Every design for Haugesund

Did you know Haugesund is named after a king's grave? Haraldshaugen, the burial mound beside the Karmsundet strait, is where Harald Fairhair, the first king of Norway, is believed to lie, only a short way from his royal seat at Avaldsnes.

Haraldstøtta, the national monument above the mound, was raised to mark the thousandth anniversary of the Battle of Hafrsfjord, traditionally seen as the moment western Norway was first united under one king. The town itself grew much later, on herring: the coastal waters were once full of fish, and Haugesund rose quickly around the catch. When the herring vanished, shipyards and shipping took over. Karmsund folkemuseum and Dokken friluftsmuseum preserve that working past, and the old lighthouse Tonjer fyr is a museum too.

The centre runs along Smedasundet in a tidy grid of streets, and in August, when Sildajazzen comes to town, leisure boats moor so close together along Smedasundet that they fill half the sound, just as the herring boats once did.