Notices & Press Releases
- Press Release: Poulsbo City Council and Mayor Recognize Local Volunteers Helping with COVID-19 Response; over 300 People Assisted with Vaccine Appointmentsopens PDF file
- April Newsletter
- opens in a new windowWA State Supreme Court Ruling – State v Blake – February 25, 2021opens PDF file
- COVID-19 Vaccination Information
- The City of Poulsbo is working on the ADA Transition Plan and is looking for input and feedback from the public. Please consider taking a short survey to help the City identify priorities, by clicking HERE.
- Press Release: Seeking applicants for the City of Poulsbo Planning Commissionopens PDF file
- Free Meals in Kitsap Countyopens PDF file (for information in Spanish click HEREopens PDF file )
- 11-20-2020 Temporary Use of Tents for Outdoor Seating and Diningopens PDF file
- 11-20-2020 Statement on Park Bathroom Closuresopens PDF file
- Summer Fair Application & Guidelinesopens PDF file
- Revised Press Release: Poulsbo City Hall Closing Public Counters to the Public Effective March 23, 2020opens PDF file
- Temporary Closure to Poulsbo Library. This will affect our ability to post meeting notices, please see the Bulletin Boards at City Hall or the Poulsbo Post Office and/or our website for meeting notices.
- Archived Press Releases
- opens in a new windowCity Council Meetings and Other Streamed Events

Stay & Play Around Poulsbo
It’s not just a day trip anymore. Escape the crowds, discover why people want to live here. Plan your shopping trip and discover many places to eat with this opens in a new windowwalking mapopens PDF file of downtown Poulsbo. Once you’re finished shopping, venture out and enjoy the many outdoor activities Poulsbo has to offer. For a fun illustrated map of Poulsbo and the surrounding areas, please click opens in a new windowHEREopens PDF file .
Velkommen til Poulsbo…Welcome!
Poulsbo’s leaders are progressive and forward looking, and are conscientiously working to balance the needs of a growing 21st century city while maintaining the Scandinavian heritage that has earned Poulsbo the nickname “Little Norway”.
To enhance Poulsbo’s connections with Norway in late 1990, Poulsbo adopted proclamations naming Namsos, Norwayopens PDF file and Kautokeino, Finmark County, Norwayopens PDF file as our official sister cities. Also in 1985 recognizing the Ballard area of Seattleopens PDF file , WA shared a common Scandinavian and Norwegian heritage with Poulsbo, we commanded together in brotherhood to proclaim Ballard as a sister city.
Poulsbo, Washington, with a population of 11,180, is located in the northern part of Kitsap County and is 4.5 square miles in area. Liberty Bay, originally called Dog Fish Bay, and the majestic, snow-peaked Olympic Mountains to the west induced the Scandinavians to settle in Poulsbo because the area was so similar to the fjords of Norway.
Prior to Euro-American settlement, Poulsbo was in the heartland of the Suquamish People, who have lived in Puget Sound for thousands of years. Suquamish ancestors occupied villages and camps on the Liberty Bay shoreline over the past 5,000 years, hunted throughout the Poulsbo forests and floodplains, fished in bays and streams, and collected shellfish along the marine shoreline.
With the Scandinavians’ arrivals, Poulsbo was founded by Jorgen Eliason, from Fordefjord, Norway, when the primary method of travel was water. Supplies were brought the eighteen-mile trip from Seattle by rowboat and later by steamboat. Over a sixty-year period, the “mosquito fleet”, comprised of more than a dozen steamboats, served Poulsbo and other locations along Liberty Bay and Puget Sound carrying passengers and freight to and from Poulsbo and delivering farmers’ produce to Pike Place Market in Seattle.
Today Poulsbo is a thriving community with many amenities that attract tourists and encourage people to move to this area. With its picturesque downtown core of rosemaled storefronts and shopping areas at Poulsbo Village, along Viking Avenue, and in College Market Place, Poulsbo offers much to citizens and guests alike. These include several beautiful parks throughout the city, a boardwalk along Liberty Bay, the Valborg Oyen Public Library, three marinas, interesting gift shops, delicious bakeries, good schools including the Olympic College satellite campus, and panoramic views of Liberty Bay and the Olympic Mountains.
For more information on Norwegian culture and heritage please visit: opens in a new windowwww.thornews.com
opens in a new windowVelkommen til Poulsbo and North Kitsap County (1975) Bookopens PDF file
City Links
Find all things Poulsbo, from places to Find Slumber, Taste Local Fare, Find the Perfect Gift and much more:
City Hall
200 NE Moe Street
Hours: M-F 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM