Northern Europe’s best preserved wooden houses are found in Stavanger (Norway)

«Gamle Stavanger»/ Old Stavanger, or «Straen», which is the name of an area in the city of Stavanger. This part of Stavanger is one of the most popular tourist attractions. The reason might be the old houses that tells the story of a by gone era. There are a total of 173 well preserved houses. They can be dated back to the late 1700s and 1800s. Now they have been restored and protected. They vary in size and shape, but most of them are kept in white. Today, there are few building environments that have a continuous row of residential buildings, such as these.

When walking the narrow, coppled streets, you will find galleries and small attractive shops. In one of the streets there is a small museum, which is a house with original furniture. The rooms gives a good idea of how people lived. It's a charming area to stroll around. I really enjoyed the narrow streets and small, white houses.

In 1975, Old Stavanger came on the UNESCO list because it's one of the cities that have been deemed worth preserving. This residential area is one of the oldest. The vast majority of the houses are protected. You cannot change to much, if you would like to own one of them. Stavanger has actually received an award for the work they have done to preserve the district's old wooden buildings. There has been some disagreement about the age of several of the houses, but it has generally been concluded that they must have been built in the period 1820 - 1840.

Stavanger is a only a few hours' drive from Kristiansand. It's usually a few years between each time I'm here, but it's a nice city that has a lot to offer. In just a few weeks I'll be back for a weekend visit and I'm looking forward to visit again.