Romanesque and Gothic in one
A round-arched nave and a pointed-window east end — two centuries in one building.
Mathieu Marquer from Paris, FRANCE — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Unknown authorUnknown author — Public domain · Joachim Frich — Public domain · rheins — CC BY 3.0
Stavanger Cathedral in the city centre, Norway's oldest cathedral and the one that best keeps its original form. It was built in the early twelfth century, and the city began from it: Stavanger grew around this cathedral and dates its foundation from the building's. The structure is therefore older than the city around it. What distinguishes it architecturally is that it plainly joins two styles: the nave is Romanesque with massive columns and round arches, and the eastern end is Gothic with pointed windows, added after a fire in the thirteenth century. You walk from one half to the other and see two centuries. Inside is a baroque pulpit carved in dense detail, among its best-known features. The cathedral was restored in the last decade before the city's celebration of nine hundred years since its founding, its roofs and stonework returned to condition. It stands by the Breiavatnet lake in the heart of the city, minutes from old Stavanger and the harbour.
A round-arched nave and a pointed-window east end — two centuries in one building.
Carved in dense detail, among the cathedral's best-known features.
Built in the twelfth century, with Stavanger growing around it afterwards.
Central Stavanger, by the Breiavatnet lake
Old Stavanger with its white timber houses is minutes away on foot, the canning museum and the Norwegian Petroleum Museum explain the city's economy before and after oil, and the Colourful Street has its painted fronts. The city is small and entirely walkable.
Yes, as a base more than as a destination. The city itself is small and pleasant and a day covers it, but it is the departure point for Preikestolen overlooking the Lysefjord — among Norway's best-known sights — and for fjord trips. Make it a base for two or three days.
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