Fresvik is a village in the municipality of

Vik Vik (Old Norse: vík) means wick or bay in Norwegian and Swedish (''vig'' in Danish), and it may refer to the following: Places Iceland *Vík í Mýrdal, a village in southern Iceland Iran *Vik, Iran, a village in Zanjan Province, Iran Norway *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 ...

. It is located on the southern shore of the

Sognefjorden The Sognefjord or Sognefjorden (, en, Sogn Fjord), nicknamed the King of the Fjords ( no, Fjordenes konge), is the largest and deepest fjord in Norway. Located in Vestland county in Western Norway, it stretches inland from the ocean to the smal ...

, just west of where the

Aurlandsfjorden Aurlandsfjord ( no, Aurlandsfjorden, ) is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. The fjord flows through the municipalities of Aurland, Vik, and Lærdal. The long fjord is a branch off of the main Sognefjorden, Norway's longest fjord. The fjord i ...

joins the Sognefjorden. Fresvik sits about south of

Leikanger Leikanger () is a former municipality in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It was located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center was the village of Hermansverk, which also was the ...

Hermansverk Hermansverk is the administrative centre of Sogndal Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village serves as the seat of the County Governor of Vestland county. Prior to 2020, the village served as the administrative centre of both the ...

, about east of the municipal center of

Vikøyri Vikøyri is the administrative center of the municipality of Vik in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located at the mouth of the Vikja river on the south shore of the Sognefjorden, roughly near the midpoint of Norway's longest fjord. The ...

, and about southeast of the village of

Feios Feios is a village in Vik Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the southern shore of the Sognefjorden, about southeast of the village of Vangsnes and about northwest of the village of Fresvik. The village lies in a ...

. The population (2001) of Fresvik is approximately 275. This village provides a starting point for hikes into the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Nærøyfjord The Nærøyfjord (or ''Nærøyfjorden'', ) is a fjord in Aurland Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The narrow fjord is a branch of the large Sognefjord, and it is featured on the "Norway in a Nutshell" daytrips for tourists. The long fj ...

which is south, and also to the Fresvikbreen

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

which is west of the village. Fresvik has been hosting the Fres

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...

in July annually since 2005. Fresvik Church is located in the village, serving the eastern part of the municipality.

Economy

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

is one of the main industries around Fresvik Some of the main agricultural products are fruit and berries (mainly strawberries) and there are also some lush mountain pastures for cattle or sheep. There is also the Fresvik produkt factory which produces refrigeration equipment.

History

Fresvik was an isolated valley community until 1976. People could only access the village by boat on the

. In 1976, a road from

to Fresvik was completed, marking the first time ever that there was a road connection to the village. Historically, Fresvik had been a part of

Municipality since the main part of Leikanger is located directly north (across the fjord). After the road was completed to Fresvik from Feios and westward into Vik Municipality, discussions began about municipal borders since Fresvik now was more easily connected to Vik rather than a boat ride across the huge Sognefjorden. As of 1 January 1992, Fresvik and its surroundings (all of Leikanger that was south of the fjord and west of the Aurlandsfjorden) were transferred to Vik Municipality.

Name

The village (and parish) is named after the old ''Fresvik'' farm ( non, Frøysvík) since the Fresvik Church was built there. The first element is the

genitive In grammar, the genitive case (abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can al ...

of the name of the god

Freyr Freyr (Old Norse: 'Lord'), sometimes anglicized as Frey, is a widely attested god in Norse mythology, associated with kingship, fertility, peace, and weather. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especially associated with Sweden an ...

and the last element is ''vík'' which means "inlet" or " bay". Another, less common theory is that is originates from settlement/farmstead of Frisians. The name has similarties to the Scottish Highland hamlet Freswick and with the town of

Vreeswijk Vreeswijk is a former village and municipality in the Dutch province of Utrecht. The municipality merged with Jutphaas in 1971, and is now the southern half of the town of Nieuwegein. The former village was located on the Lek River, near where ...

in the Netherlands. The name Freswick could mean 'Frisians wic' The place name Vreeswijk stemms from the medieval name ''Fresionovvic'' (11th century) meaning settlement of Frisians.

Notable residents

Mensen Ernst Mensen Ernst (1795 – 22 January 1843) was born as Mons Monsen Øyri, in the summer of 1795 in the village of Fresvik along the Sognefjord, in the municipality of Vik in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. He was a road runner and ultramarathonist ...

—long distance runner * Alexandra Hauglum (b. 2003) — Fresvik is featured in the 2013 documentary " Twin Sisters" produced and directed by Mona Friis Bertheussen, and later aired on public television in the USA. This film features Chinese-born adoptee Alexandra Hauglum and her parents, residents of Fresvik, as well as her twin sister Mia Hansen, adopted separately by parents from

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

in the USA.

References

External links