When preparing for my visit to Stavanger, I did a lot of research. I wrote about Stavanger's history, Gamle Stavanger, made my own walking tour and visited the Oil Museum. Here are all the interesting facts about Stavanger I found along the way.

Note - more interesting facts can be found in my self-guided walking tour. I have two pages all about life in Stavanger today, with up-to-date statistics.

Stavanger

• Stavanger is the fourth-largest city in Norway after Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim
• The population of Stavanger (in 2020) is 121,610
• Stavanger has the largest collection of wooden houses in northern Europe with around 8,000 timber buildings in the city.
• Immigrants make up 11.3% of Stavanger's population

Historical Facts

• There is archaeological evidence that people have lived in the Stavanger area since 3000BC
• Stavanger was an important place for the Vikings; in 872 the Battle of Hafrsfjord took place. This battle played a role in the unification of Norway. After this battle, King Harald the Fairhair declared that he was the sole ruler of the kingdom of Norway
• Stavanger is one of Norway's oldest cities; it was founded in 1125
• The Stavanger Cathedral is the oldest stone cathedral in Norway - older than Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim!
• In the 1880s, a woman’s grave from the Viking Age was found in Guselskogen. It is regarded as among the richest women’s graves from the Viking era. Several objects found show Irish heritage (Vikings ruled parts of Ireland). About 40 objects were found, including silver and bronze clasps, silver arm rings, a finger-ring, pearls, knives, cooking equipment and parts of a reliquary. The objects are now part of the Bergen Museum.
• Christian Bjelland (1858-1927) was the founder of Chr. Bjelland & Co AS, Norway's largest canned goods producer and amongst the largest in Scandinavia. He became one of the great industrialists of his time in 1908 was made a Knight, 1st Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav for his contribution to building the Norwegian canning industry.
• In 1980, there was a large oil accident. The Alexander L. Kielland semi-submersible drilling rig capsized while working in the Ekofisk oil field, killing 123 people. The rig was owned by the Stavanger Drilling Company of Norway.

Geography & Climate

• Compared to many other places in Norway, Stavanger has a relatively flat landscape; most of the municipality is between 0 and 50 metres above sea level
• Stavanger's highest point is the 139-metre (456 ft) tall Jåttånuten
• Stavanger is influenced heavily by the Gulf Stream, making it much warmer throughout the year. The record high temperature is 34C (93F)
• Stavanger is a relatively wet city, with 1,180 millimetres (46 in) of rain a year

Work Life

• Stavanger has 29% of the county's industrial employment, mostly thanks to oil
• Engineering is now the main industry with 59 percent of manufacturing employment. This is mostly related to the offshore petroleum industry, and production of oil platforms alone account for 40 percent.
• Stavanger is the fourth most important maritime city in Norway when counting number of registered fleets. Oslo, Bergen and Ålesund make up the other three spots.
• Stavanger is often referred to as Norway's answer to the French food region of Lyon. The Culinary Institute has provided a very important focus on food in Stavanger. Every year there is the "Happy Food Festival" in Stavanger. By 2020, Stavanger intends to be the region most Norwegians associate with food products and culinary experiences.
• Tourism is on the rise in Stavanger. Cruise ships are becoming more common, and Stavanger is one of Europe's fasted growing ports of call for cruise ships north of the Mediterranean.
• The University of Stavanger is the fifth university established in Norway. It has 9,000 students
• Domestic and military installations are located in Stavanger, including the NATO Joint Warfare Centre

Transport

• Stavanger Train Station connects the city with Oslo, Drammen, Kristiansand, and Jaeren.
• The journey to Oslo on train takes around 7 hours
• Stavanger Airport is 14 minutes from the city centre
• The airport links Stavanger with Oslo (1.5 million passengers a year) and Bergen (700,000 passengers a year). Other domestic destinations are Trondheim, Vaernes and Kristiansand
• Stavanger Airport has international flights to Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Aberdeen, London, Paris, Barcelona, Stockholm and Warsaw
• The FjordLine ferry connects Stavanger with Bergen to the north and Hirtshals in Denmark to the south

Culture

• Stavanger's main newspaper is called the Stavanger Aftenblad. It came out with its first issue in 1893
• Stavanger was named the European Capital of Culture for 2008.
• Alexander Kielland is from Stavanger. He is considered one of the four great writers of Norway.
• The most visited museum in the city is the Norwegian Petroleum Museum
• The oldest museum in the city is the Missjonmusset, established in 1864. It has 5,000 exhibits containing objects of ethnographic and historical interest.
• South West Film Forum is the organisation for those who work in the film industry. Their goal is to increase the skills of film workers in the region.
• Local filmmaking in Stavanger gets special grants, aiming to boost the industry
• One of the first successful Stavanger-made films was Mongoland
• Another famous film made in Stavanger is Nokas (2010), about the famous NOKAS robbery that took place in Stavanger in 2004
• The latest Mission Impossible movie was filmed on Pulpit Rock just outside Stavanger
• The largest football club in Stavanger is Viking FK, one of the most successful clubs in Norwegian history
• The Stavanger Oilers is the only western team in the top Norwegian ice hockey league
• Stavanger participates in the annual Nuart Festival. Every September, a team of internationally acclaimed street artists contribute to "one of Europe's most dynamic and constantly evolving public events."

Random Interesting Facts about Stavanger

• King Oscar sardines originated in Stavanger!

Do you have any interesting facts about Stavanger?

Add them in the comments!