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Avaldsnes is a village in
Karmøy Karmøy is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is southwest of the town of Haugesund in the traditional district of Haugaland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kopervik. Most of the municipality lies on ...
municipality in
Rogaland Rogaland () is a county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Vestfold og Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. In 2020, it had a population of 479,892. The admin ...
county,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...
. The village is located on the northeastern part of the island of
Karmøy Karmøy is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is southwest of the town of Haugesund in the traditional district of Haugaland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kopervik. Most of the municipality lies on ...
, along the Karmsundet strait, just south of the town of
Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipality on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. While the population is greater in the neighboring Karmøy municipality, the main commercial and economic centre of the Haugaland region in northern Rogaland and souther ...
. The village was an ancient centre of power on the west coast of Norway and is the site of one of Norway’s more important areas of cultural history. The trading port of
Notow Notow (or Nothaw, Notau, probably a Germanization of Nautøy, which again may have evolved into the present Nottå) was a trading port located at the northeast of Karmøy, or more specifically located at the king's port area in Avaldsnes. According ...
and the
Avaldsnes Church Avaldsnes Church ( no, Avaldsnes kirke, formally ''St. Olav's Church at Avaldsnes'', no, St Olavskirken på Avaldsnes) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Karmøy Municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the village of ...
are two notable historic sites in Avaldsnes. The village was 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 the old municipality of Avaldsnes which existed from 1838 until 1965. The village has a population (2019) of 2,890 and a
population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...
of . Avaldsnes has been described as "Norway's oldest capital" because it was the primary residency of
Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair no, Harald hårfagre Modern Icelandic: ( – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from  872 to 930 and was the first King of No ...
who unified Norway into one kingdom.


History

Avaldsnes is believed to have been named after the legendary King
Augvald Augvald (Old Norse: ''Ogvaldr'') was a semi-legendary Norwegian petty king portrayed in the legendary Norse sagas. If considered historical, reconstructed estimates based on saga information would have Augvald living some time in the 7th century ...
, who allegedly had his seat in the area surrounding the Karmsundet strait. It was here that there was an ancient centre of power at Avaldsnes. At this point, the shipping route is forced into a narrow passage that runs along Avaldsnes. It is likely this for this reason that such power and riches were generated through the ages. King
Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair no, Harald hårfagre Modern Icelandic: ( – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from  872 to 930 and was the first King of No ...
chose Avaldsnes for his main royal estate in about 870 making it the oldest royal seat in Norway. According to legend,
Olav Trygvason Olaf Tryggvason (960s – 9 September 1000) was King of Norway from 995 to 1000. He was the son of Tryggvi Olafsson, king of Viken (Vingulmark, and Rånrike), and, according to later sagas, the great-grandson of Harald Fairhair, first King of ...
built
Avaldsnes Church Avaldsnes Church ( no, Avaldsnes kirke, formally ''St. Olav's Church at Avaldsnes'', no, St Olavskirken på Avaldsnes) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Karmøy Municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the village of ...
, apparently as a manor chapel for the king's residence. This would probably have been quite a small
stave church A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts ar ...
. Construction of the present day church, called "St. Olav's Church of Avaldsnes" ( no, Olavskirken) was started approximately 1250 AD, on the order of King
Håkon Håkonsson Haakon IV Haakonsson ( – 16 December 1263; Old Norse: ''Hákon Hákonarson'' ; Norwegian: ''Håkon Håkonsson''), sometimes called Haakon the Old in contrast to his namesake son, was King of Norway from 1217 to 1263. His reign lasted for 46 ...
. It was not completed until nearly 1320. Dedicated to
St. Olav Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was List of Norwegian monarchs, King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously ...
, it was one of the greatest Norwegian stone churches from the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
and it was one of only four royal collegiate churches in Norway. The church was an important station of the
Pilgrim's Route The Pilgrim's Route, (''Pilegrimsleden'') also known as St. Olav's Way or the Old Kings' Road, was a pilgrimage route to the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway, the site of the medieval tomb of St. Olav. The main route is approximately l ...
to
Nidaros Nidaros, Niðarós or Niðaróss () was the medieval name of Trondheim when it was the capital of Norway's first Christian kings. It was named for its position at the mouth (Old Norse: ''óss'') of the River Nid (the present-day Nidelva). Althou ...
which ran along the coast. "Written sources indicate that Avaldsnes was the predecessor of the later established Hansa kontor in Bergen", according to the website of the
University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hi ...
. The village was selected as the
millennium site A millennium site ( no, tusenårssted) is a site selected by a Norwegian municipality or county municipality to mark the transition to the 2000s. In Norway it was decided that the counties and municipalities would choose one millennium site for ...
for Rogaland county.


Archaeology and excavation

Rich discoveries from prehistory have been made in the entire area. Reheia (also known as Blodheia) is located approximately west of the Church. King
Harald I of Norway Harald Fairhair no, Harald hårfagre Modern Icelandic: ( – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from  872 to 930 and was the first King of Nor ...
located his main farm at Avaldsnes in about 870. In 953, King
Haakon the Good Haakon Haraldsson (c. 920–961), also Haakon the Good (Old Norse: ''Hákon góði'', Norwegian: ''Håkon den gode'') and Haakon Adalsteinfostre (Old Norse: ''Hákon Aðalsteinsfóstri'', Norwegian: ''Håkon Adalsteinsfostre''), was the king o ...
fought a fierce battle at the Bloodheights (''Slaget på Blodeheia ved Avaldsnes'') against the sons of his half-brother King
Eirik Bloodaxe Eric Haraldsson ( non, Eiríkr Haraldsson , no, Eirik Haraldsson; died 954), nicknamed Bloodaxe ( non, blóðøx , no, Blodøks) and Brother-Slayer ( la, fratrum interfector), was a 10th-century Norwegian king. He ruled as King of Norway from ...
. The forces of King Haakon won the battle and he would reign as
King of Norway The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingd ...
until his death during 961. This site contains the only Norwegian example of
Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
burial mounds lined up in a row. A ship burial from the time of the
Merovingian Dynasty The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...
(approximately 680-750 AD) found here is the oldest ship burial uncovered within the Nordic countries.


Storhaug

Storhaug (Great Mound), a ship's burial mound, can be found to the north of the royal estate at Avaldsnes. Excavation of this burial mound started in 1886. The ship at Storhaug was made of oak and was placed in a north-south orientation. Stone walls of approximately in height and width were built around the great ship. The Storhaug ship is commonly described as a large oar-powered vessel, with a breadth of .


Grønhaug

Grønhaug (Green Mound), the site of another ship burial, is situated north of the church site. It was examined by
Haakon Shetelig Haakon Shetelig (June 25, 1877 – July 22, 1955) was a Norwegian archaeologist, historian and museum director. He was a pioneer in archaeology known for his study of art from the Viking era in Norway. He is most frequently associated with ...
in 1902, and contained an approximately long boat with remains of a man’s grave from the 10th century. Dendrochronological studies carried out in 2009 show that the ships from Oseberg, Grønhaug, and Storhaug along with the boat found at Storhaug were all built from oak from the same area of Southwest Norway.


Flagghaugen

Flagghaugen (Flag Hill), from the
Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...
word ''haugr'' meaning hill or mound, is situated just north of the church. Originally it had a diameter of and a height of , but it was flattened under the leadership of Pastor Lyder Brun in 1835. The mound turned out to be Norway’s richest grave from the Roman Period. The Avaldsnes find ( no, Avaldsnesfunnet) contained a neck ring of of pure gold, weapons,
bandolier A bandolier or a bandoleer is a pocketed belt for holding either individual bullets, or belts of ammunition. It is usually slung sash-style over the shoulder and chest, with the ammunition pockets across the midriff and chest. Though functiona ...
mountings and various Roman tubs of silver and bronze.


Mary's Needle

Mary's Needle, known in Norwegian as the sewing needle of Virgin Mary ( no, Jomfru Marias synål) is the only one remaining of several monumental stones which once stood around the church area. The stone has been somewhat taller, but, towering at it is still the second largest of its kind in Norway. The stone leans in towards the church wall—the distance to the wall is in fact only . A saga tells that "the day of Judgement will come when the stone comes into contact with the church wall". A popular story tells us about a minister in ages past who climbed the monument and cutting off a piece from the stone when it came dangerously near the church wall.


Nordvegen History Centre

Nordvegen History Centre ( no, Nordvegen historiesenter) was opened in 2005, in order to raise the profile of the historical qualities of Avaldsnes. The centre is located by the site of St. Olav’s Church. To best preserve the integrity of the church stemming from the Middle Ages as well as the historical landscape, most of the centre is located underground. There is a replica of a farm from the
Viking Age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Germ ...
with several buildings, including reproductions of a longhouse and boathouses on the island of Bukkøy. The long house at the Viking farm is a trestle construction with curving walls and a double curved roof covered with wooden shingles.


References


External links


Norway's oldest royal seatNordvegen History Centre
{{authority control Villages in Rogaland Karmøy Millennium sites