Every design for Skudeneshavn

Along Søragadå, the street that follows the harbour basin, wooden houses built between 1840 and 1870 still stand shoulder to shoulder, much as they did when herring made Skudeneshavn rich. Herring went from this harbour to Riga and other Baltic ports, and the town built up a large fleet of sailing ships for foreign trade.

Walking here feels like stepping into that century. The good years ended when the herring failed and steam replaced sail, and many from Karmøy left for America. What stayed behind was the town itself, now protected as a whole and often called one of the best preserved small towns in Norway. Mælandsgården tells the story through a merchant's home, a shop and a sea house, and Derikhuset stands among the old buildings.

The town lies on the southernmost tip of Karmøy, at the entrance to the Boknafjorden and the Karmsundet strait, and takes its name from the Skudenes headland. If your family once sailed from here, or you have walked Søragadå on a summer evening, you already know why it is worth carrying with you.