Waldehuset

The Waldehuset, in Ålesund

The Waldehuset is a small wooden house of Ålesund dating from 1870, the only one of its district to have survived the great fire of 1904. The Ålesund audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this dwelling become a legend, surrounded by a story that defies rational explanation.

The house that survived the fire

Here, at number 2 of the Fjellgata, stands a discreet small wooden house dating from 1870, a witness of an event that defies all rational explanation. Indeed, the Waldehuset is the only house of the whole East district to have survived the devastating fire of 1904, which reduced to ashes almost all of Ålesund in a single night. While the flames, fanned by the wind, devoured one after the other the wooden houses of the town, this modest dwelling remained miraculously intact, which earned it to become a true local legend. Its singular destiny intrigues and feeds the tales, between extraordinary chance and unexplained mystery. Today, the Waldehuset testifies, by its mere presence, to what Ålesund was before the catastrophe, and recalls the scale of the fire that obliged the town to rebuild itself entirely. A surviving vestige and an enigma surrounded by legends, the Waldehuset is an intriguing stop of the discovery of Ålesund.

What to see

Here you discover the small wooden house of 1870, at number 2 of the Fjellgata, the only dwelling of the whole East district to have survived the devastating fire of 1904 that reduced Ålesund to ashes, become a local legend by its singular destiny, and which testifies to what the town was before the catastrophe. The Waldehuset is an enigma of Ålesund. It is an intriguing stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Waldehuset lies at number 2 of the Fjellgata, in the heart of Ålesund, reachable on foot. It is a house that you admire from the street. You discover it during a walk in the centre.

Why is the Waldehuset of Ålesund famous?

Because it is the only house of the whole East district to have survived the devastating fire of 1904, which reduced to ashes almost all of Ålesund; this small wooden house of 1870 thus became a true local legend.

Where is the Waldehuset of Ålesund?

At number 2 of the Fjellgata, in the heart of Ålesund, in Norway.