The Art Nouveau Town of Ålesund

The Great Fire

Ironically, we have the flames in 1904 to thank for the town having one of the world’s most concentrated collections of Art Nouveau architecture. On a stormy winter’s night in January 1904, a fire raged through the town centre, and 850 houses burned to the ground. The massive amount of help that came from all over the world once the devastation of the fire became known was impressive. Only three days after the fire, the first German ships came with emergency assistance, at the instigation of Kaiser Wilhelm II.
 

From ashes to Art Noveau

The reconstruction of the town took place at a time of economic depression and extensive unemployment in Norway and craftsmen and architects from everywhere in the country streamed into the town in the hope of finding work. Many of them were internationally orientated through their training, practice and study tours. 

In the period 1904-07 some 50 Norwegian architects were commissioned to design new stone buildings. The reconstruction gave the town a unique architectural expression and a distinctive local variation of Art Nouveau within a concentrated area. The town reflects the different aspects of the building style in a lively and diverse way. 
 

Look up! 

Experience Ålesund