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The Valberg Tower is a landmark in Stavanger. With its location in the middle of the city center, you can spot it from almost everywhere in the city. And this also explains why the first version was built in about 1650 as a watch tower for fires. Today´s version was built 200 years later, between 1850 and 1853. The stone building replaced an eight-sided old wooden tower and was designed by architect Christian Grosch, also known for the University in Oslo From the top of the tower, watchmen kept a close look at the city from all angles and if they spotted a fire, the canons at the foot of the tower was used to warn the citizens The tower was in use until 1922, when new fire warning systems took over. Today the tower and the surrounding park is listed. The tower is a museum, mostly visited by tourists. Even if it has a very central location, few locals walks up the steep hill. As a viewpoint, you have to enter the museum. At street level, the trees take much of the view of the harbour Vågen. The local newspaper have asked the question - what to do with this listed area. And until then, it does its job as a landmark and part of the identity of Stavanger