Nordhordland is a traditional district in the western part 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 t ...

. The district consists of the northern portion of the old

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Municipal ...

county (now in

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), north of the city of

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 ...

. It includes the municipalities Alver,

Austrheim Austrheim is a municipality in the Nordhordland region of Vestland county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Årås. Other villages in the municipality include Austrheim and Kaland. The Mongstad industrial ...

Fedje Fedje is an island municipality in the Nordhordland region of Vestland county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Fedje. The traditional economic activity of the inhabitants is fishing. The municipality is ...

Masfjorden Masfjorden is a municipality in the central part of Vestland county in Norway. The municipality is located in the Nordhordland district of the county. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Masfjordnes. Other villages ...

Modalen Modalen is a municipality in the Nordhordland district in the central part of Vestland county in Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Mo. The other main village in the municipality is Øvre Helland. Most of t ...

Osterøy Osterøy is an island municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordhordland. The municipality encompasses most of the island of Osterøy. The administrative centre of Osterøy is the village of Lon ...

, and

Vaksdal is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordhordland. The administrative centre is the village of Dalekvam. Other villages in Vaksdal include Dalegarden, Flatkvål, Helle, Nesheim, S ...

. The district roughly corresponds to the

Nordhordland prosti Nordhordland is a traditional district in the western part of Norway. The district consists of the northern portion of the old Hordaland county (now in Vestland county), north of the city of Bergen. It includes the municipalities Alver, Austr ...

, a

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

and also to the municipalities that fall under the

Nordhordland District Court Nordhordland District Court ( no, Nordhordland tingrett) was a district court in Norway serving the Nordhordland and Midhordland (except for the city of Bergen) in Hordaland county, as well as Gulen Municipality in Sogn og Fjordane county. The c ...

. Historically, the municipality of

Gulen is a municipality in the southwestern part of Vestland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Eivindvik. Other villages in Gulen include Brekke, Byrknes, ...

to the north was included in the district. Vestland

Name

The meaning of the name is "the northern part of

". (See also

Sunnhordland Sunnhordland is a traditional district in the western region of Norway. The district consists of the southern coastal regions of the old Hordaland county (now part of Vestland county). It includes the areas that surround the mouth of the Hardang ...

Geography

The landscape of Nordhordland is mountainous, but the mountains are not as high as in other areas. The only areas with mountains over tall are in

, and

. The highest peak in the district is in Modalen: the mountain Runderabben, reaching a height of above sea level. The fjords in the outer regions generally run in a northwesterly-southeasterly run. The main fjords in the district are the

Hjeltefjorden Hjeltefjorden is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. The long fjord runs north–south between many islands leading from the open ocean to the city of Bergen. It passes through the municipalities of Fedje, Øygarden, Alver, and Askøy. Its nam ...

in the outermost part and the

Fensfjorden Fensfjorden is a fjord in Vestland, Norway. The long fjord begins in the North Sea at Holmengrå Lighthouse and flows to the southeast through the municipalities of Austrheim, Gulen, Lindås, and Masfjorden. The fjord ends on the Masfjorden-Li ...

and

in the north. The

Osterfjorden Osterfjorden is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. The fjord is one of three fjords surrounding the island of Osterøy (island), Osterøy. The fjord runs along the municipal border of Alver (municipality), Alver and Osterøy municipalities. Th ...

- Romarheimsfjorden runs through the central part of the district. Some of the largest islands in the district include

Holsnøy Holsnøy is an island in Alver Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island lies to the north/west of the mainland, between the islands of Radøy to the north and Askøy to the south. The highest point on the island is the tall Eldsfjel ...

Radøy Radøy is a former municipality in the Nordhordland district of the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1964 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into the new municipality of Alver in Vestland county. The mun ...

Fosnøyna Fosnøyna or Fosnøy is an island in the municipality of Austrheim in Vestland county, Norway. The island makes up the majority of the land area of the municipality. The island is located east of the Fedjefjorden and south of the Fensfjorden. The ...

, and

Economy

Nordhordland has many well-developed islands, with much more undeveloped, rural inland areas. The largest urban areas are

Knarvik Knarvik (or Knarrviki) is the administrative centre of the municipality of Alver in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the mainland, about straight north of Bergen at the confluence of four fjords: Osterfjorden (heading east), ...

(5013 inhabitants),

Frekhaug Frekhaug is a village in Alver Municipality, located in Vestland county, Norway. The village sits at the southern tip of the island of Holsnøy. Prior to 2020, the village was the administrative centre of the old municipality of Meland. The v ...

(2335 inhabitants), Dale (1174 inhabitants), and

Lindås Lindås is a former municipality in the Nordhordland district in the old Hordaland county, Norway. It existed from 1838 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020 when it was merged into the new Alver Municipality. The administrative centre of the ...

(1263 inhabitants). The largest industry in the district is the large oil refinery at

Mongstad Mongstad is an industrial site in Vestland county, Norway. The site sits on the border of the municipalities of Alver and Austrheim, with most of the site in Alver. The site features an oil refinery for Equinor and other oil companies, including ...

in Lindås and Austrheim.

Manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...

is the largest industry as a whole, but

farming 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 ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

are most common in the more rural areas both inland and along the coast. There are several large

fish farming upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye">mariculture.html" ;"title="Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture">Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland Fish farming or ...

operations in the coastal areas. Considerable

hydro-electric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

is produced in the inner parts of the district, especially in Vaksdal, Modalen, and Masfjorden.

References

Districts of Vestland {{Vestland-geo-stub