Seim is a village in Alver municipality 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,

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 village is located at the innermost part of the Lurefjorden, about north of the village of

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

and about southeast of the island of

Lygra Luro or Lygra is an island in Alver Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island sits in the Lurefjorden which cuts into the Lindås peninsula. There is one road on the island that continues over a short bridge onto the mainland. The br ...

. The village is home to Seim Church (''Seim kyrkje'') which was built in 1878, and a primary school. The village has a population (2016) of 417 which gives the village 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 .

History

Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair no, Harald hårfagre Modern Icelandic: ( – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from 872 to 930 and was the first King of Nor ...

had his royal estates in and around the village of Seim. According to tradition, his son King

Håkon the Good Haakon Haraldsson (c. 920–961), also Haakon the Good (Old Norse: ''Hákon góði'', Norwegian: ''Håkon den gode'') and Haakon Adalsteinfostre (Old Norse: ''Hákon Aðalsteinsfóstri'', Norwegian: ''Håkon Adalsteinsfostre''), was the king of ...

is buried at Håkonhaugen in Seim (''Håkonshaugen på Seim''). Since 1997, Seim has been a sight of the Håkonarspelet summer festivals which includes performances of the historical drama ''Kongen med Gullhjelmen''. Written by

Johannes Heggland Johannes Heggland (29 June 1919 – 24 January 2008) was a Norwegian novelist, short story and children's literature writer, playwright, and elected official with the Centre Party (Norway), Centre Party. He is most commonly associated with ...

, this series of historic plays centers on the reign of King Håkon the Good which ended with the

Battle of Fitjar The Battle of Fitjar (''Slaget ved Fitjar på Stord'') took place in 961 in Fitjar at Stord in the county of Hordaland, Norway. Battle and aftermath The Battle of Fitjar at Stord was the last battle in a war between the sons of Eric Bloodaxe and ...

. The village of Seim and the surrounding areas going out about around the village in all directions is the area of the old parish of Seim. This area historically belonged to the

prestegjeld A ''prestegjeld'' was a geographic and administrative area within the Church of Norway (''Den Norske Kirke'') roughly equivalent to a parish. This traditional designation was in use for centuries to divide the kingdom into ecclesiastical areas tha ...

Hosanger Hosanger is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality was located in what is now parts of Alver Municipality and Osterøy Municipality in Vest ...

. Seim was an

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

of Hosanger, since the rest of Hosanger was located further to the south and east and the prestegjeld of Alver separated the two. In 1885, Seim was transferred to the new municipality of

Alversund Alversund is a village in Alver municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the mainland of the Lindås peninsula, along the shore of the Alverstraumen strait. The village sits between the villages of Alverstraumen (acr ...

. In 1964, Alversund was merged with parts of several other municipalities to form a new, larger municipality of Lindås. Then in 2020, the area was incorporated into the new

Alver Municipality Alver is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordhordland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Knarvik. Other villages include Alversund, Alver, Isdalstø, Lindå ...

References

External links

Håkonarspelet – Håkonarvarde på Seim i Lindås
Villages in Vestland Alver (municipality) {{Vestland-geo-stub