Statues in Haugesund

There are over 50 different statues and monuments in Haugesund. Here is a short presentation of four of them

Amanda from Haugesund

Amanda Sofie was born in Haugesund in 1890 as the eldest of five siblings and had to start working early. She worked for her uncle in his grocery shop in Djupaskar, where she met Anders Bertin Stangeland, who later became her husband. They had five daughters, but Amanda became a widow in 1921. To support her family, she knitted and sewed, and later began brewing beer and wine to sell to workers at the local boatyard. After her uncle died, she lost both her job and her home, but managed to rent a house in Kattakrødnå. Although she gained an unfair reputation among the town’s upper class, she was known as a kind-hearted woman who did everything she could to provide for her family. She lived to an old age and saw all her daughters settle well in life.

A smaller copy of the statue in front of Festiviteten (theater and concert hall) is handed out at the Amanda Awards in connection with the Norwegian Film Festival. The statue was unveiled by Liv Ullmann and is designed by sculptor Kristian Kvakland.

Fiskerne (The Fishermen)

The statue of the Fishermen in Haugesund symbolizes Haugesund’s rich history in shipping and fishing. The monument, created by the artist Sofus Madsen, was unveiled in 1920 and is located at Torgbakken. Shipowner Botholf Stolt-Nielsen donated the monument to the city.

Marilyn Monroe

Along Smedasundet stands a tribute to Marilyn Monroe, inspired by her famous scene from The Seven Year Itch. The sculpture marks Haugesund’s connection to the film world through the city’s annual film festival. That Haugesund specifically has a bronze statue of Monroe is due to the city’s claim that her father – a baker who emigrated to the USA – came from here. The sculpture was unveiled in 1992, thirty years after her death, and is created by the acclaimed Norwegian sculptor Nils Aas, who has also designed Norwegian crown coins.

King Harald Hairfair

Harald Fairhair (c. 850 – c. 932) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from c. 872 to c. 930 and was the first King of Norway. Harald Fairhair has his own series of pictures in several rooms at the hotel. Read more here

Where to find the Statues?

This map gives you a suggestion for how you can walk to the different statues. The tour is 2.8 km