Stavanger

Stavanger: history & character

Stavanger, founded as a Viking village in the 8th century and an ecclesiastical town in 1125 when Bishop Reinald built the Romanesque stone cathedral that still dominates the city centre, became in the 20th century Norway's 'oil capital' after the 1969 North Sea oil discoveries. Now the country's third city (140,000 people), Stavanger combines an oil-industrial heritage (Petroleum Museum on the harbour) with the largest preserved wooden Old Town in northern Europe (Gamle Stavanger, 173 houses from the 18th-19th centuries) and the iconic Pulpit Rock 50 min east. For travellers with a dog, it's one of Europe's most dog-friendly destinations: free transport with no muzzle and no ticket required (Kolumbus buses + Lysefjord ferries, Vy trains), the Pulpit Rock hike accessible to leashed dogs year-round, 35 km of dog-friendly Atlantic sand 15 min south (Solastranden, Borestranden), and a 24/7 veterinary hospital on the city outskirts.