Alrekstad was one of the largest royal estates on the west coast of Norway during the early Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

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History

Alrekstad was situated at the foot of Ulriken

Ulriken

Ulriken is the highest of the Seven Mountains that surround Bergen, Norway. It has an altitude of 643 metres above sea level....

, the highest of the Seven Mountains (de syv fjell) that surround Bergen

Bergen

Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....

, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. King Harald Hairfair took residence there in the 10th century. Snorre

Snorre

Snorre can refer to either of the following:* a Norwegian male name.* famed Icelandic writer Snorre Sturlason* an alternate name of Heimskringla, the saga Snorre Sturlason wrote about the Viking age....

 mentions Alrekstad among the five farms where Harold Fairhair remained mostly in his later years. After the Battle of Fitjar

Battle of Fitjar

The Battle of Fitjar took place in Fitjar at Stord in the county of Hordaland, Norway.-Background:The Battle of Fitjar at Stord was the last battle in a war between the sons of Eric Bloodaxe and their uncle King Haakon the Good for power over Norway.It also formed part of a contest between Norway...

 in 960, King Håkon the Good was on his way to Alrek, but died at Håkonshella in Laksevåg

Laksevåg

Laksevåg is a borough of the city of Bergen, Norway.-Location:Laksevåg was separated from Askøy as a municipality of its own July 1, 1918. It was merged with Bergen January 1, 1972....

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At times the estate was the home of King Eric Bloodaxe

Eric Bloodaxe

Eric Haraldsson , nicknamed ‘Bloodaxe’ , was a 10th-century Scandinavian ruler. He is thought to have had short-lived terms as the second king of Norway and possibly as the last independent ruler of the kingdom of Northumbria Eric Haraldsson (Eric, anglicised form of ; died 954), nicknamed...

, Bloodaxe's children, and King Haakon I. Later King Olaf III, the founder of Bergen, ruled the city from Alrekstad for 26 years.
These early kings moved the court and the royal court to the royal residence. From these estates were ruled kingdom.

Alrekstad lost its importance when King Eystein I of Norway

Eystein I of Norway

Eystein I Magnusson was king of Norway from 1103 to 1123.-Biography:Eystein became king, together with his brothers Sigurd and Olaf, when his father Magnus Barefoot died in 1103...

 moved his seat to Holmen

Holmen

Holmen is a Swedish company which bases its business in the pulp and paper industry. Holmen's main products are newsprint and magazine paper for newspapers, magazines, directories and advertising prints...

 in Bergen, located within the city limits. The king's estate was later moved down closer to the sea when Håkonshallen

Bergenhus Fortress

Bergenhus fortress is a fortress located in Bergen, Norway. Bergenhus fortress is located in the entrance to the harbor in Bergen. This is one of the oldest and best preserved castles in Norway.-History:...

 was built. In 1277, King Magnus Lagabøte bequeathed Alrekstad to the Monastery of Nonneseter

Nonneseter Abbey, Bergen

Nonneseter Abbey was a monastery of nuns in Bergen, Norway. A small part of the former abbey church remains in use as a chapel, the Nonneseter kapell .-History:...

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Etymology

According to the Norwegian Place Name Encyclopedia (Norsk Stadnamnleksikon) the name Álreksstaðir is derived from the place name Ulriken. The name Ulriken probably came from Old Norse Alrekr, meaning the towering.

Presently

The name Alrekstad evolved into today's Årstad, the modern name of a borough of the city of Bergen. The location of Alrekstad - today referred to as "Årstadvollen" - is situated outside of the Årstad borough. The original estate houses were probably placed where Haukeland Elementary School (Haukeland skole) is situated today. The water below (today named Store Lunggårdsvann) was then called Alrekstad water (Alrekstadvannet).

Norwegian author Gunnar Staalesen

Gunnar Staalesen

Gunnar Staalesen is a Norwegian writer. Staalesen has a Cand philol. degree from Universitetet i Bergen and he has worked at Den Nationale Scene, the main theater in Bergen....

 has announced plans to write a play centering on Alrekstad. On 10 September 2000, a commemorative plaque was unveiled at the entrance to Årstad Alternative School, supported by Årstad congregation and Årstad schools.

Translation of the plaque

Other sources

• Bing, Just Aarstads historie (Bergens Historiske Forenings Skrifter. November 28, 1922)