When we awoke this morning, we were already docked in Stavanger, Norway’s third-largest city, a place of 150,000 people, making it less than half the size of my hometown of Reading. Stavanger has grown on the back of fishing, oil, and tourism, the latter as the gateway to the fjords.
The cruise ship, of which there was only ours today, completely dominated the town and we were able to look down onto the houses in the Old Town below us. I guess it shows just how deep the waters must be in the harbour that such a massive ship can dock there.
Tiny, Pretty Stavanger
It’s the first time I have set foot on Norwegean soil and, to be honest, it felt pretty much like everywhere else but the old, timber clad, houses looked lovely in the morning light.
We left the ship along with thousands of others, and my first thought was that this must be a real pain for those that have to live in such a small city to have thousands of tourists descend on the place. I would also say that a compensation would be the money spent in the local shops, but many were closed!
There is an impressive amount of public art in Stavanger – some times there are several pieces very close together. I don’t know why there are so many here but they were very fine. Have a look at the pictures at the bottom of the post for some examples.
Norsk Oljemuseum
Half of our party then went to visit the Norwegian Petroleum Museum which is nowhere near as dull as it sounds. Like most modern museums it was presented in an engaging way and told the fascinating story of how Norway became an oil superpower.
One graphic stated the following:
Norway has recovered oil and gas worth more than NOK 11,000 billion since production began in 1971. Between 200,000 and 300,000 people are employed in its petroleum industry. The government oil fund exceeds today NOK 18,859 billion, equal to NOK 3,367,212 for every Norwegian. The question is whether the country can manage this wealth so that future generations also benefit.
To put this into some UK-based context, NOK 18,859 billion is roughly equal to £1.396 trillion and equates to about £23,266 for every Briton. The profits from oil via the Norwegian wealth fund are working hard for the residents of Norway, whereas the profits from the UK oil are working hard for the shareholders of companies working in the oil sector. You could say that we are benefiting indirectly when our pension funds invest in these shares but I do wonder what it would have been like for the UK if we’d developed a fund in the same way Norway has.
Video Art
Inside Norsk Oljemuseum, there is a room with two white boxes, one on top of the other, separated by a walkway onto which is projected a beautiful, almost abstract display. This is some of that.
An interesting little place Stavanger but I bet they breath a sigh of relief when then cruise ships leave town!
