<b>Aalesund</b, a seaport of Norway, in Romsdal amt (county), 145
m. N. by E. from Bergen. Pop. (1900) 11,672. It occupies
two of the outer islands of the west coast, Aspo and
Norvo, which enclose the picturesque harbour. Founded
in 1824, it is the principal shipping-place of Sondmore
district, and one of the chief stations of the herring
fishery. Aalesund is adjacent to the Jorund and Geiranger
fjords, frequented by tourists. From Oje at the head of
Jorund a driving-route strikes south to the Nordfjord, and
from Merck on Geiranger another strikes inland to Otta, on
the railway to Liilehammer and Christiania. Aalesund is a
port of call for steamers between Bergen, Hull, Newcastle
and Hamburg, and Trondhjem. A little to the south of the
town are the ruins of the reputed castle of Rollo, the
founder, in the 9th century, of the dynasty of the dukes of
Normandy. On the 23rd of January 1904, Aalesund was the
scene of one of the most terrible of the many conflagrations
to which Norwegian towns, built largely of wood, have been
subject. Practically the whole town was destroyed, a gale aiding
the flames, and the population had to leave the place in the
night at the notice of a few minutes. Hardly any lives were
lost, but the sufferings of the people were so terrible that
assistance was sent from all parts of the kingdom, and by the
German government, while the British government also offered it.
From Gutenberg Encyclopedia (1911).