Art Nouveau in Norway

In 1904 a devastating fire destroyed the town of Ålesund on the west coast of Norway. Its reconstruction transformed this small town with its traditional wooden buildings into a city of brick and stone houses inspired by the architectural style known as Art Nouveau. Several Norwegian architects, influenced by continental architecture, especially German, and craftsmen were attracted to this city to take part. The rules were that all buildings had to be brick or stone. This created a new city with unique architecture and a significant concentration of more than 320 houses in a small modernist centre.