Egersund – Magma Geopark — Photo: Magma Geopark

Egersund – The colorful wooden town

Experience the historic town of Egersund: A cozy town filled with historic wooden houses and a beautiful center with many restaurants, cafes and niche shops. Egersund is the starting point for the Kystpilgrimsleia and part of the Jæren National Tourist Route. All this and more - just an hour from Stavanger.

Egersund is a cozy town with historic wooden buildings, a great center with many niche shops, tasty restaurants and cafes and a rich cultural life. You can experience the varied and diverse nature on walks in forests, fields and mountains. The beautiful coast is wonderful to experience both by boat and on foot.

The wooden housing development

Egersund town has one of the best-preserved wooden buildings in Norway. Large parts of the city area are now regulated as a special antiquarian area. Many fine examples of wooden buildings can be found in Strandgaten, which used to be the town's main street. It was created after a regulation in 1843, when a large fire left the entire building in ashes. During the rebuilding, the outer district got straight streets in an even grid pattern.

Haugen - Egersund's "medieval town" - is also worth a visit. Although the buildings up here have certainly undergone constant changes over time, the tufts are the same as when the area was developed, probably in the period 1750-1800. Haugen has grown up by itself, and has developed based on needs and use, not according to any urban plan. Here were homes, outbuildings, workshops, sheds and barns in a beautiful combination. The area was strongly threatened by demolition at the end of the 70s, but now appears in a rehabilitated form with shops, pubs, etc.

Today, there are small specialty shops side by side in cozy pedestrian streets.

Culture trail

Also try the culture trail with city history signs - a route with 14 signs in the middle of the old wooden housing development. The Kulturstien is suitable for anyone who wants a pleasant walk, while also getting to know the center of Egersund a little better. End the trip by going up to Varberg and the rock carvings. After the city walk, you can visit the Fayance Museum. Here you can have a cup of coffee and enjoy the outdoor area in Elveparken, which is right nearby.

Culture and history

The history of Egersund is one of Norway's oldest and stretches back to the Stone Age. When the ice began its retreat, Egersund's land area, due to its connection to the coast, was early free of the ice and thus habitable. In addition, in the area within Eigersund municipality you can find several farms that have been dated back to 400-600 AD.

From the primitive inhabitants of the Stone Age, the history extends to the Viking Age, and Eigersund is mentioned in Heimskringla, among other things. The name Eigersund is one of the country's oldest place names and originates from an old Norse name, Eikundasund, the strait between oak trees. Even more exciting are the stories surrounding Olav the Holy and his massive Viking fleet which was anchored in Egersund harbor between battles and plundering around Europe.

The next time you take a trip to Egersund and look out over our intimate harbour, think back 1,000 years and imagine Viking ship after Viking ship anchored side by side. A harbor full of life and bustle while some of history's most fearsome warriors roamed what is now the center of Egersund.

With such a history, it is only natural that the most powerful man of the time, Pope Nicolaus IV, mentioned Egersund in an indulgence privilege dated February 5, 1292. A haven for the long arm of Catholicism and the spread of Christianity in Norway.

From the Viking Age to the industrial world, Egersund has been a hub on a worldwide basis. In 1798, Egersund was given the status of loading station, i.e. permission to engage in its own trade and imports, and thus also city status. After the change in status, it took 49 years before what became the world-renowned A/S Egersunds Fayancefabriks Co started the production of stoneware in 1847.

From world-renowned faience to Norway's largest fishing harbor (measured in quantity of fish landed), the city and municipality have grown in size, but remained personal and full of character.

Today, the city offers a center full of people, big and small. In addition to a unique and unforgettable trade stand that serves everything you can think of in terms of goods and services. Egersund is the big little town that has everything.