, the Color Line Stadium, opened on April 16, 2005 and is located approximately 1 km from the city center. The team support club is called Stormen and has about 2000 members.
Twin Cities
- Akureyri ( Isk. Akureyri ), Iceland
- Borgo a Mozzano ( Italian: Borgo a Mozzano ), Italy
- Vasteras ( Swede. Västerås ), Sweden
- Wismar ( German Wismar ), Germany
- Lahti ( Fin. Lahti , Swede. Lahtis ), Finland
- Peterhead ( English Peterhead ), Scotland , UK
- Tacoma ( English Tacoma ), Washington , USA
Gallery
Alesund before the fire (view from the lookout)
Evening Alesund (view from the lookout)
Alesund in winter (view from the lookout)
City center (view from the lookout)
City center
City center, a monument to the fisherman
City center.
Streets Ålesund
Alesund Park
Roofs of the city