The best road cycling routes in Ørnakken Naturreservat

Secondary road with nice view of the nature around, a good spot to enjoy the landscape.

From Sjøholt, you have a terrific view of Storfjorden, with spectacular mountains surrounding the area and framing the water year-round. The landscape blends majestic mountains, serene fjords, and lush forests, offering both alpine scenery and sweeping coastal views.

Don’t miss the Midsummer Fire at this famous spot if you are around at that time of the year. It holds a World Record under the Guiness Book. Alternatively watch it on TV.

Sildekona (German: Herring Woman) depicts an elderly woman processing herring in a slightly bent position over boxes and a barrel. The sculpture was created by Tore Björn Skjölsvik and unveiled in 1991. The sculpture commemorates the women who worked in herring processing, an important industry for Alesund.

Fiskergutten is the German word for "fisherman's boy." The sculpture was created in 1967 by sculptor Knut Skinnarland and is intended to symbolize youthful anticipation of the future.

Fiskergutten is a sculpture in the Norwegian city of Ålesund. It was created in 1967 by the sculptor Knut Skinnarland and is intended to symbolize youthful expectations of the future. Fiskergutten, meaning "fisherman's boy" in English, stands on the Apotekertorget square in the city center, directly on the shore of the Ålesundet. To the west is the Svaneapoteket, used as an Art Nouveau center. While today the name "fisherman's boy" is common, Skinnarland originally used a name meaning "greenhorn" to express youthful zeal and expectations of the future.[1] A copy of the sculpture is located in Akureyri, Iceland, one of Ålesund's twin cities. In the immediate vicinity is the sculpture Sildekona, reminiscent of the herring women. [Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiskergutten ]

The young town of Ålesund got its own church in 1855. It was a stone church with Heinrich Ernst Schirmer (1814-1887) as architect. He was also the architect for the churches in Ørsta, Vartdal and Hareid - and from 1857 for Strøm Church. Strøm Church near Skarnes at Kongsvinger is very similar to the church that fell victim to the town fire on January 23, 1904. Neighbouring wooden houses were preserved after the fire, while the stone church burned! The explanation is that the tower hatches were left open so that the sound of the church bells warning of the fire could reach as far as possible among the people in the town. 850 houses burned, 10,000 people were left homeless - and the town had no church. In a busy period of reconstruction, when one might think that every family had enough for their own needs, work to build a new church was nevertheless given high priority. An architectural competition was announced as early as the summer of 1904. 63 proposals were received! The proposal by architect Sverre Knudsen from Oslo won. The old church, as is usual for Norwegian churches, had the choir facing east – towards the sunrise and the direction of Jesus' return. To take advantage of the topography and have a beautiful entrance from Øwregata, sheltered from the western weather, the end of the church was turned and the main entrance was facing east. This way the choir façade – with stained glass – had plenty of space facing the wide Aspøgata. The foundation stone was laid by the new king on 13 July 1906. King Haakon 7 was then on his first visit to Ålesund after being crowned king in Nidaros Cathedral. A reminder for us of the change that was taking place in our country at exactly that time – Norway became a free nation in 1905. The church is built of natural stone (Ålesund Wall) and clad with marble stone from Lyngstad in Eide municipality in Nordmøre. 2,000 square meters of marble stone cover the church façade – the stone has shades of pink, gray and black in the white, but still: it is marble! Stones from the same quarry can be found, for example, in Rønnebergbua, Fladmarkhuset and the narrow house in Kongensgate. The church was consecrated on September 15, 1909. [ Source: https://www.visitnorway.de/listings/%C3%85lesund-kirche/30031/ ]

Art Nouveau district right by the marina. There is a great pharmacy there with a museum above it