Vossevangen or Voss is 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 ...

Voss Voss () is a municipality and a traditional district in Vestland county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen. Other villages include Bolstadøyri, Borstrondi, Evanger, Kvitheim, Mjølfjell, ...

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 ...

Location

The village lies on the northeastern shore of the lake

Vangsvatnet Vangsvatnet is a lake in the municipality of Voss in Vestland county, Norway. The lake lies in the central part of the municipality, on the southwestern shore of the municipal centre of Vossevangen. The Vosso River flows through both Vangsvatn ...

in the central part of the municipality, about east 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 ...

. The villages of

Borstrondi Borstrondi or Skulestadmoen is a village in Voss municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located about north of the municipal centre, Vossevangen. The village has a population (2019) of 1,456 and a population density Population density ...

and

Kvitheim Kvitheim is a small, rural village in Voss municipality, Norway. Kvitheim is located north of the municipal centre, Vossevangen. The village of Borstrondi lies just across the lake Melsvatnet to the west. Norwegian County Road 309 runs through th ...

are both small suburbs located just north of Vossevangen. The village has a population (2019) of 6,745 and 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 . The

European route E16 European route E16 is the designation of a main west-east road through Northern Ireland, Scotland, Norway and Sweden, from Derry to Gävle, via Belfast, Glasgow, Edinburgh, previously by ferry to Bergen, Voss, through the Gudvanga Tunnel and th ...

highway and the

Bergensbanen The Bergen Line or the Bergen Railway ( no, Bergensbanen or nn, Bergensbana), is a long scenic standard gauge railway line between Bergen and Hønefoss, Norway. The name is often applied for the entire route from Bergen via Drammen to Oslo, w ...

railway line both run through the village. The railway line stops at Voss Station in the centre of the village. This is the main road and main railway line between the cities of

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

and

. The

Norwegian National Road 13 National Road 13 ( no, Riksvei 13, ) is a national road which runs from the town of Stavanger in Rogaland county to the village of Sogndalsfjøra in Vestland county. The route is long and runs south–north through Rogaland and Vestland count ...

also runs through the village.

Etymology

Vossevangen takes its name from the Old Norwegian word ''"vang"'' (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

: ''Vangr'') which means "field" or "meadow", and refers to the large grass field lying between Voss Church and the lake

History

According to legend, the people of Voss were forcibly converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

King Olav Olav V (; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was the King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991. Olav was the only child of King Haakon VII of Norway and Maud of Wales. He became heir apparent to the Nor ...

, who later became St. Olav. A stone cross situated in Vossevangen is said to have been erected at this time. The town contains the stone Voss Church from 1277, with a 16th-century eccentric, octagonal steeple. Just outside the village is ''Finnesloftet'', a wooden

guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

believed to be the oldest profane (non-sacred) wooden building in

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other g ...

. After the

German invasion of Norway German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

on 9 April 1940, Voss was the main point of mobilisation for the

Norwegian Army The Norwegian Army ( no, Hæren) is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway ...

in the west, as the city of

had already fallen on the first day of the invasion. Although most of the troops mobilised here were transferred by railway to the fighting in the east of the country, the German forces, advancing towards Voss along the railway line from Bergen and from the

Hardangerfjord The Hardangerfjord ( en, Hardanger Fjord) is the fifth longest fjord in the world, and the second longest fjord in Norway. It is located in Vestland county in the Hardanger region. The fjord stretches from the Atlantic Ocean into the mountain ...

, were met with stiff resistance. In

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 ...

(to the south), some of the Germans climbed up the mountains from

Ålvik Ålvik is a village in the municipality of Kvam in Vestland county, Norway. The village "urban area" consists of the settlements of Ytre Ålvik og Indre Ålvik (outer and inner Ålvik) and Vikadal. The settlements are located on either side of a ...

while the rest went through

Granvin Granvin is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it merged with Voss Municipality. The municipality was located in the traditional district of Hardanger. ...

. To break down this resistance, the village of Vossevangen was bombed by the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

on 24 and 25 April 1940. About a dozen civilians lost their lives in the bombing which completely destroyed the old wood-built town centre. On 26 April, the German forces entered the village, which remained occupied until 8 May 1945.

References

Villages in Vestland Voss {{Vestland-geo-stub