Ålesund () sometimes spelled Aalesund in English, is a municipality in

Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; en, Møre and Romsdal) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is the ...

County, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of

Sunnmøre Sunnmøre (, en, South- Møre) is the southernmost traditional district of the western Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. Its main city is Ålesund. The region comprises the municipalities ( no, kommuner) of Giske, Hareid, Herøy, Norddal ...

and the centre of the

Ålesund Region The Ålesund Region ( no, Ålesundregionen, ) is a metropolitan region in Møre og Romsdal county in western Norway. It consists of a number of municipalities, centered on the city/municipality of Ålesund Ålesund () sometimes spelled Aalesun ...

. The town of Ålesund is the

administrative centre An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

of Ålesund Municipality, as well as the principal shipping town of the Sunnmøre district. The town is a sea port and is noted for its concentration of

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

architecture. Although sometimes internationally spelled by its older name ''Aalesund'', this spelling is obsolete in Norwegian. However, the local football club Aalesunds FK still carries that spelling, having been founded before the official change. The municipality is the 184th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Ålesund is the 13th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 67,114. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 9.9% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

In 1793, the port of ''Aalesund'' was granted limited ladested rights. Later, in 1824, it was granted full ladested rights. In 1835, Ålesund had 482 inhabitants.https://www.ssb.no/a/histstat/nos/st_08r_1836-45.pdf On 1 January 1838, the new

formannskapsdistrikt () is the name for Norwegian local self-government districts that were legally enacted on 1 January 1838. This system of municipalities was created in a bill approved by the Parliament of Norway and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January ...

law went into effect, granting limited local self-government to all parishes in Norway. Therefore, on that date, the small ladested of ''Aalesund'' became a small municipality with its own council. It was surrounded by the large rural municipality of Borgund. In 1848, it was upgraded to the status of a

kjøpstad A (historically: ''kjøbstad'', ''kjöbstad'', or ''kaupstad'') is an old Scandinavian term for a "market town" that was used in the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway for several hundred years. The name comes from the on, kaupstaðr. Kjøpstads were ...

, a more important market town. On 1 January 1875, part of Borgund Municipality (population: 902) was transferred to the town of Ålesund. In 1922, another part of Borgund Municipality (population: 1,148) was transferred to the town of Ålesund. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1968, most of the neighbouring municipality of Borgund (population: 20,132) was merged with the town of Ålesund. This merger vastly increased the land area of the municipality and more than doubled the population of Ålesund, for a new total population of 38,589. On 1 January 1977, the island of

Sula Sula may refer to: Places Norway * Sula (island), an island in Sula municipality, Møre og Romsdal county * Sula, Møre og Romsdal, a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county * Sula, Solund, an island in Solund municipality, Vestland county * Y ...

and some small surrounding islets (population: 6,302) were separated from Ålesund to form the new Sula Municipality. On 1 January 2020, the municipality of Ålesund was greatly enlarged when Haram Municipality, Skodje Municipality, Sandøy Municipality, and

Ørskog Municipality Ørskog is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It was part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre was the village of Sjøholt. The other main village was Vaksvika, about south of Sjøholt. The European Route E ...

were merged with Ålesund to form one large municipality of Ålesund.

Toponymy

A part of the town was originally known as ''Kaupangen Borgund''. The Old Norse word ''kaupang'' means ''" marketplace"'' or ''" town"'', thus the market town for Borgund. The Old Norse form of the current name was ''Álasund''. The first element of that (probably) is the plural

genitive case In grammar, the genitive case (abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can al ...

of ''áll'' which means " eel" and the last element is ''sund'' which means "

strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...

" or " sound". Before 1921, the name was written ''Aalesund''.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 1 April 1898. The red and silver arms show a fishing boat on the water with three fish swimming. The arms symbolize the importance of fishing for Ålesund. The type of ship was typical for the fishing vessels in the 18th and 19th century and is taken from a drawing made in 1762. The waves and three fish were added to the drawing in the arms. The arms are shown in the Kaffe Hag album with the boat sailing right instead of sailing left.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...

has twelve parishes () within the municipality of Ålesund. It is part of the Nordre Sunnmøre prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

) in the

Diocese of Møre The Diocese of Møre ( no, Møre bispedømme) is a diocese in the Church of Norway which geographically consists of Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Its bishop is seated at the Molde Cathedral which is located in the county administrative center ...

. The seat of the deanery is at

Ålesund Church Ålesund Church ( no, Ålesund kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Ålesund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the center of the town of Ålesund, on the island of Aspøya. It is one of two chur ...

History

Legend has it that ''Gangerolf'' (outside of Norway better known as Rollo), the 10th-century founder of the dynasty of the dukes of Normandy, hailed from the community of Giske, north-west of Ålesund. At least three statues of Rolle exist: in the town park in Ålesund, in the city of Rouen, France, and in Fargo, North Dakota, United States. In 1835, Ålesund had 482 inhabitants. By 1900, the population had increased to 11,777. In the night of 23 January 1904, the town was the scene of the Ålesund Fire, one of the most terrible of the many conflagrations to which Norwegian towns, once built largely of wood, have been subjected. Practically the entire town was destroyed during the night, a gale aiding the flames, and the population had to leave the town in the middle of the night with only a few minutes' notice. Only one person died in the fire, the 76-year-old Ane Heen, but more than 10,000 people were left without shelter. Jugendstilsenteret-modf

Kaiser Wilhelm Kaiser Wilhelm is a common reference to two German emperors: * Wilhelm I, German Emperor (1797–1888) * Wilhelm II, German Emperor (1859–1941) Kaiser Wilhelm may also refer to: * Kaiser Wilhelm (baseball) (1874–1936), early 20th century bas ...

of Germany had often been on vacation to

. After the fire, he sent four warships with materials to build temporary shelters and

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

. After a period of planning, the town was rebuilt in stone, brick, and mortar in Jugendstil (Art Nouveau), the architectural style of the time. The structures were designed by approximately 20 master builders and 30 Norwegian architects, most of them educated in Trondheim and Charlottenburg, Berlin, drawing inspiration from all over Europe. To honor Wilhelm, one of the most frequented streets of the town is named after him. The town has an unusually consistent architecture, most of the buildings having been built between 1904 and 1907. Jugendstilsenteret is a national

interpretation centre An interpretation centre, interpretive centre, or visitor interpretive centre is an institution for dissemination of knowledge of natural or cultural heritage. Interpretation centres are a kind of new-style museum, often associated with visitor ...

, visitors can learn more about the town fire, the rebuilding of the town and the Art Nouveau style. Ålesund is a partner in the Art nouveau network, a European network of co-operation created in 1999 for the study, safeguards and development of the Art nouveau. The term "Little London" was often applied to the community during the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany due to the

Norwegian resistance The Norwegian resistance (Norwegian: ''Motstandsbevegelsen'') to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms: *Asserting the legitimacy of the exiled government, ...

work that took place here. Among other things, the city was central to the flights to Scotland and England.

Geography

The municipality of Ålesund occupies seven of the outer islands in the county of

Hessa Hessa or Heissa is an island in Ålesund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is the westernmost island in the municipality and it is one of the main islands in the island-city of Ålesund. The island is located west and south of t ...

, Aspøya,

Nørvøya Nørvøya or Nørve is an island in Ålesund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is the largest of the islands containing the city center of Ålesund, the others being Aspøya and Heissa, located to the west. The island of Nør ...

Oksenøya Oksenøya or Uksenøya is an island in the Sunnmøre region of Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The island is located in Ålesund Municipality on the north side of the Storfjorden. Oksenøya has an area of and it has a population of 27,334 ( ...

, Ellingsøya, Humla, and

Tørla Tørla is a small island in Ålesund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It has bridge connections to the islands of Humla (to the west) and to Uksenøya (to the east). The island is located in the inner part of the Borgundfjorden ...

. The town centre is located on the islands Aspøya and Nørvøya, while Heissa and Oksnøya contain residential areas. The second largest island, Ellingsøya, used to be accessible only by boat or by road via Skodje Municipality, but the undersea

Ellingsøy Tunnel The Ellingsøy Tunnel ( no, Ellingsøytunnelen) is a subsea road tunnel in Ålesund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The tunnel runs between the center of the city of Ålesund on the island of Nørvøya and the village of Hoffl ...

was built in 1987 to make traveling between the island and the town centre more convenient. The tunnel is long, and was upgraded in 2009. Situated north northeast of the city of Bergen, Ålesund is adjacent to the Hjørund and

Geiranger Geiranger is a small tourist village in Sunnmøre region of Møre og Romsdal county in the western part of Norway. It is in the municipality of Stranda at the head of the Geirangerfjorden, which is a branch of the large Storfjorden. The nearest ...

fjords, the latter being on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites. The municipality covers an area of . The population (2017) is 47,199, making the population density of . The population of the

agglomeration Agglomeration may refer to: * Urban agglomeration, in standard English * Megalopolis, in Chinese English, as defined in China's ''Standard for basic terminology of urban planning'' (GB/T 50280—98). Also known as "city cluster". * Economies of agg ...

, which includes parts of the neighbouring Sula Municipality, is 48,460. The municipality also contains three smaller separate urban areas on the island of Ellingsøya:

Hoffland Hoffland or Hovland is a village in Ålesund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The village is located on the western end of the island of Ellingsøya, about northeast of the town of Ålesund and about west of the village of M ...

, Årset, and Myklebost with a total population of 1,279. Other villages include

Løvika Løvika is a village in Ålesund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Løvika has approximately 200 inhabitants and is mostly known for its farming industry. It is located on the south side of Oksenøya island, southeast of the vil ...

and

Spjelkavik Spjelkavik is a borough in the town of Ålesund in Ålesund Municipality, Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is also called ''"Vika"'' by many locals. Spjelkavik is located on the western end of the island of Uksenøya, at the intersection of ...

, both on Uksenøya.

Climate

Ålesund has a temperate

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

( Köppen ''Cfb''), also known as a marine west coast climate. The driest season is April- July. The wettest season is September - January, and the wettest month is December. The mean annual temperature of is extremely warm for the latitude of 62°N. This is in a large part due to the mild autumns and winters, which can sometimes experience strong winds. The record low is from January 2010, and the record high is from July 2018. The warmest temperature ever recorded in the municipality is at a weather station a little east (inland) of the city itself. Atlantic lows can sometimes cause warm winter highs in Ålesund due to

foehn A Foehn or Föhn (, , ), is a type of dry, relatively warm, downslope wind that occurs in the lee (downwind side) of a mountain range. It is a rain shadow wind that results from the subsequent adiabatic warming of air that has dropped most of ...

effect from winds being forced over the mountains in Sunnmørsalpene.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Ålesund, are responsible for

primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wiktionary:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physical and menta ...

, senior citizen services, unemployment and other

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor. The municipality falls under the

Møre og Romsdal District Court Møre og Romsdal District Court ( no, Møre og Romsdal tingrett) is a district court located in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. This court is based at four different courthouses which are located in Volda, Ålesund, Molde, and Kristiansund. T ...

and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council () of Ålesund is made up of 77 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Ålesund (incomplete list): *2015–present:

Eva Vinje Aurdal Eva Vinje Aurdal (born 6 December 1957) is a Norway, Norwegian politician for the Labour Party (Norway), Labour Party. In the 2009 Norwegian parliamentary election, 2009 and 2013 Norwegian parliamentary election, 2013 elections she was elected as ...

( Ap) *2007-2015: Bjørn Tømmerdal ( H) *1999-2007: Arve Tonning (H) *1995-1999: Asbjørn Rutgerson ( LL) *1994-1995: Asbjørn Måløy (Ap) *1990-1993: Kjell-Arne Slinning ( KrF) *1988-1989: Leidulf Dahle (Ap) *1980-1987: Svein Tømmerdal (H) *1978-1979: Olav Helge Balsnes (H) *1976-1977: Johannes Giske (KrF) *1968-1975: Gustav M. Flisnes ( DNF)

Economy

The town of Ålesund has the most important fishing harbour in Norway. The town's fishing fleet is one of the most modern in Europe. Ålesund and its surroundings also has a large furniture industry. Some well-known household items are manufactured here. In the 1950s and 1960s, Ålesund was one of the chief stations of the

herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...

fishery business. In relation to the relatively large fishing fleet belonging to Ålesund and nearby harbours a large shipbuilding and ship equipment industry has evolved. There are not any yards building ships in Ålesund any more, the last shipyard - Liaaen Shipyard evolved into ship repairs and since late 1990s has mainly been serving the offshore industry through the company Liaaen Technology that merged and rebranded to Strata Møre in 2007. In the close by communities however shipyards continue to operate successfully:

Vard Fincantieri S.p.A. () is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (2014 ...

, Ulstein Verft, Kleven Maritime, Havyard Group. When oil was found in the North Sea in the 1970s the local fishing fleet ship owners seized the opportunity and rebuilt fishing vessels to serve the infant oil exploration and production industry. Soon they were able to build purpose designed offshore vessels at local shipyards to serve the North Sea oil adventure even better. Today this has become a cornerstone industry in and around Ålesund through leading offshore supply ship owning companies Farstad, Bourbon, Olympic, Havila, and Rem. Serving the ship building industry a large number of equipment manufacturers has evolved: Rolls-Royce, Odim, Sperre, Optimar, Ship Equip, Jets and many more. To the east of Ålesund lies the

Sykkylven Municipality Sykkylven is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Aure. Other villages in the municipality include Ikornnes, Straumgjerde, and Tusvik. The municipal ...

where the

Ekornes Ekornes is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Jens E. Ekornes (1908–1976), Norwegian businessman *Jens Petter Ekornes (1942–2008), Norwegian businessman, nephew of Jens *Kenneth Ekornes Kenneth Ekornes (born 7 July 1974 i ...

factory, producing furniture such as the StressLess chair, is located. Håhjem, another village near Ålesund, contains the headquarters of the

Stokke Stokke is a town in Sandefjord municipality in Vestfold County, Norway. It lies in-between Sandefjord and Tønsberg, two of Vestfold's largest cities. It was a municipality from 1838 to 2016. The administrative centre of the municipality was the ...

company. Ålesund is also one of the harbours at which the Hurtigruten arrives two times per day. As the cultural center of the region and with close proximity to the fjords, Ålesund is a tourist attraction. The

Atlanterhavsparken The Atlantic Sea-Park ( no, Atlanterhavsparken) is an aquarium in Ålesund, Norway. It was founded in 1951 as a limited company. The current facility was officially opened 15 June 1998. The Atlantic Sea-Park is one of Scandinavia's largest saltwa ...

aquarium is another tourist attraction.

Transportation

From Øye at the head of Hjørundfjorden, a road strikes south to the Nordfjorden, and from Maråk on Geirangerfjorden another strikes inland to Otta. The Rauma Line starts at Åndalsnes, east of Ålesund, going to Dombås, then southwards on the Dovre Line to

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...

and Oslo. Ålesund is a port of call for passenger and freight vessels travelling between Bergen, Kingston upon Hull, Newcastle, Hamburg, and Trondheim, including the

Hurtigruta ''Hurtigruten'' (), formally Kystruten Bergen-Kirkenes ("coastal route Bergen- Kirkenes"), is a Norwegian public coastal route transporting passengers that travel locally, regionally and between the ports of call, and also cargo between ports no ...

(Norwegian Coastal Express) cruise ships, which arrive in Ålesund twice a day. The town's airport,

Ålesund Airport, Vigra Ålesund Airport ( nn, Ålesund lufthamn, ), or alternatively Ålesund Vigra Airport, is an international airport serving the town of Ålesund in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located on the island of Vigra in Giske Municipality and fe ...

, has several daily flights to/from Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, and Copenhagen. It used to have several weekly flights to/from

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

( Riga International Airport) ( AirBaltic) and London (

London Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after Hea ...

) but these routes have since ceased. In November 2012

KLM KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amste ...

announced it would fly to Ålesund 5 days a week from Amsterdam starting in April 2013. Lately, there have been suggestions of a high-speed rail link to Oslo, Bergen, and Trondheim, as well as metro-style local services to meet the needs of the expanding population of the town.

Culture

The Norwegian Centre of Art Nouveau Architecture, Jugendstilsenteret, is situated in Ålesund. It is a museum and interpretive center, with exhibitions telling the story of the town fire and Art Nouveu/Jugendstil in Norway and Europe. Sunnmøre museum, founded in 1931, is an outdoor folk museum devoted to the Norwegian coastal culture and way of life. Located on an area of 120 hectares (50 acres), it has more than 55 old and distinct houses from the past 300 years moved to the site, replicas of old Viking ships, and the Medieval Age Museum with artifacts from excavations of the old trading centre. The local newspaper is '' Sunnmørsposten'', founded in 1882 and published six days a week. The newspaper ''

Arbeidernes blad ''Arbeidernes blad'' (The Workers' Paper) was a Norwegian newspaper published in Ålesund Ålesund () sometimes spelled Aalesund in English, is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal County, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of ...

'' was briefly published in Ålesund in 1898. Ålesund is the site of the annual

Norwegian Food Festival Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

Education

Ålesund is home to a sub-division of the

Norwegian University of Science and Technology Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

(NTNU), with approximately 1,800 students and 150 employees. The ''Ålesund School of Art'' ( no, Ålesund Kunstskole) is a school for visual arts located in Ålesund. The Norwegian School of Management had a campus in Ålesund, but it closed on 1 August 2008. Ålesund videregående skole, also known as ''Latinskolen'', formerly ''Aalesund Lærd- og Realskole'', is the oldest

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

in Ålesund, having been established in 1863. Of the six upper secondary schools in Ålesund, including ''Latinskolen'', Fagerlia videregående skole is the largest with room for approximately 1,000 students. Ålesund also features an International school for children aged 5–15.

Gallery

File:Aksla-on-summer-night-2020.jpg, The viewpoint Aksla on a summer night File:Vista de Ålesund desde Storhaugen, Noruega, 2019-09-01, DD 78.jpg, Cruise port and Aspøy School File:Puerto, Ålesund, Noruega, 2019-09-01, DD 48-50 PAN.jpg, Downtown Ålesund. File:Ålesundet (2016.08.04).jpg, Ålesundet File:Ålesundet Brosundet (2016.08.04).jpg, Ålesundet File:Alesund Prestegata Kirkegata.jpg, alt=Building at the Kirkegata street, Building at the Kirkegata street

Sport

The local

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team, Aalesunds FK (''Aalesunds Fotballklubb'') was founded in 1914. The team played in the

Norwegian top flight Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

for the first time in the

2003 season 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

. The club won its first Norwegian Cup in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

and won again in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

. They played their home matches at Kråmyra Stadium until the 2005 season, when they relocated to the new

Color Line Stadium Color Line Stadion is an association football stadium in Ålesund, Norway, and the home of 1. divisjon side Aalesunds FK. It was inaugurated in April 2005 and cost NOK 160 million to build. It is referred to as Aalesund Stadion by UEFA, as namin ...

, located approximately outside the town centre. AaFK's supporter club is called "Stormen" and has about 2,000 members.

Notable residents

Public Service & business

Anton Ludvig Alvestad Anton Ludvig Alvestad (7 May 1883 – 2 July 1956) was a Norwegian politician and government minister for the Labour Party. Born in Sula, Alvestad was a baker by profession, and owned his own bakery. He was also active in the temperance movement ...

(1883–1956) Mayor of Ålesund, 1920–21 and Govt. minister *

Reinert Torgeirson Reinert Torgeirson (7 December 1884 – 30 November 1969) was a Norwegian newspaper editor and politician for the Labour and Communist parties. He was also an active poet, playwright and novelist. Biography Torgeirson was born in Ålesund in Mør ...

(1884–1969) a politician, poet, playwright and novelist *

Erik Rolfsen Erik Rolfsen (24 July 1905 – 27 September 1992) was a Norwegian architect. He served as urban manager of Oslo, Norway from 1947 to 1973. Biography Erik Rolfsen was born at Ålesund in More og Romsdal, Norway. Rolfsen took his final exams at Kri ...

(1905–1992) an architect; urban manager of Oslo, 1947–73 *

Monrad Norderval Monrad Oskar Norderval (1902–1976) was a Norwegian bishop in the Church of Norway. Norderval was born in Ålesund, Norway in 1902. He graduated with the cand.theol. degree in 1928 from the Royal Frederick University in Oslo. He began his minis ...

(1902–1976) Bishop of Nord-Hålogaland, 1961–1972 *

Dagfinn Flem Dagfinn Flem (28 July 1906 – 28 May 1976) was a Norwegian politician, newspaper editor, non-fiction writer and translator. He was born in Borgund, a son of Ivar Flem and Nikoline Landmark, and a brother of Magne Flem. He edited the newsp ...

(1906–1976) politician, Mayor of Ålesund, 1958 to 1965 *

Birger Strømsheim Birger Edvin Martin Strømsheim, (11 October 1911 – 10 November 2012) was a Norwegian resistance movement, Norwegian resistance member during World War II, especially noted for his role in the Norwegian heavy water sabotage, heavy water sab ...

(1911–2012) a WWII

resistance Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

member and heavy water saboteur * Margit Johnsen (1913–1987) a Norwegian merchant navy sailor; the only female recipient of the military award St. Olav's Medal with Oak Branch *

Joachim Rønneberg Joachim Holmboe Rønneberg (30 August 1919 – 21 October 2018) was a Norwegian Army Officer (armed forces), officer and broadcaster. He was known for his Norwegian resistance movement, resistance work during World War II, most notably commandin ...

DSO (1919–2018) an Army officer, broadcaster and WWII Commando *

Rolf B. Wegner Rolf Benjamin Wegner (born 27 October 1940 in Ålesund) is a Norwegian lawyer, civil servant and former chief of police. He is one of the most well known and popular policemen in Norway. Background He grew up in Halden and is a son of chief of po ...

(born 1940) lawyer and well known and popular former chief of police *

Helen Bjørnøy Helen Oddveig Bjørnøy (born 18 February 1954 in Ålesund, Norway) is a Norwegian Lutheran minister and politician ( Socialist Left Party), currently County Governor of Buskerud. From October 2005 to October 2007, she was Minister of the Enviro ...

(born 1954) a Lutheran minister, politician and County Governor of Buskerud *

Odd Arne Westad Odd Arne Westad FBA (born 5 January 1960) is a Norwegian historian specializing in the Cold War and contemporary East Asian history. He is the Elihu Professor of History and Global Affairs at Yale University, where he teaches in the Yale Histor ...

FBA, (born 1960) historian specializing in the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

* Edvard Moser (born 1962) psychologist and neuroscientist, winner 2014 Nobel Prize *

Harald T. Nesvik Harald Tom Nesvik (born 4 May 1966 in Ålesund, Norway) is a Norwegian politician and member of the ''Storting'' for Møre og Romsdal since 1997. He is a member of the Progress Party (FrP) and is perhaps most famous outside Norway for nominatin ...

(born 1966) a politician and member of the

Storting The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...

since 1997 *

Paal Kibsgaard Paal Kibsgaard (born April 1967) is a Norwegian petroleum engineer and businessman; the former chairman and CEO of Schlumberger, the world's largest oilfield services company. Early life He was born in Ålesund, Norway in April 1967. Education ...

(born 1967) a petroleum engineer; chairman and CEO of

Schlumberger Schlumberger Limited (), doing business as SLB, is an oilfield services company. Schlumberger has four principal executive offices located in Paris, Houston, London, and The Hague. Schlumberger is the world's largest offshore drilling compa ...

* Peder Are Nøstvold Jensen (born 1975) controversial

counterjihad Counter-jihad, also spelled counterjihad and known as the counter-jihad movement, is a self-titled political current loosely consisting of authors, bloggers, think tanks, street movements and campaign organisations all linked by apocalyptic beli ...

blogger known as ''Fjordman'' *

Torry Larsen Torry Larsen (born 11 April 1971 in Ålesund) is a Norwegian adventurer and Arctic explorer. In 1992 he met fellow adventurer-to-be Rune Gjeldnes, also of Møre og Romsdal. Both Gjeldnes and Larsen served in the Norwegian Naval Special Operation ...

(born 1971) a Norwegian adventurer and Arctic explorer *

Cecilie Skog Cecilie Skog (born August 9, 1974) is a Norwegian adventurer. She studied and worked as a nurse, but since summiting Mount Everest in 2004, she has worked as a professional adventurer, guide and lecturer. In August 2008, she climbed K2. Her husb ...

(born 1974) a professional adventurer, guide and lecturer. *

Sylvi Listhaug Sylvi Listhaug (born 25 December 1977) is a Norwegian politician serving as the leader of the Progress Party since 2021. She previously served as Minister for the Elderly and Public Health of Norway under Prime Minister Erna Solberg from May to ...

(born 1977) a Norwegian politician and Govt. minister *

Erik Tørrissen Erik Tørrissen (born February 10, 1988, in Ålesund, Møre og Romsdal) is a Norwegian yachtsman and politician from the Progress Party. He was the Vice-chairman of the Progress Party's Youth from 2012 to 2014. Political career After the 2015 ...

(born 1988) a Norwegian politician and yachtsman

The Arts

Jacob Fjelde Jakob Henrik Gerhard Fjelde (10 April 1859 – 5 May 1896) was a Norwegian-born American sculptor.Harris, Moira F., ''Monumental Minnesota: A Guide to Outdoor Sculpture'', Pogo Press, 1992, pg. 6 He is remembered as both a prolific portraitis ...

(1859–1896) an American sculptor of public monuments *

Ambrosia Tønnesen Ambrosia Tønnesen (28 January 1859 – 21 January 1948) was a Norwegian sculptor. She is regarded as the first professional female sculptor in Norway, and is best known for her many portraits, including statues, busts, and reliefs. Personal l ...

(1859–1948) the first professional female sculptor in Norway *

Pauline Fjelde Pauline Gerhardine Fjelde (May 1861 – December 23, 1923) was a Norwegian-born American painter, embroiderer, and textile artist. Background Pauline Gerhardine Fjelde was born in Ålesund, Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. She and her family immi ...

(1861–1923) an American painter, embroiderer and textile artist *

Sigvart Høgh-Nilsen Sigvart Høgh-Nilsen (29 April 1880 – 1919) was a Norwegian pianist and composer. Biography He was born on 29 April 1880 in Ålesund, Norway to Captain Sigvart Nilsen (1852–1906) and Sophie Marie Olesdatter (1853–1924). After his bir ...

(1880–1919) a Norwegian pianist and composer * Axel Revold (1887–1962) a Norwegian painter, illustrator and academic *

Ole Barman Ole Gregor Liljedahl Barman (1897–1983) was a Norwegian jurist, novelist, short story writer, playwright and theatre director. Among his novels are ''Fast i fjellet'' from 1930 and ''Ein mann gjekk heim'' from 1933. He published the short story c ...

(1897–1983) a novelist, short story writer, playwright and theatre director *

Hartvig Kiran Hartvig Kiran (3 November 1911 – 15 August 1978) was a Norwegian author, lyricist and composer. He was most commonly associated with his broadcasts on the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. Biography Kiran was born at Ålesund in Møre og Ro ...

(1911–1978) an author, journalist, songwriter and composer *

Mattis Mathiesen Mattis Leonid Rakov Alexevitch Mathiesen (30 June 1924 – 9 October 2010) was a Norwegian photographer and film director. He hailed from Ålesund. His grandfather was a Russian immigrant. Mathiesen stayed in the United Kingdom during the Second ...

(1924–2010) a Norwegian photographer and film director *

Arnold Eidslott Arnold Olav Eidslott (10 June 1926 – 19 April 2018) was a Norwegian poet. He was born in Ålesund, and worked as a telegraphic engineer for the whole of his working life. From 1986 to 2018 he was the poet laureate. Eidslott's Christian religion ...

(1926–2018) poet laureate, 1986 to 2018 and telegraphic engineer *

Arild Rypdal Arild Rypdal (23 September 1934 – 14 May 2015) was a Norwegian author, pilot and engineer. He is famous for his MI6 stories from England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its we ...

(1934–2015) author of spying stories, a pilot and engineer * Oddbjørn Blindheim (born 1944) a jazz pianist and dentist * Svein Olav Blindheim (born 1954) a jazz double bassist, composer and writer * Geir Rönning (born 1962) a professional singer-songwriter * Annbjørg Lien (born 1971) a Hardanger fiddler, nyckelharpist, and violinist. * Magne Hovden (born 1974) a writer, translator *

Ernst Simon Glaser Ernst Simon Glaser (born 1975 in Ålesund, Norway) is a Norwegian musician (cello) and music teacher, the son of violinist Ernst Glaser (1904–79), and brother of the pianist Liv Glaser (1935–). Biography Glaser moved to England at the age ...

(born 1975) a classical musician (cello) and music teacher *

Stian Omenås Stian Omenås (born 5 May 1980) is a Norwegian Jazz musician (trumpet), music conductor and composer from Valldal in Norddal, Sunnmøre, known as leader of his own band Stian Omenås Ensemble and ""PARALLAX", and from collaborations with musicia ...

(born 1980) a jazz musician (trumpet), music conductor and composer *

Hilde Marie Kjersem Hilde Marie Kjersem, also known as Marie Munroe, (born 27 April 1981 in Ålesund, Norway) is a Norwegian artist, musician and songwriter signed to Warner Music Norway. She started out as a jazz musician, but has had an organic and natural develo ...

(born 1981) a jazz and pop singer, musician and songwriter *

Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen (born 4 February 1982) is a Norwegian guitarist, vocalist and composer. She is known for a series of album releases and collaborations with musicians like Jon Eberson, Jarle Bernhoft and Hilde Marie Kjersem. Career ...

(born 1982) a guitarist, vocalist and composer * Ingrid Helene Håvik (born 1987) songwriter and vocalist, lead singer of '' Highasakite'' * Bjørn Johan Muri (born 1990) a Norwegian pop singer * Sigrid Solbakk Raabe (born 1996) known as ''Sigrid'', a singer and songwriter John Arne Riise

Sport

Knud Leonard Knudsen Knud Leonard Knudsen (6 September 1879 – 28 April 1954) was a Norwegian gymnast who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics. He was part of the Norwegian team, which won the gold medal in the gymnastics men's team, free system event. He was ...

(1879–1954) gymnast, team gold medallist,

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

Harald Stenvaag Harald Stenvaag (born 5 March 1953) is a Norwegian rifle shooter who started competing internationally at the ISSF World Shooting Championships in Switzerland in 1974. He has represented Norway in the Summer Olympics 6 times, and has two Olympi ...

(born 1953) rifle shooter, silver and bronze medallist at the

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

* Ann Kristin Aarønes (born 1973) former footballer, 111 caps with Norway women * Ingrid Tørlen (born 1979) a beach volleyball player, competed in the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

John Arne Riise John Arne Semundseth Riise (born 24 September 1980) is a Norwegian professional football manager and former player who played as a left back and a left midfielder. He is currently the manager of Toppserien club Avaldsnes. With 110 caps, Riise is ...

(born 1980) a former footballer with 546 club appearances and 110 caps for Norway *

Leni Larsen Kaurin Leni Larsen Kaurin (born 21 March 1981) is a Norwegian football midfielder who has made almost 100 appearances for the Norway women's national football team. Kaurin represented her country in the 2009 and 2013 editions of the UEFA Women's Champi ...

(born 1981) football midfielder, 98 caps for Norway women * Bjørn Helge Riise (born 1983) a former footballer with 358 club appearances and 35 caps for Norway *

Olav Lundanes Olav Lundanes (born 11 November 1987) is a Norwegian orienteering competitor, hailing from Ålesund. He has won gold medal at the World Orienteering Championships ten times and the European Orienteering Championships four times. He competes for ...

(born 1987) orienteering competitor, ten times gold medallist at the

World Orienteering Championships The World Orienteering Championships (or WOC for short) is an annual orienteering event organized by the International Orienteering Federation. The first World Championships was held in Fiskars, Finland in 1966. They were held biennially up to 20 ...

Nina Haver-Løseth Nina Haver-Løseth (born 27 February 1989) is a retired Norwegian World Cup alpine ski racer and specializes in the technical events of slalom and giant slalom. Haver-Løseth made her World Cup debut in February 2006, and her first podium ca ...

(born 1989) slalom ski racer, team bronze medallist,

2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , winte ...

* Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal (born 1990) long-distance runner; competed at the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

Sebastian Foss Solevåg Sebastian may refer to: People * Sebastian (name), including a list of persons with the name Arts, entertainment, and media Films and television * ''Sebastian'' (1968 film), British spy film * ''Sebastian'' (1995 film), Swedish drama film ...

(born 1991) alpine ski racer, team bronze medallist,

* Andrea Raaholt (born 1996) a Norwegian tennis player

In popular culture

Mark Kozelek Mark Edward Kozelek (born January 24, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and occasional actor. He is known as the vocalist and primary recording artist of the indie folk act Sun Kil Moon and founding member of ...

wrote and performed an eponymous song about Ålesund under the

Sun Kil Moon Sun Kil Moon is an American folk rock act from San Francisco, California, founded in 2002. Initially a continuation of the defunct indie rock band Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon is now the primary recording moniker of vocalist and guitarist M ...

moniker, on the record Admiral Fell Promises.
Ålesund was shown briefly at about the 20:17 mark in the 1969 film, "It's Tough to Be a Bird," by Disney. The town is shown being stepped on by an enormous bird foot.

Twin towns – sister cities

Ålesund is twinned with: * Akureyri, Iceland (1949) * Borgo a Mozzano, Italy (1979) * Lahti, Finland (1947) * Peterhead, Scotland, United Kingdom (1967) * Randers, Denmark (1947) * Tacoma, United States (1986) * Västerås, Sweden (1947)

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every yea ...

Municipality website

Jugendstil Centre/Art Nouveau Centre

Ålesund Hospital
*
Webcam from Ålesund
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aalesund Municipalities of Møre og Romsdal 1838 establishments in Norway Populated places established in 1838 Art Nouveau architecture in Norway

General information

Toponymy

Coat of arms

Churches

History

Geography

Climate

Government

Municipal council

Mayor

Economy

Transportation

Culture

Education

Gallery

Sport

Notable residents

Public Service & business

The Arts

Sport

In popular culture

Twin towns – sister cities

See also

References

External links