Norway · Rogaland Fylke · Stavanger
Straen, Stavanger — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Straen, known as Gamle Stavanger, is the old wooden quarter of Stavanger in Rogaland, restored from 18th- and early 19th-century houses.
About Straen
Where to stay in Straen
The right area depends on your trip — here's what each neighbourhood is best for.
Straen puts the wooden lanes of Gamle Stavanger at the door, with the Norsk Oljemuseum, Valbergtårnet and Museum Stavanger a short walk off. The houses are protected. Anyone booking in this quarter wakes among restored 18th-century timber and reaches Sankt Petri kirke, Frue kirke and the Stavanger maritime museum on foot, which is the whole point of choosing it over the newer streets.
Beds are limited in the old houses themselves.
About Straen
What are the main landmarks in Straen?
The wooden houses are the landmark. Beyond them Straen carries an unusual concentration of museums: the Norsk Oljemuseum, Museum Stavanger, the Stavanger maritime museum, Norsk barnemuseum, Norsk grafisk museum and Breidablikk museum, with Ledaal among them. Churches are as many: Sankt Petri kirke, Sankt Johannes kirke, Sankt Svithun kirke, Frue kirke, Kampen kirke and Martinskirken.
Valbergtårnet stands over the roofs, and Fiskaren and Stavanger gamle turnhall close out the register.
What is the history of Straen?
Timber built this quarter. The houses of Gamle Stavanger went up in the 18th century and the opening years of the 19th, and their restoration is what keeps the lanes of Straen looking as they once did. Stavanger sits in Rogaland county.
Later came the museums: Museum Stavanger, the Stavanger maritime museum, Breidablikk museum, Norsk grafisk museum, Norsk barnemuseum and the Norsk Oljemuseum, all within the same walkable stretch of Stavanger. Ledaal and Stavanger gamle turnhall stand on the same register.
Where is Straen?
Straen forms the old wooden core of Stavanger, lying within Stavanger Municipality in Rogaland county, Norway.
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Updated August 2026