Alrekstad ( Norwegian: ''Kongsgården på Alrekstad'',

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

: ''Álreksstaðir'') was one of the largest Kongsgård estates on the west coast of Norway during the early

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

History

Alrekstad was situated at the foot of Ulriken, the highest of the Seven Mountains (''de syv fjell'') that surround

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. King

Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair (; – ) 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 Monarchy of Norway, King of Norway. Supposedly, two ...

took residence there in the 10th century. After the Battle of Fitjar in 960, 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 ...

was on his way to Alrek, but died at Håkonshella in

Laksevåg Laksevåg is a borough of the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. The borough is located in the western part of the municipality. Historically, the area was called ''Laxevaag'', and it was a separate municipality until 1972 when it was ...

. The parish of Aarstad existed for centuries before the creation of the municipality of Aarstad in 1838. The municipality and parish of Aarstad (later spelled Årstad) was named after Alrekstad.

Etymology

Presently

The name ''Alrekstad'' evolved into today's '' Årstad'', the modern name of a borough of the city of

. The location of Alrekstad – today referred to as "Årstadvollen" – is situated outside of the Årstad borough.

Translation of the plaque

References

''Alrekstad - Bergens eldste kongsgård'' (Kulturhistorisk vegbok Hordaland, 1993

Other sources

* Bing, Just ''Aarstads historie'' (Bergens Historiske Forenings Skrifter. November 28, 1922) {{Royal palaces in Norway Geography of Bergen Viking Age populated places Royal residences in Norway Medieval history of Norway History of Bergen Harald Fairhair