Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
St Olav's Church
CHURCH
(
www.visitkarmoy.no
;
Avaldsnes; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat, noon-5pm Sun Jun-Aug)
About 5km south of central Haugesund, King Håkon Håkonsson's huge stone church was
dedicated to St Olav in 1250. The adjacent 7.2m spire, known as the
Virgin Mary's
Needle
,leansperilouslytowardsthechurchwall,andlegendsuggeststhatwhenitactually
touches the wall the Day of Judgment is at hand - it was close but still free-standing when
we were there. Local legend has it that priests of little faith have, through the centuries,
climbed the needle to chip bits away.
Nordvegen Historiesenter
HISTORY CENTRE, VIKING
FARM
(
www.vikinggarden.no
,
in Norwegian; adult/child/student & senior Nkr100/50/75;
11am-5pm Mon-Fri, 11am-4pm Sat, noon-5pm Sun Jun-Aug, shorter hr rest of yr)
DownashortpathfromthecarparkforStOlav'sChurchisthisoutstandinghistorycentre,
which recreates the history of Harald Fair-Hair and other monarchs of the newly unified
Nordvegen from the 10th century onwards. Also nearby, the reconstructed
Viking farm
(Avaldsnes; adult/child Nkr60/40; 11am-4pm Tue-Fri, 11am-3pm Sat, noon-4pm
Sun)
is beyond the church and great for kids; you'll be guided by staff in period dress. A
good website to check out is
www.vikingkings.com
.
Karmøy Fiskerimuseum
FISHERY MUSEUM
(
www.visitkarmoy.no
;
adult/child Nkr30/10; 11am-5pm Mon-Fri, 2-6pm Sun
Jun-mid-Aug)
InVedavågen,ontheisland'swestcoast,theKarmøyFisheryMuseumwill
have fishing buffs enthralled with a state-of-the-art new building, fishing exhibits and a
saltwater aquarium.
Skudeneshavn
HISTORIC VILLAGE
The wonderful settlement of Skudeneshavn, 37km south of Haugesund, has many tradi-
tional wooden buildings and an extensive museum,
Mælandsgården (
www.skudenes.no/
museum
; adult/child Nkr60/15; 11am-5pm Mon-Fri, 1-6pm Sun Jun-mid-Aug)
,
which has excellent collections of household articles, rooms with period furnishings and
agricultural and nautical exhibits. There's a small summer-only
tourist office (
52 85
80 00;
www.visitskudeneshavn.no
)
next to the quay.
