The largest sword
Symbolises victorious Harald Fairhair.
TomasEE — CC BY 3.0 · Mathieu Marquer from Paris, FRANCE — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Holger Uwe Schmitt — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Holger Uwe Schmitt — CC BY-SA 4.0
Norway's first historically unified king (ruled roughly 872-930 AD) — legend holds he vowed not to cut his hair until he unified all Norway's scattered kingdoms under his crown, achieving it after several battles, Hafrsfjord chief among them, then finally cutting his hair and earning Fairhair after being called Tanglehair before. His dynasty ruled Norway for centuries, founding a unified national identity that endured despite later periods of subjugation to Denmark and Sweden.
Sign in to write your review of this place.
No reviews yet — be the first.
Swords in Rock is the visible monument to Norway's unification on Hafrsfjord's shore: three giant Viking swords (nine metres) plunged directly into natural rock at the sea's edge — raised (1983) commemorating the legendary Battle of Hafrsfjord (around 872 AD), where King Harald Fairhair unified Norway's warring small kingdoms into one realm, symbolically founding the modern Norwegian state. The three swords represent the warring sides: the largest for victorious Harald, the two smaller for the defeated kings — their genuine height and natural setting (no traditional monument pedestal) make them appear to have literally fallen from the sky amid an open seaside landscape. The site is free and always open on a beautiful coastline in its own right — its summer sunset over the fjord behind the swords among Norway's finest symbolic images, ten minutes by bus from the centre.
Symbolises victorious Harald Fairhair.
Behind the swords — Norway's symbolic image.
Møllebukta, 4028 Stavanger