The view
The town on its islands.
Bjørn Christian Tørrissen — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bjørn Christian Tørrissen — CC BY-SA 4.0 · יעקב — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Olaf Meister — CC BY-SA 4.0 · joiseyshowaa — CC BY-SA 2.0
Aksla is the town mountain of Ålesund on Norway's west coast, running along the island of Nørvøya from the town park in the west to Fagerlia in the east. Its name comes from its likeness to a shoulder, and its highest point, at 189 metres, holds a stone tower called Rundskue, beside the Fjellstua restaurant. Ålesund is known for its unusually consistent architecture, as most of its buildings went up between 1904 and 1907. On the night of 23 January 1904 a great fire destroyed almost the whole town, which was rebuilt within a few years in the Art Nouveau style; the Jugendstil Centre in town tells the story of the fire and the rebuilding. It is Norway's ninth-largest town and spreads across several islands. From the viewpoint at the top the whole town lies below, its colourful buildings and pointed roofs spread over the islands, with channels and harbours between them and islands and snowy mountains on the horizon. Green trees cover the mountain's slopes. Visitors climb 418 steps from the town park, or drive to the top. The view is loveliest on summer evenings, when the light lingers.
The town on its islands.
418 steps.
Colourful buildings.
Ålesund, Møre og Romsdal, Norway
By 418 steps or by car.
On a summer evening.