Ålesund is a city and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. It is a sea port, and is noted for its unique concentration of Jugendstil architecture.
Ålesund was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Borgund was merged with Ålesund on 1 January 1968. Sula was separated from Ålesund on 1 January 1977. Ålesund received city rights in 1848. It is the administrative center of the municipality as well as the principal shipping city of the Sunnmøre district. Ålesund municipality has a population of 41,385 as of 2007, while the Ålesund agglomeration has a population of 45,299.
Ålesund municipality occupies seven of the outer islands in the county of Møre og Romsdal: Hessa, Aspøy, Nørvøya, Oksnøy, Ellingsøy, Humla and Tørla. The city centre is located on the islands Aspøy and Nørvøy, while Hessa and Oksnøy contain residential areas. The second largest island, Elingsøy, used to be accessible only by boat or by road via Skodje municipality, but a subsea tunnel was built in 1987 to make travelling between the island and the city centre more convenient. The tunnel is 3,481 metres long, and is currently being upgraded. Situated 236 km north northeast of Bergen, Ålesund is adjacent to the Hjørund and Geiranger fjords, the latter being on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites.
The municipality covers an area of 93 km2. The population is 41,385, making the population density 430 people per km2. The population of the agglomeration, which includes parts of the neighbouring municipality Sula, is 45,299. The municipality also contains three small, separate urban areas — Hoffland, Årset and Myklebost — with a total population of 1217.
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