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The Steamboat on leaving Ekersund passes the Ekere, a large
island protecting the harbour, with a lofty iron lighthouse. The
coast is flat and dreary, and the water generally rough owing to the
absence of theSkjærgaard, or belt of islands. The steamer steers
towards the N., passing the Jcrderens Rev (‘reef), a sandy promontory
forming the westernmost point of Jæderen, and the mouth of the
Hafsfjord, where Harald Haarfager (‘fair hair ) gained a decisive
naval victory in 872, which gave him the sovereignty of the whole
country, and which released him from a vowr, taken ten years
previously, not to cut his hair until he should be king of all
Norway. A little farther on, the vessel turns to the E. and passes the
Tunyenas, a promontory with a lighthouse, forming the N.
extremity of the peninsula in which Jæderen terminates.
89 Kil. (55 Engl. M.) Stavanger. — Hotels. Grand Hotel, well
spoken of, landlord speaks English; Wesnæs ; Scandinavie; Xielsen, small.
— Biergsted’s Garden Restaurant (concerts frequently).
British Vice-Consul, Mr. Lars Berentzen. English money may be
changed here.
Xymann’s Sea Baths. — Xorsk Turistbureau (p 70), Xedre Holme-Gade,
near the steamboat-quay. — Telegraph Office.
Stavanger, an important commercial town, with about 24,000
inhab., picturesquely situated on a branch of the Bukkenfjord,
possesses two harbours, Vaagen, facing the N.W., and Østervaagen,
a smaller bay separated from the other by a peninsula called
Holmen, on which rises Valbjerget, an eminence commanding a
fine view. The town is one of the most ancient in Norway, dating
from the 8th or 9th century, but as it has suffered very frequently
from fires it now presents quite a modern appearance. Many of the
houses are now built of stone. At the upper end of the Vaag lies
the Torv or market-place, beyond which rises the Cathedral, and near
the Østervaag is the modern Petrikirke. Fish is the staple
commodity of the place, and the herrings, which for a time had almost
entirely deserted this part of the coast, have of late reappeared.
The * Cathedral, the most interesting building in Stavanger,
and the finest church in Norway after the cathedral of Throndhjem,
was founded by Bishop Reinald, an English prelate, at the end of
the 11th cent, and dedicated to St. Swithin (Suetonius, Bishop of
Winchester, d. 862). It is about 250 ft. in length, and 70 ft. in
width. In 1272 the church wTas burned down, but it was soon
afterwards rebuilt in the Gothic style. After the Reformation it was
sadly disfigured by alterations, but since 1866 it has been restored,
under the superintendence of Von der Lippe of Bergen, as far
as possible to its original condition. The nave is separated
from the aisles by massive pillars of early Norman or Byzantine
character, which belong apparently to the original edifice. The
handsome Gothic Choir, which adjoins the nave without the
intervention of a transept, probably dates from the 13th century. The
choir is flanked with four towers, two at the E. end, and two
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