Karl WP Beyer Our cruise ship that MS New Statendam Holland America Line, docks in Ålesund, Norway for a day as part of an extended Nordland voyage. Already waiting for us in the port is Celebrity Silhouette, on which we cruised the eastern Mediterranean seven years earlier.
Cruise ships in Alesund
Ålesund – the city of Art Nouveau
The official website initiated by the state of Norway called "visitnorway.de" puts Ålesund among the ten most visited regional destinations in the country. Economically and culturally, the city is of national importance. Ålesund is also known for its Art Nouveau architecture. The devastating city fire of 1904 almost completely destroyed the houses that had previously been built of wood. Ten thousand out of a total of 12.000 residents lost their homes. The new beginning that followed made the city an example for European Art Nouveau architecture. The Art Nouveau Center (Jugendstilsenteret) and the KUBE Museum should definitely be seen on a city tour. And another note for guests with longer stays: Ålesund is located at the entrance to the beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site Geirangerfjord.
Ålesund - in front of us the Jugendstilsenteret
Ålesund - City walk and round trips
Our Ålesund city tour on your ownt We begin at the two berths of the cruise ships Prestebrygga and Stornespiren. A representative cruise terminal is missing, and is hardly missed anyway. Instead, the port offers ships a supply of shore power, provided they are equipped to use shore power.
Ålesund supplies ships with shore power
Ålesund is one of those places that opens up like a picture book to cruise ship passengers. The city's tourist information office supports inquisitive guests. It has an outpost at the cruise terminal.
If you don't walk well or don't dare to roam a tranquil city like Ålesund, you can use the relatively expensive offers of the red hop-on hop-off buses of City Sightseeing Norway or the City Train. Like the sightseeing buses in front of Prestebrygga and Stornespiren, the latter invites you to take a tour. The hop-on hop-off buses make eight stops. The City Train makes 70-minute city tours that lead up to the Fjellstua viewpoint, allowing for a 15-minute stopover there. More on this option later.
Ålesund on your own
Seen from the cruise ship, the charm of the city is not immediately apparent. First we see the bus station, the modern functional building of the town hall and interchangeable commercial buildings. They could be in any Scandinavian city. A hop-on hop-off bus and the City Train await their passengers in front of the ship's berth.
Ålesund - the town hall in the middle of the picture
We do without both means of transport. Instead, we head towards the city center and shortly thereafter stand at Ålesundet, a narrow estuary that ends in the city center. On the other side of the estuary we see the Apotekertorget with the Art Nouveau center and the life-size sculpture of the "Fiskergutten", the fisher boy. Created in 1967, the monument was considered a symbol of young men's expectations for the future. In a city that was shaped by fishing then as now, what else could they do but fishermen?
The Ålesundet
Alesund - Fiskergutten
Alesund Church
Ålesund is a city of short distances. It takes less than ten minutes to walk to the Ålesund Church, which is located on Kirkegata and is made of natural stone.
Alesund Church
Like so many other buildings, the previous church, consecrated in 1855, fell victim to the great city fire of 1904. It is worth taking a look inside the new church. The altarpiece carved from linden wood is worth seeing. It shows the Savior and his disciples praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. The baptismal font was made of Carara marble. The choir shines with a wealth of frescoes. The church's stained glass windows are also beautiful: they were installed in 1946.
The well-tended cemetery is behind the church. The granite monument "De falne til minne" is striking. The two and a half meter high monument shows a grieving family: father, mother and child. The memorial is dedicated to those who died in World War II.
Ålesund Kirke - the cemetery
Ålesund - Fallen Memorial De falne til minne
Storhaugen view
We follow Kirkegata for a short time until we reach Statsråd Daaes gate. This road leads steeply up into the city forest Storhaugen, the emphasis is on "forest". The rarely mentioned and rather hidden Storhaugen View offers unique views of the coastline, which is crossed by inlets, and offshore islands such as Godøya. The viewpoint also offers good views of Ålesund's center. - The next destination on our tour is the Fiskerimuseet, the fishing museum, which is again at sea level.
Fiskerimuseet
A restored storage building from 1861 serves the purpose of the Fisheries Museum. The collection presents the history of fishing, processing and trade in fishery products in Ålesund on four floors. It tells the story of the fishing trade before and after the town fire of 1904. And it describes the life and resistance of the inhabitants during the German occupation in the Second World War.
Ålesund - Fisheries Museum
Molja - the oldest breakwater in Norway
Next to Fiskerimuseet is Molja, Norway's oldest breakwater. The dam dates from 1854. At the end of the pier rises Molja fyr, the red beacon. The building is currently used by the Ålesund Hotel Brosundet as a room for honeymooners. The adjacent harbor basin is used as a marina.
Opposite the former lighthouse is the Kystrutekai terminal, where the Havila Voyages and Hurtigruten liners stop.
Havila Castor leaves Ålesund
And towering above everything is the Fjellstua viewpoint. We will visit it later in the day. Next we pass many Art Nouveau buildings until we reach Apotekertorget and the Art Nouveau Center and KUBE Museum.
Jugendstil center and KUBE
Ålesund's Art Nouveau Center found its home in the former Svaneapoteket. It has served two purposes since 2003: it is a museum and at the same time the national center of Art Nouveau. The facility offers intensive insights into this style through permanent and temporary exhibitions.
Ålesund - Art Nouveau center
Ålesund - Jugendstilsenteret - Reception area
On the first floor of the Jugendstilsenteret, visitors see an exquisitely furnished dining room with furniture specially designed and produced for this purpose. The room, planned by the interior designer down to the smallest detail, is considered a "total work of art".
Ålesund - dining room in the Art Nouveau center
The "time machine" takes visitors back to the time of the great fire. Audiovisual effects are created on more than twenty screens using videos, photos and animations. They give visitors intensive impressions of the fire and the subsequent reconstruction of the city.
Visitors go through an underground passage to KUBE, the art museum of the province of Møre og Romsdal. Together with the Art Nouveau Center it forms the Kulturkvartalet Foundation.
Alesund - KUBE
Ålesund - art objects in KUBE
Fjellstua viewpoint
Our last destination for the day, the Fjellstua viewpoint, is located on Ålesund's 189 meter high local mountain Aksla. Fjellstua means mountain hut in Norwegian. However, the restaurant, located at an altitude of about 130 meters, does not look like a simple mountain hut. From the top, visitors can enjoy fantastic views of the city, the surrounding islands and the peaks of the Sunnmøre Alps, which are still snow-capped in June.
How to get there? There are several alternatives to get to the top. Motorists use their cars, which visitors arriving by cruise ships inevitably have to do without. It is possible to climb the height via 418 steps. The neat and lighted steps of the Akslatrappa start at City Park, pass Byrampen Utkikkspunkt and end at Fjellstua Restaurant.
Ålesund - stairs leading to the Fjellstua viewpoint
We avoid the effort of climbing and instead book a city tour near the cruise terminal on the "City Train", a "tram". During the 70-minute tour, the miniature trains stop at the top for a quarter of an hour. The trip combines the previously described sights of Ålesund with the energy-saving transport to the restaurant and viewing point.
In 2023, the trip will add NOK 290 to the travel budget, equivalent to EUR 24,70.
Conclusion
Of course, there is much more to see in Ålesund and its surroundings than on our "Ålesund - shore excursion on your own". If you are staying for several days or visiting again on a cruise ship, the Sunnmøre open-air museum with its 55 houses is a good place to visit. Atlanterhavsparken, Europe's largest saltwater aquarium with its fish, seals and penguins, is also worth a visit. Another excursion destination is the Alnes lighthouse. It is located in the fishing village of the same name on the island of Godøy.
Cod in the saltwater aquarium Atlanterhavsparken,
For a short stay in the administrative center of the Norwegian province of Møre og Romsdal, we only recommend the named attractions close to the city. The cityscape shaped by Art Nouveau is unparalleled in Europe. – Ålesund is worth seeing and the right place for carefree discoveries.
September 2024