{{Short description|National monument in Haugesund, Norway}} [[File:National Monument, Haugesund Norway.JPG|right|thumb|Haraldshaugen]] [[File:Haraldshaugen Lunar Eclipse.jpg|right|thumb|Haraldsstøtta]] '''Haraldshaugen''' (Norwegian: ''Riksmonumentet Haraldshaugen'') is a national monument in [[Haugesund (town)|Haugesund]], [[Norway]]. The monument was erected during the millennial celebration of Norway's unification into one kingdom under the rule of King [[Harald Fairhair]] (Norwegian: ''Harald Hårfagre'').<ref>{{Cite web |title=''Kong Haralds Grav'' (Arkeologisk museum i Stavanger) |url=http://www.fornminner.no/Fylkeskommunen/08-Haraldshaugen%20og%20Krosshaug/harald04.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304025501/http://www.fornminner.no/Fylkeskommunen/08-Haraldshaugen%20og%20Krosshaug/harald04.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-04 |access-date=2010-02-28}}</ref><ref>[https://www.snl.no/Haraldshaugen ''Haraldshaugen'' (Store norske leksikon)]</ref>
Haraldshaugen was unveiled on 18 July 1872 by Crown Prince Oscar (later King [[Oscar II of Sweden|Oscar II of Norway and Sweden]]) in connection with the one thousand year anniversary of the [[Battle of Hafrsfjord]]. The monument is designed by Norwegian architect [[Christian Christie]]. Norwegian national poet, [[Ivar Aasen]], wrote a poem entitled ''Haraldshaugen'' to commemorate the event.<ref>[https://www.forn-sed.no/folkesagn/folkesagn/poesi/dikt42.shtml ''Haraldshaugen by Ivar Aasen'' (Folkesagn og folkediktning)]</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Dag Myklebust |title=Christian Christie |url=https://nkl.snl.no/Christian_Christie |accessdate=August 15, 2016 |publisher=Norsk kunstnerleksikon}}</ref> The monument was opposed by Norway's political left, which questioned the merits of celebrating a figure whom they viewed as a brutal, authoritarian conqueror.<ref>Torgrim Sneve Guttormsen, '[http://revistas.jasarqueologia.es/index.php/APJournal/article/download/59/61 Branding local heritage and popularising a remote past]: The example of Haugesund in Western Norway', ''AP: Online Journal in Public Archaeology'', 1 (2014), 45-60 (p. 57).</ref>
Haraldshaugen is located in the northern suburbs of Haugesund. The monument consists of a large mound surrounded by a granite memorial stones with 29 smaller stones, one from each of the historic counties of Norway. At the top of the mound stands a 17m high granite main obelisk, with four bronze panels around the base. Each panel depicts important scenes from the life of King Harald I.<ref>[http://home.online.no/~eihustve/ht990615.htm ''Haraldshaugen, the national monument'' (Haugesund Today)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604174750/http://home.online.no/~eihustve/ht990615.htm |date=2011-06-04 }}</ref>
Haraldshaugen commemorates the [[Battle of Hafrsfjord]] which commonly dates to the year 872. The Battle of Hafrsfjord has traditionally been regarded as the point in which western Norway was for the first time unified under one monarch. Tradition holds that Haraldshaugen is the burial site of King Harald I, who died circa 933 at [[Avaldsnes]] on nearby [[Karmøy (island)|Karmøy]], south of Haugesund, but currently there is no clear archeological evidence of this.<ref>{{Cite web |title=''Haraldshaugen monument to the "founder of Norway" in Haugesund'' (Stavanger Travel AS) |url=http://www.stavangertravel.com/trip/haraldshaugen-haugesund.cfm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151224214233/http://www.stavangertravel.com/trip/haraldshaugen-haugesund.cfm |archive-date=2015-12-24 |access-date=2010-02-24}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110711004943/http://www.fjordway.com/030912.htm Verdigere Riksmonument] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110723142724/http://www.haugalandet.net/ht010704.htm Haraldshaugen Riksmonumentet] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110711005116/http://www.fjordway.com/hhautonj.jpg View from Haraldshaugen]
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[[Category:Monuments and memorials in Norway]] [[Category:Haugesund Municipality]] [[Category:Obelisks in Norway]] [[Category: Outdoor sculptures in Norway]] [[Category:Culture in Rogaland]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Rogaland]] [[Category:Tourist attractions in Rogaland]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Haugesund Municipality]] [[Category:Harald Fairhair]]