Nordenfjells or Nordafjells ("North of the Mountains") is currently a name for the area of

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 the ...

north of mountain range of

Dovrefjell Dovrefjell is a mountain range in Central Norway that forms a natural barrier between Eastern Norway and Trøndelag. The mountain range is located in Innlandet, Møre og Romsdal, and Trøndelag counties in Norway. As a result of its central ...

. The term is largely used when referring collectively to

Central Norway Central Norway ( nb, Midt-Norge, nn, Midt-Noreg) is an informal region of Norway that is not clearly defined. The term ''Central Norway'' may in its most limited usage refer only to Trøndelag county, but may also be understood to include all or ...

and Northern Norway. Until around 1800 the name also included all of Western Norway. The largest city is

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

, with the

Trondheim Region The Trondheim Region () is a statistical metropolitan region in the county of Trøndelag in Norway. It is centered in the city of Trondheim. † Population data as of October 2012, frossb‡ Orkdal has been added to region due to new road complet ...

having a population of 260,000. Historically, an administrative division of Norway in Sønnenfjells and Nordenfjells has been used from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

until around 1800. The border between the two regions was a range from Åna-Sira or

Lindesnes Lindesnes ( en, the Naze) is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Mandal. Other villages in Lindesnes include Åvik, Hølle ...

, northwards along Langfjella and Dovrefjell. What is today known as

Western Norway Western Norway ( nb, Vestlandet, Vest-Norge; nn, Vest-Noreg) is the region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrativ ...

(''Vestlandet'') was defined as part of Nordenfjells. The notion of Western Norway was introduced in the 1800s.

Erik Pontoppidan Erik Ludvigsen Pontoppidan (24 August 1698 – 20 December 1764) was a Danish author, a Lutheran bishop of the Church of Norway, an historian, and an antiquarian. His Catechism of the Church of Denmark heavily influenced Danish and Norwegian reli ...

was one of the first to use the notion of ''vestenfields'' (west of the mountains) as distinct part of Nordenfjells. Pontoppidan observed the notable differences in climate between east and west. Later William Thrane wrote that western Norway included most of

Christiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporation ...

dicose (

Agder Agder is a county (''fylke'') and traditional region in the southern part of Norway. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder counties were merged. Since the early 1900s, the term Sørlandet ("south ...

, Rogaland and western

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

Hans Strøm Hans Strøm (25 January 1726 – 1 February 1797) was a Norwegian clergyman. He also became a prominent zoologist and naturalist. He is best associated with his topographical description of the traditional district of Sunnmøre. Life Hans S ...

used the old distinction where «nordenfjells» included western Norway. Christopher Hansteen travelled across

Hardangervidda Hardangervidda ( en, Hardanger Plateau) is a mountain plateau (Norwegian: ''vidde'') in central southern Norway, covering parts of Vestland, Vestfold og Telemark, and Viken counties. It is the largest plateau of its kind in Europe, with a cold ye ...

in 1821 and observed that his compassed apparently had a 90° deviation: People in Eastern Norway said they traveled "north" to

Hardanger Hardanger is a traditional district in the western part of Norway, dominated by the Hardangerfjord and its inner branches of the Sørfjorden and the Eid Fjord. It consists of the municipalities of Ullensvang, Eidfjord, Ulvik and Kvam, and is ...

and people from the west were known as "nordmenn". Christian Magnus Falsen in 1822 used ''Vestlandet'' about Agder and

Jæren Jæren is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in Rogaland county, Norway. The other districts in Rogaland are Dalane, Ryfylke, and Haugalandet. Jæren is one of the 15 districts that comprise Western Norway. At about , Jæren is the large ...

Ivar Aasen Ivar Andreas Aasen (; 5 August 1813 – 23 September 1896) was a Norwegian philologist, lexicographer, playwright, and poet. He is best known for having assembled one of the two official written versions of the Norwegian language, Nynorsk, from va ...

's dictionary from 1850 og 1873 use ''vestlending'' og ''Vestlandet'' as these names are used today.Helle, Knut: «Ei soge om Vestlandet». Chapter 1, volume 1 of ''Vestlandets historie'' (edited by Knut Helle). Bergen: Vigmostad og Bjørke, 2006.Krag, Claus, 2003: "The early unification of Norway." In Knut Helle (red.): ''The Cambridge history of Scandinavia 1. Prehistory to 1520.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 184-201. ''Norge'' (Norway) and ''nordmenn'' in the Middle Ages were names for the coastal areas from Agder to

Hålogaland Hålogaland was the northernmost of the Norwegian provinces in the medieval Norse sagas. In the early Viking Age, before Harald Fairhair, Hålogaland was a kingdom extending between the Namdalen valley in Trøndelag county and the Lyngen fjord ...

, and the people there.

Ohthere of Hålogaland Ohthere of Hålogaland ( no, Ottar fra Hålogaland) was a Viking Age Norwegian seafarer known only from an account of his travels that he gave to King Alfred (r. 871–99) of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex in about 890 AD. His account ...

used these names in his report to King Alfred in year 890. When the kingdom expanded the old labels ''nordmenn'' and ''nordenfjells'' were still used about the coastal/fjord areas in the west while the eastern areas,

Østlandet Eastern Norway ( nb, Østlandet, nn, Austlandet) is the geographical region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Vestfold og Telemark, Viken, Oslo and Innlandet. Eastern Norway is by far the most populous region o ...

, were inhabited by ''austmenn'' (eastern men).Orning, Hans Jacob: «En vestlandskonge?» ''Klassekampen'', 18. februar 2013.

References

{{Coord, 63.4281, 10.3969, region:NO-50, format=dms, display=title Regions of Norway Geographic history of Norway