Stavanger, city and seaport, southwestern Norway. It is situated on the east side of a peninsula, with the Norwegian Sea on the west and Gands Fjord, a south branch of broad Bokna Fjord, on the east. Stavanger became the seat of a bishopric in the 12th century, when the Cathedral of St. Swithun was built. Although it received a royal charter as a trading town in 1425, Stavanger grew very slowly. After the Protestant Reformation, its bishopric was transferred to Kristiansand in 1682, but a new Lutheran bishopric was established in Stavanger in 1925.
Shipbuilding and shipping are the city’s chief economic activities, together with the refining of North Sea oil, first drilled in 1971. Stavanger became the centre for all service activities connected with Norway’s burgeoning North Sea oil and gas industry. Its protected ice-free harbour is the closest major Norwegian port to Great Britain. Food processing, especially the canning of sardines and other fish products, was formerly an important industry. The Norwegian Canning Museum is one of several local museums that together constitute Museum Stavanger. Among the others are the Norwegian Petroleum Museum, Stavanger Museum, Stavanger Maritime Museum, and Stavanger Art Museum. Stavanger is also the site of the Kongsgård Grammar School (formerly a royal residence) and the Valbergtårn Watchtower. The Cathedral of St. Swithun, with its Norman and Gothic architecture, is another popular tourist attraction. Stavanger is the gateway to the Jæren agricultural district, lying to the south of the city. Pop. (2007 est.) mun., 117,315.