5 minute read
Festung Stavanger
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TRAVEL ALONG THE COAST TO LEARN THE DRAMATIC HISTORY AND SEE THE REMNANTS FROM WWII, WITH AN INTRIGUING COMBINATION OF TRANQUIL AND DRAMATIC NATURE AS A BEAUTIFUL BACKDROP
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Season: All year Board: Half-board Nights: Three or Four
During WWII the port of Stavanger and the nearby airport at Sola were of strategic importance for both Nazi Germany and the allied forces. For this reason, the Festung Stavanger was an important part of the greater Festung Norwegen, to protect Norway from an invasion by the allied forces. The armor barrier south of the city and coastal forts and fortifications were massive and solidly built, and can still be found along the coast today, reminding us of the importance of this part of Norway during WWII. This trip will take you to some of the best kept landmarks left from the war, combined with beautiful nature and landscapes.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Jøssingfjord and the Altmark story • Exploring bunkers on the beaches • Fjøløy fortress with canon • Sola Strand Hotel and its hidden wine cellar • Museum of Aviation
DAY 1
Arrive and explore
Upon your arrival in Stavanger Airport, pick up a rental car and take the short drive to the nearby Sola Strand Hotel. Take a relaxing stroll at the long, sandy beach and visit several bunkers on the way. With the airport just a few hundre meters away, the bunkers are scattered along the beach, reminding you of the importance this airport had during the war.
Before you head back for dinner, make sure to visit the beautiful site of the Sola Old Church, built on the remains of a Romanesque stone church from the early 12th century. During WWII the allied forces used this distinct landmark sitting on the hilltop as a reference point on their numerous bomb attacks of the airport.
Photo: Knut Bry
The Nazis tore it down, but it has now been rebuilt. Head back to your hotel for a lovely dinner, and make sure to visit the wine cellar, which is a wellkept secret. Through a maze of underground tunnels, you are taken into a large bunker, hidden under the sand dunes of the beach.
DAY 2
Aviation museum, fortress and war history
After breakfast take the short drive to the Museum of Aviation History, which is just a few minutes away. The exhibition is inside an authentic German hangar from WWII, with an impressive range of aircrafts and helicopters where a German seaplane, Heinkel HE 115, is among the museums most unique collections.
Continue the drive to the Fjøløy fortress. This coastal battery was built in 1941 and is to some extent still in use. Go exploring in your own pace the canons, bunkers, viewpoint, and the light house. You will even find an intact 12.7 cm SK C/34 naval gun here. It can be a good idea to bring a lunch basket and enjoy a picnic in the green, or you can stop by the Utstein Kloster Hotel, located on the route, for lunch. Head back to the mainland and visit downtown Stavanger. There is plenty to see and do here, whether you would like to do some sightseeing or just stroll in the cobbled streets between the old, wooden houses. You can even experience the art project Stolpersteine, initiated by the German artist Gunter Demnig to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust.
DAY 3
Road trip
Enjoy a quiet breakfast before you head out for a road trip, packed with historic sites and intriguing stories. Go southbound on the North Sea Road, a Norwegian Scenic Route. This stretch is packed with beautiful beaches, fascinating landscapes and farmland, lighthouses, churches, and small villages. And naturally you will find a lot of remnants from WWII, as this coastline was a part of the fortification called Festung Norwegen.
It can be a good idea to bring a lunch basket and enjoy your lunch along the road as a lot of the bunkers are situated on beautiful beaches. Use bunkersite.com to find bunker locations and chose the ones you would like to spend the most time exploring.
When you reach Brusand you can witness athe so-called “Hitler teeth”. Perched between the long, sandy beach and the road you will find hundreds of large boulders and concrete blocks, laied out to prevent any tanks and amphibious vehicles to use the shallow water to get ashore easily. Continue the journey to the small city of Egersund, which was among the very first cities to be invaded by the Germans on April
Photo: Hå kommune Photo: Liv Kristina Jehl
WHAT’S INCLUDED
• Two nights in four star hotel accommodation at the Sola Strand
Hotel, and one night at Songdalstrand
Kulturhotell, both members of Historic
Hotels. Breakfast and dinner included. • Mid-size car rental • Entrance fee at Aviation Museum
Photo: Jærmuseet
9th, 1940, due to the telegraph cable between Peterhead in Scotland and Egersund. The short distance between UK and Norway, made the undersea cable an important telegraph link between UK, Scandinavia and Russia. Head down to the quite and beautiful village of Sogndalstrand, the first Cittaslow outside Italy, and spend the night at Sogndalstrand Kulturhotell, a hidden gem dating back to 1831.
DAY 4
The Jøssingfjord and Altmark
After your breakfast your road trip continues to one of the significant highlights in the Norwegian WWII history. Through dramatic landscape it is only a 15 minutes drive to the Jøssingfjord. This fjord is especially known for the Altmark affair that took place here on February 16th 1940. This affair is the event where the German military tanker ‘Altmark’ was boarded by British marine vessels, and British marines were released from German captivity. The Altmark event was used as an argument by the Germans to attack and occupy Norway, as they felt that Norway’s neutrality was compromised after this event. During WWII, the name “jøssing” was used to describe anti-nazi Norwegians. This story is well explained on the dramatic viewpoint above the fjord. Continuing down the valley, you will also be able to visit the exciting Helleren, two small wooden houses, dating back from the 1800s, are perched in and sheltered under the mountain side.
Continue your journey on the winding, but intriguing road to the city of Flekkefjord. Enjoy a nice lunch here before you head back to Stavanger on the E39. If you are on an evening flight, deliver the car at the airport before you departure, or you can chose to stay one more night and add a visit the war museum at Sola before you head home.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION on tour operator net pricing, ground handling, tour guide & destination management, please contact Region Stavanger on T: +47 51 85 92 00,
