West of the harbor you will find –
Old Stavanger – the old town –
known for having the best preserved wooden house settlement in Northern Europe.
This area is considered the city’s most important tourist attraction next to the Cathedral.
This area comprises 173 wooden buildings from late 18th century and early 19th century. Most houses are small and painted in white. In the old days, it was actually common to bring along your house when you moved from one place to another, and this is actually the case for several of the houses in Old Stavanger. The houses are logged in timber, and they were therefore easy to dismantle and bring along when they moved.
In recent times the count has risen to include some 250 houses, including craft shops , galleries and museums.
It is a memorable experience to walk through the narrow cobbled streets, with lampposts from the 1890s and charming houses with small gardens.
Especially beautiful surroundings in the summer – when the roses crawl over white picket fences and colorful flower baskets adorn the house walls.
Most of the houses are owned by private residents so be aware not to open doors or stare through windows and take pictures of the interior.
Some in these homes have experienced this and even if they are used to tourists, especially in summer, some tourists have been a bit too curious – some have even been looking into the letter flap.
A nice little recreation area with some benches – and view to the harbour
The oldest house in Old Stavanger – is called Blidensol- and is built around 1700:
The first owner was Merchant Lauritz Smith (1680 – 1758) – son of the Scottish sculptor Andrew Smith who is the master of the magnificent Baroque pulpit rock in Stavanger Cathedral.
The couple had 16 children, and the granddaughter, Johanna Margaretha Bull, was married to Gabriel Schanche Kielland, Ledaal’s builder. The Smith family lived in this house until 1825.
Around the 20th century, 19 people lived in the house, divided into 4 families. In the 19th century, by the way, the house was extended and has changed as new people moved in.
The house has also undergone extensive renovation in recent decades.
The current owners of Gamle Stavanger’s oldest house are Else Sørlie and her husband, the artist Arne Sørlie.
The Municipality of Stavanger has received several awards for the preservation of Old Stavanger. This area is however not the only one consisting of wooden houses. The wooden city of Stavanger entails around
8 000 houses in several different styles – from empire, to Art Nouveau and functionalism. The wooden housing is mainly from Stavanger’s settlements prior to the Second World War.
