Eigersund municipality

About

The island of Eigerøy acts as a natural break-water shielding the mainland from the rough waves coming from the North Sea. It provides welcome shelter for sailors on the exposed coast between Lista and North Jæren and has provided excellent conditions for recreational sailing, fishing and shipping for centuries, and has helped put Egersund on the map as one of the biggest fishing ports in Norway.

Facts. Population: approx. 15.000, size approx. 429km2. The rocky, hilly coastline along the North Sea contrasts with the steep mountains and hills, plains, forests and cultural landscape further inland. It is an hour’s drive to Stavanger Airport and there is a train service via the Jærbanen railway and the Sørlandsbanen railway to Stavanger, Kristiansand and Oslo respectively. The E39 road runs through the municipality, 10km from the town center, while the fv44 or the North Sea road, runs along the coast and through the town center. The economy is largely based on marine activities and fishing, and there are fish-processing companies producing fish oil,  fishmeal and fish for consumption as well as oil-related activities, maritime electronics and net repair workshops. It is the center of commerce in Dalane, with specialist shops and shopping centers.

Before and now. Several archaeological finds bear witness to settlement from the early Bronze and Iron ages, at Auglend, among other places. This area is also unique and well preserved cultural landscape with a boathouse and picnic area for visitors arriving by sea or by land. The clay on Eigerøy was the basis for the large scale faience industry in Egersund, and a museum has been opened to celebrate the industry’s 132 years history. Egersund is famous for its unique type of rock, anorthosite. Similar sized fields of anorthosite are only found in Canada and on the moon! Take a trip to Eigerøy lighthouse and learn about the unique history of anorthosite along the way. The exciting varied landscape of the Egersund area is perfect for

walking and cycling trips. The Old Jærbanen railway from Egersund to Hellvik is now both a walking and cycling trail.

Coloured wooden houses. One of the most striking features of the wooden houses in Egersund is the many colours that brighten up the town. While the other towns along the coast of Southern Norway, from Kragerø to Skudeneshavn are white, visitors to Egersund are met by a wide range of colours. Up until the early 1900s, all the wooden buildings were brightly coloured. A mere few were painted white. Before cheap, zinc-based white paint came on the market, white was the most expensive colour and was only used by the rich and prosperous. When white paint became cheap, everyone wanted to paint their houses white. Unlike the other towns along the coast, Egersund was already an industrial town by the end of 1840s. The smoke from the factory left a layer of soot on the houses that were painted white, but it was not as visible on houses that were painted in other colours. The faience factory is therefore the reason why Egersund never became a ‘white’ town, but kept its varied and colourful palette.