Ulvik is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The municipality stretches from the Hardangerfjord to the mountains that reach above sea level. 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 ...

of the municipality is the village of Ulvik. The villages of Osa and Finse are also located in Ulvik municipality. The municipality is the 158th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Ulvik is the 331st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,051. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 5.5% over the previous 10-year period. Of the municipality's total population, nearly half live in the village of Ulvik at the end of the Ulvikafjorden. The vast majority of those who do not live in the village of Ulvik live on the farms surrounding the village or at the end of the

Osa Fjord The Osa Fjord ( no, Osafjorden) is a branch of the Eid Fjord and the Hardanger Fjord fully located within the municipality of Ulvik in Vestland county, Norway. The fjord is long, with a maximum depth of at its mouth, and it runs northeast from i ...

in the village of Osa. In 2016, the chief of police for

Vestlandet 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-administrative ...

formally suggested a reconfiguration of police districts and stations. He proposed that the police station in Ulvik be closed.

General information

Church of Ulvik, Hardanger, Hordaland, Norway

The parish of '' Graven'' (later spelled "Granvin") was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () is the name for Norwegian local self-government districts that were legally enacted on 1 January 1838. This system of municipalities was created in a bill approved by the Parliament of Norway and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January ...

law). This large municipality/parish included two annexes: Ulvik and Eidfjord. On 1 January 1859, Ulvik became the main parish, making Graven and Eidfjord annexes to Ulvik, and the name of the large municipality was changed from Graven to Ulvik. On 1 May 1891, the western annex of Graven (population: 1,331) and the southeastern annex of Eidfjord (population: 1,018) were separated from Ulvik to become separate municipalities. This left Ulvik with a much smaller size and 1,410 residents. In 1895, a small area of Eidfjord (population: 3) was transferred to Ulvik.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old "Ulvik" farm ( non, Ulfvík), since the first Ulvik Church was built there. The first element is ''ulfr'' means " wolf", the last element is ''vík'' which means " cove" or "wick".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 19 December 1986. They are red with a yellow figure shown in the center of the arms. The figure is a traditional design seen in the local folk-art and in local

textiles Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

. The pattern can be traced in local arts as far back as the 16th century, and is similar to the selburose. This figure is also used in the bunad of Ulvik.

Churches

The

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 ...

has one parish () within the municipality of Ulvik. It is part of the

Hardanger og Voss prosti 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 l ...

(

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 ...

) in the

Diocese of Bjørgvin The Diocese of Bjørgvin ( no, Bjørgvin bispedømme) is one of the 11 dioceses that make up the Church of Norway. It includes all of the churches located in the county of Vestland in Western Norway. The cathedral city is Bergen, Norway's second ...

Geography

The municipality is situated around the Hardangerfjord's northeastern arms: the

and Ulvikafjorden, extending far into the Hardangervidda plateau. The northernmost part of the Hardangerjøkulen glacier is in Ulvik. The Finse and Hallingskeid areas lie just south of the

Hallingskarvet National Park Hallingskarvet National Park ( no, Hallingskarvet nasjonalpark) is a national park in central Norway that was established by the government on 22 December 2006. The park is located in the municipalities of Hol (Viken county), Ulvik and Aurland ( ...

which partially sits inside Ulvik and includes the Hallingskarvet mountains. The municipality of Ulvik borders the municipalities of Eidfjord, Ullensvang, Voss,

Aurland Aurland () is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located on the south side of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center is the village of Aurlandsvangen. Other villages include Bakka, ...

, and

Hol Hol is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. Administrative history The area of Hol was separated from the municipality Ål in 1877 to become a separate municipality. In 1937 a part of neighboring Uvdal with 220 inhabitants moved to Hol municip ...

. Lakes in the region include Finsevatnet and

Flakavatnet Flakavatnet is an alpine lake on the border of Vestland and Viken counties in Norway. The lake lies in the municipalities of Ulvik (in Vestland) and Hol (in Viken) and the lake lies entirely within the Hallingskarvet National Park. The village ...

. The headwaters of the

Flåmselvi Flåmselvi or Moldåni is a long river in Vestland county, Norway. The river begins as runoff from the Omnsbreen glacier about northwest of Finse in Ulvik Municipality. The river is known as the Moldåni river in this area. It then flows thro ...

river also lie in Ulvik.

History

After the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden 1905, Ulvik was one of the few municipalities that returned a majority in favour of a

republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

rather than a monarchy in the national referendum on the issue. The village of Ulvik was nearly totally destroyed on 25 April 1940, during the German invasion of Norway, when fighting erupted between a German landing party arriving in boats, and a Norwegian force on land. Most of the village was burned down, and three civilians were killed. An unknown number of German soldiers were also killed in the fighting.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Ulvik, are responsible for

primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wiktionary:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physical and menta ...

, senior citizen services, unemployment and other

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor. The municipality falls under the Hordaland District Court and the

Gulating Court of Appeal The Gulating Court of Appeal ( no, Gulating lagmannsrett) is one of six Court of appeal (Norway), courts of appeal in the Norway, Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Bergen (city), Bergen. The court has jurisdiction over the cou ...

Municipal council

The municipal council of Ulvik is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Ulvik (incomplete list): *2011–present: Hans Petter Thorbjørnsen ( Ap) *2007-2011: Mona Haugland Hellesnes ( V) *1995-2001: Terje Breivik (V) *1987-1991: Lars Sponheim (V)

Transportation

It takes around two hours to drive from the city of Bergen to Ulvik via the European route E16 highway to Vossevangen and then taking Norwegian National Road 13 through the Vallavik Tunnel to Ulvik. The Norwegian National Road 13 continues through Ulvik before crossing the Hardanger Bridge which goes over the Hardangerfjord. The nearest airport is

Bergen Flesland Airport Bergen Airport ( nn, Bergen lufthamn; ), alternatively Bergen Flesland Airport or simply Flesland Airport, is an international airport located at Flesland in the city and municipality of Bergen, Vestland, Norway. Opened in 1955, it is the second ...

in Bergen. The Bergen Line runs through the northern part of Ulvik. It runs through a region that has no road access, but is a popular with hiking and sports enthusiasts. The railway station at Finse on the Bergen Line at an elevation of is the highest station on the Norwegian railway system. The Finse Tunnel just outside Finse is one of the longest railway tunnels in Norway. The Rallarvegen "road" is an historic road that follows the Bergen Line through Ulvik. It is a popular biking and hiking route. Ulvik is also visited in the summer by numerous foreign cruise ships who travel along the fjord.

Famous residents

Catharine Hermine Kølle Catharine Hermine Kølle (29 February 1788 – 27 August 1859) was a Norwegian adventurer, writer and artist. Biography Catharine Kølle was born at Snarøya in the parish of Bærum in Akershus, Norway. She was one of three daughters of Christian ...

(1788–1859) Norwegian adventurer, writer and artist; lived in Ulvik from 1807 *

Lars Osa Lars Osa (13 August 1860 – 9 February 1958) was a Norwegian artist. He also worked with church decoration and restoration and was a noted fiddle player. Biography Lars Andersen was born in the village of Ulvik in Ulvik municipality in Hordalan ...

(1860 in Ulvik – 1958) artist, worked on church restorations and noted fiddle player * Olav H. Hauge (1908 in Ulvik – 1994) a Norwegian horticulturist, translator and poet *

Sigbjørn Bernhoft Osa Sigbjørn Bernhoft Osa (3 May 1910 2 February 1990) was a Norwegian fiddler and traditional folk musician. He was one of the best known Norwegian performers of folk music in the 1900s. Personal life Osa was born in Ulvik, Hardanger as the son of ...

(1910 in Ulvik – 1990) a Norwegian fiddler and traditional folk musician * Gunnar Hjeltnes (1922 in Ulvik – 2013) an alpine skier, competed at the

1952 Winter Olympics The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 6. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 6. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Oslo 1952, was a winter multi-sport event held from 14 to 25 February 195 ...

* Lars Sponheim (born 1957) a politician, County Governor of Vestland; Mayor of Ulvik 1988-1991 * Terje Breivik (born 1965) a Norwegian politician and entrepreneur; Mayor of Ulvik 1995-2001

References

External links

* *
Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every yea ...

Municipality website

Ulvik Tourist Office
''(available in English/German/Norwegian)'' {{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Municipalities of Vestland 1838 establishments in Norway