What to See in Stavanger - Top Sights and Attractions

Striking 10th-century religious edifice. Stavanger Cathedral is Norway's oldest cathedral and the seat of the Bishop of Stavanger who leads the Diocese of Stavanger in the Church of Norway. It is located in the centre of the city of Stavanger which lies in the southwestern part of the large Stavanger Municipality in central Rogaland county, Norway. The church is situated in the centre of the city, in the borough of Storhaug between Breiavatnet in the south, the square with Vågen in the north west, the cathedral square in the north, and Kongsgård in the southwest.

It is one of the two churches for the Domkirken og St. Petri parish which is part of the Stavanger domprosti (arch-deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger. The gray, stone church was built in a long church style around the year 1125 using designs by an unknown architect. The church seats about 800 people.^[2]

Lake in Norway. Breiavatnet is a small lake in the municipality of Stavanger in Rogaland county, Norway. The 0.031-square-kilometre lake is very shallow, only a few feet deep. The lake gets its water from the Kannikbekken stream, which flows from the Mosvatnet lake and runs through the city. A decorative fountain was installed in the middle of the lake in 1924.

The lake lies in the city centre of Stavanger, on the border of the boroughs of Storhaug and Eiganes og Våland. The Stavanger Cathedral, the City Park, and Stavanger Cathedral School lie on the northern shore of the lake. The Stavanger train station is located on the south shore of the lake.

The lake is the home of various birds, such as swans, seagulls, ducks, and sparrows. There are scarcely any fish in the water, and an old story from the area says that only the principal of Stavanger Cathedral School is the only one with rights to go fishing in Breiavatnet.^[3]

Stadium in Stavanger, Norway. Viking Stadion, is a football stadium in Stavanger, Norway. It was inaugurated in May 2004 and cost 160 million NOK to build. 50 million NOK, plus the lot it was built on, was a gift from the municipality. It replaced Stavanger Stadion as the home stadium of Viking FK.

In 2006, the stadium was expanded beyond the original capacity of 15,300 to 16,600. The capacity was later reduced to 16,300 in 2012 to make room for two giant screens. From 2018 the capacity is again reduced to 15,900.

Originally an all-seater stadium, parts of the west stand have been converted to safe standing in recent years.

The record attendance is 16,600 from 24 June 2007, when Viking met Brann.

Jåttåvågen railway station, which serves the Jæren Commuter Rail, is located right outside the stadium.

The venue has hosted the Norway national under-21 football team on four occasions, playing 1–0 against Spain on 31 May 2006, 1–1 against Bosnia and Herzegovina on 6 September 2006, 2–2 against Slovakia on 10 June 2009 and 2–2 against Belgium on 10 November 2011.

In a 2012 survey carried out by the Norwegian Players' Association among away-team captains, Viking Stadion was found to be the league's fourth-best stadium, with a score of 4.27 on a scale from one to five.

The stadium can also host large music concerts and events. Among the artists who have played at Viking Stadion are Bryan Adams, R.E.M. Roger Waters, Bob Dylan, Sissel Kyrkjebø & Plácido Domingo, The Eagles, Kiss, Robbie Williams, Ylvis and Bon Jovi.^[6]

Cantilever spar cable-stayed bridge in Stavanger, Norway. Stavanger City Bridge is a cantilever spar cable-stayed bridge in the city of Stavanger which is in the large Stavanger Municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The bridge has one tower and it was one of the first larger cable-stayed bridges in Norway when it opened on 31 January 1978. The bridge crosses the Straumsteinsundet strait connecting the city centre of Stavanger to the small islands of Grasholmen and Sølyst. It is the main connection to the whole the borough of Hundvåg which is a series of islands that are all interconnected by small bridges.

The Stavanger City Bridge is 1,067 metres (3,501 ft) long, the main span is 185 metres (607 ft), and the maximum clearance to the sea is 26 metres (85 ft). The reinforced concrete bridge has 24 spans.

The bridge has a high volume of travelers crossing it every day. This has led to the construction of the new Hundvåg Tunnel, which will connect the mainland city of Stavanger with the islands of Buøy and Hundvåg. The tunnel opened in 2020. It runs under the strait, immediately west of the bridge.^[7]

Catholic church in Stavanger, Norway. St Svithun's Church is the parish church of the Roman Catholic Church in Stavanger, Norway. The church is dedicated to St Swithun of Winchester. St Swithun is the Patron saint of Stavanger, and the Stavanger Cathedral of the Church of Norway, built in 1125, was dedicated to St. Svithun, centuries before the Protestant Reformation. The first Catholic church in Stavanger after the Reformation was consecrated in 1898.

The current postmodern church was designed by architect Thomas Thiis-Evensen, and built in 1983. The congregation moved to the larger, current church. The church has increased sharply over the last 40 years due to increased immigration in relation to the oil industry and the NATO center, and due to increased immigration from Catholic countries. The strong growth in membership over the past 20 years led to a wish to extend the current church in addition to start with several other booth locations. Already in 1996, the congregation started planning an expansion of the church, and expansion of the church building until nearly 600 seats was completed in 2012 as a continuation of the existing church idiom.^[13]

Hafrsfjord or Hafrsfjorden is a fjord in the Stavanger Peninsula in Rogaland county, Norway. The 9-kilometre long fjord forms the border between the municipalities of Stavanger and Sola. On the west side of the fjord is the large village of Tananger, on the south is the village of Solakrossen, and on the east end of the fjord is the borough of Madla in the city of Stavanger. The Møllebukta bay area, located on the innermost part of the fjord, is the site of a popular beach and the Sverd i Fjell statues. The only bridge over the fjord is the Hafrsfjord Bridge which runs between Kvernevik in Stavanger and Jåsund in the village of Tananger in Sola.

Hafrsfjord is also the name of a neighbourhood (delområde) in the borough of Madla in the city of Stavanger. It has a population of 4,003, distributed on an area of 5.78 square kilometres (2.23 sq mi).

Hafrsfjord is also the location of the KNM Harald Hårfagre, the Basic Training Establishment for the Royal Norwegian Navy. The camp had been used for military purposes since 1871 and in 1934 it was renamed Madlaleiren. In 1952, Parliament decided that the Navy's boot camp would be added to the camp and also that the Navy would formally take over the camp. Three years later, the camp was named KNM Harald Hårfagre. Today KNM Harald Hårfagre is the principal training camp for both the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. Officer Candidate School for the Navy moved the intake and basic education from Horten to KNM Harald Hårfagre during the summer of 2005.^[14]