Egersund (Norway)

Egersund is a port town in Norway's Rogaland county, with population around 12,000. Port Egersund (locode NOEGE) has one of the country's best natural harbors and is currently ranked Norway's second-largest fishing port - after Alesund.

Egersund is approx 75 km (47 mi) south of Stavanger (Norway's 3rd-largest metro area and 4th most populous municipality) and approx 7 km (4 mi) to the east of Eigeroya Island (~10 min drive distance via roads 426-502). E39 Highway links to Stavanger and Kristiansand. Fylkesvei 44 (County Road 44, connecting Flekkefjord with Stavanger) is a coastal road that runs along Norway's North Sea coastline. Regularly scheduled trains link with Stavanger, Kristiansand and Oslo.

As cruise port, Egersund is visited by smaller-sized expedition ships and superyachts. Among the companies that often include the port in their schedules is the Germany-based Phoenix Reisen.

Besides the commercial fishing industry, the town's economy is based on companies like Navico (2006-founded, specializing in marine electronic equipment/navigation, instruments, fish-finding), C-MAP Norway AS (1934-founded, electronic sea-maps producer), Aker Solutions ASA (1841-founded, fka Aker Kvaerner, builds parts for offshore oil and gas platforms).

The settlement (as Eikundarsund) was first mentioned in the late-13th-century. The municipality was established in 1838. The town was severely damaged by a fire in 1843 when ~2/3rds of all buildings were destroyed. Egersund became railway-connected to Stavanger in 1878.

Egersund's best-known tourist attractions include Dalane Folkemuseum (themed on the town's history), Fayancemuseum (themed on the glazed pottery and porcelain made by the local Fayancefabrik factory in the period 1847-1979), Stoplesteinan (a 1000-years-old small stone circle in close proximity to downtown), 19th-century architecture (the downtown houses some of Norway's best-preserved wood buildings), Magma Geopark (UNESCO-listed open-air park with facilities for outdoor leisure and recreation activities), Trollpikken ("Troll's Dick" - a 12-m / 39-ft high rock formation that resembles an erect penis).