Årstad, Vestland County, Norway

🇳🇴 Årstad is a borough in the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. Historically, the area was a separate municipality called Årstad until 1916 when it was merged into the city of Bergen. The borough has similar boundaries to those of the old municipality.

The borough is located south of the city centre. Årstad is home to Bergen's hospital, Haukeland University Hospital, as well as Norway's second largest vocational high school, Årstad videregående skole (the largest being Sandefjord videregående skole), and Brann Stadion, the stadium of the city's largest association football team, Brann.

During the early Viking Ages, a king of Norway is believed to have had a Kongsgård estate at the foot of Ulriken called Álreksstaðir (Alrekstad). At times the farm was the home of, at least, King Harald Fairhair, his son, King Eric Bloodaxe, Bloodaxe's children, and King Haakon the Good (Haakon I). Later, the founder of Bergen, King Olav Kyrre (Olaf III), ruled the city from Alrekstad for 26 years. However, Alrekstad lost its importance when King Eystein I moved his seat to Holmen, located within the city limits. Around year 1300, the farm was handed over to the monastery of Nonneseter.

The 19th century was a period of heavy industrial development in the municipality of Årstad, most significantly in the bay of Solheimsviken. At the end of the century, there were approximately 25 factories in the municipality, and it was the country's 4th largest in terms of industrial production output.

The list of neighborhoods in Årstad include Gyldenpris, Kronstad, Landås, Løvstakksiden, Minde (incl. Wergeland[19]), Nattland, Solheim, Slettebakken.

Årstad is the smallest borough in Bergen (by area), but also the second most densely populated. Most of the land in the borough was already built-up before the construction of the city's outer suburbs began in the middle of the 20th century. Årstad lacks traditional neighbourhood names as found in the city centre borough, Bergenhus, where these were established over several hundred years. Neighbourhood names are frequently named after the farm that owned the land before the area was urbanised.

Some parts of western Årstad, is however for example locally referred to as Løvstakksiden, which makes up one neighbourhood. Throughout the borough more such more or less informal neighbourhood names do also exist.

Economy The inhabitants of Årstad have the lowest average income of Bergen's boroughs, earning on average almost 70,000 kr (US$7955) less per annum than the inhabitants of the borough with the highest average income, Ytrebygda.