Førde is the

administrative centre An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

Sunnfjord Municipality Sunnfjord is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Førde. Other villages in the municipality include Naustdal, Sande, V ...

Vestland Vestland is a county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the city of Bergen, where t ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. The

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

is located at the eastern end of the Førdefjorden, at the mouth of the river

Jølstra The Jølstra is a river in Sunnfjord Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The long river flows from the lake of Jølstravatnet (at an elevation of above sea level) down to the Førdefjorden (which is at sea level). The river begins at the ...

. The town has a population (2019) of 10,339 and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of . The town of Førde is an important commercial, industrial, and government center for the area. The

Øyrane Øyrane is a neighborhood in the town of Førde in the municipality of Sunnfjord in Vestland county, Norway, just west of the town center. The river Jølstra empties into the Førdefjorden just west of Øyrane. History The town of Førde was de ...

area in the center of the town, along the harbor is the regional center for industry. The town also has the local primary and secondary schools, as well as a

folk high school Folk high schools (also ''Adult Education Center'', Danish: ''Folkehøjskole;'' Dutch: ''Volkshogeschool;'' Finnish: ''kansanopisto'' and ''työväenopisto'' or ''kansalaisopisto;'' German: ''Volkshochschule'' and (a few) ''Heimvolkshochschule;'' ...

. Furthermore, one of the two campuses of

Sogn og Fjordane University College Sogn is a traditional district in Western Norway ''(Vestlandet)''. It is located in the county of Vestland, surrounding the Sognefjord, the largest/longest fjord in Norway. The district of Sogn consists of the municipalities of Aurland, Balestra ...

is located in Førde. The Department of Engineering and Health Sciences for the college are located here (the other campus is in

Sogndalsfjøra Sogndalsfjøra is a village in the municipality of Sogndal in Vestland county, Norway. It is located where the river Sogndalselvi runs out in the Sogndalsfjorden, a branch of the large Sognefjorden. The village is located about northwest of the v ...

). There is a branch of the county library in Førde as well as the

Førde Central Hospital Førde Central Hospital ( no, Førde sentralsjukehus) is a general hospital situated in the Vie neighborhood for Sunnfjord, Norway. It is the main facility of Førde Hospital Trust, part of Western Norway Regional Health Authority. It has 1300 ...

, owned by the Førde Health Trust. The regional newspaper,

Firda ''Firda'' is a Norwegian daily newspaper, published in Sunnfjord, Norway. History and profile ''Firda'' was founded in 1917 by Kristian Ulltang, who also was its first editor. The paper was published twice per week in the 1960s. Its frequency ...

, is based out of the town Førde.

Førde Church Førde Church ( no, Førde kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Sunnfjord Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the town of Førde. It is the church for the Førde parish which is part of the Sunnfjord prost ...

is the main church for the town. The town sits at the intersection of the highways Rv.5 and E39. The Rv. 5 highway connects Førde to the nearby town of

Florø is a town and the administrative centre of the municipality of Kinn, Vestland, Norway. The town was founded by royal decree in 1860 as a ladested on the island of Florelandet, located between the Botnafjorden and Solheimsfjorden. Florø is N ...

(via the

Naustdal Tunnel The Naustdal Tunnel ( no, Naustdalstunnelen) is a road tunnel connecting the municipalities of Kinn and Sunnfjord in Vestland county, Norway. The long tunnel is part of the Norwegian National Road 5 highway which connects the towns of Florø an ...

) and the E39 highway connects Førde with the cities of

Ålesund Ålesund () sometimes spelled Aalesund in English, is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal County, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre and the centre of the Ålesund Region. The town of Ålesund is the administrative ...

to the north and

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

to the south. The old Førde Airport, Øyrane was located in the center of the town at

, but that airport was only used from 1971 until 1986. The site was not optimal for an airport, and so a new Førde Airport was built about south of the town in Bringeland in neighboring

Sunnfjord Sunnfjord ( en, the southern fjord - in contrast to Nordfjord) is a traditional district in Western Norway located in Vestland county. It includes the municipalities of Askvoll, Fjaler, the southernmost parts of Kinn, Sunnfjord, and the souther ...

municipality.

Notable people

Media gallery

File:Førde sentrum.jpg, The town of Førde File:Fordetorg elvegaarden.jpg, Downtown Førde File:Førdehuset from Hafstadfjellet.jpg, Førdehuset, a regional cultural centre File:Innover mot flatene.jpg, View of a residential area

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forde (town) Sunnfjord Cities and towns in Norway Populated places in Vestland 1997 establishments in Norway

Notable people

Media gallery

See also

References