Høyanger () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

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 A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

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 ...

. It is located in the traditional district of

Sogn Sogn is a traditional district in Western Norway ''(Vestlandet)''. It is located in the county of Vestland, surrounding the Sognefjord, the largest/longest fjord in Norway. The district of Sogn consists of the municipalities of Aurland, Balestr ...

. The

administrative center 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 ...

is the village of

Høyanger Høyanger () is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center is the village of Høyanger. Other villages in Høyanger municipality include Austreim, Bjordal, Kyrkjeb� ...

. Other villages in Høyanger municipality include

Austreim Austreim is a village in the municipality of Høyanger in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the north shore of the Sognefjorden, about southwest of the municipal center of Høyanger, about east of the village of Kyrkjebø, and ...

, Bjordal,

Kyrkjebø Kyrkjebø is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1858 until 1964 when it became part of the new municipality of Høyanger which still exists and is part of the new Vestland county. Pr ...

Lavik Lavik is a former municipality in the old county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It was located in the western part of the present-day municipality of Høyanger which is in Vestland county. The municipality was mostly on the northern side of the S ...

Ortnevik Ortnevik is a village in Høyanger Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the south side of the Sognefjorden. The village is fairly isolated since there is only one road leading to it. Norwegian County Road 92 (Fv92) c ...

, and

Vadheim Vadheim is a village in the municipality of Høyanger in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the north shore of the Sognefjorden, along the small Vadheimsfjorden branch. The European route E39 highway runs through the village. It is loca ...

. Høyanger is known for having one of the first industrial towns in

to use its steep mountains surrounding the town giving excellent conditions for producing

hydroelectricity 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 ...

needed for electrolysis. The main product being produced in the village of Høyanger was

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

. The municipality is the 115th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Høyanger is the 203rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 3,965. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...

is and its population has decreased by 6% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee ( no, Schei-komitéen) was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II. It convened in 1946, and its formal name was (The 1946 Committee on Municip ...

. The municipality of Høyanger was created on 1 January 1964 when the old municipalities of

and

were merged to form a single municipality. On 1 January 2020, the Nessane area of neighboring

Balestrand Municipality Balestrand is a former municipality in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It was located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center was the village of Balestrand. Other villages in the ...

was merged into Høyanger (and the rest of Balestrand was merged into a new, larger

Sogndal Municipality Sogndal is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansverk is the administrative center of Sogndal municipality. Other villages i ...

). Also on that date, the municipality became part of the newly created

county after

Sogn og Fjordane Sogn og Fjordane (; English: "Sogn and Fjordane") was, up to 1 January 2020, a county in western Norway, when it was merged to become part of Vestland county. Bordering previous counties Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland, the cou ...

and

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 Munici ...

counties were merged.

Name

The name originally belonged to an arm of

Sognefjorden The Sognefjord or Sognefjorden (, en, Sogn Fjord), nicknamed the King of the Fjords ( no, Fjordenes konge), is the largest and deepest fjord in Norway. Located in Vestland county in Western Norway, it stretches inland from the ocean to the smal ...

(now called the Høyangsfjorden). The first element is ''høy'' which means "

hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticat ...

" and the last element is ''angr'' which means "

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Förden and East Jutland Fjorde, Germany, ...

". The word ''høy'' is probably referring to the green hillsides along the fjord.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

was granted on 15 May 1987. The arms shows three silver

flame A flame (from Latin '' flamma'') is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction taking place in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density they ...

s on a blue background. The flames were chosen as a symbol for the local aluminium industry.

Aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

is melted and purified in the village of

, due to the cheap hydroelectric energy that is locally available. The colors represent

waterpower Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a w ...

(blue) and

(silver).

Churches

The Church of Norway has four parishes() within the municipality of Høyanger. It is part of the

Sunnfjord prosti Sunnfjord ( en, the southern fjord - in contrast to Nordfjord) is a traditional district in Western Norway located in Vestland county. It includes the municipalities of Askvoll, Fjaler, the southernmost parts of Kinn, Sunnfjord, and the southern ...

( deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Høyanger, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services,

senior citizen Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

services,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refere ...

and other social services,

zoning Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and ...

, and municipal

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

s. The municipality is governed by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

of elected representatives, which in turn elect a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

. The municipality falls under the

Sogn og Fjordane District Court Sogn og Fjordane District Court ( no, Sogn og Fjordane tingrett) is a district court (Norway), district court located in Vestland county, Norway. This court is based at two different courthouses which are located in Førde (town), Førde and Sognd ...

and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

of Høyanger is made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often featur ...

breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The

of a municipality in Norway is a representative of the majority party of the municipal council who is elected to lead the council. The mayors of Høyanger (incomplete list): *2011–present: Petter Sortland ( Ap) *1996-2011: Kjartan Longva (Ap)

Notable people

* Johan Austbø (1879 in Ikjefjord – 1945) a teacher, dancer, poet, composer, singer and proponent of Nynorsk. *

Einar Liljedahl Einar Liljedahl (16 January 1882 – February 1955) was a Norwegian military officer. Personal life Liljedahl was born in Kyrkjebø, a son of politician Edvard Liljedahl and Barbra Ramslie. In 1919 he married Ellen Rosenkilde. He was a brother ...

(1882 in Kyrkjebø – 1955) a Norwegian military officer *

Per Håland Per Håland (7 January 1919 – 9 October 1999) was a Norwegian journalist and newspaper editor, and proponent for the Nynorsk language. He was born in Høyanger. He was a journalist for ''Høyanger Avis'' from 1939 until the outbreak of World ...

(1919 in Høyanger – 1999) a journalist, newspaper editor and proponent for the

Nynorsk language Nynorsk () () is one of the two written standards of the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. From 12 May 1885, it became the state-sanctioned version of Ivar Aasen's standard Norwegian language ( no, Landsmål) parallel to the Dano-Nor ...

* Tell Teigen (1923 in Høyanger - 1958) an

acrobat Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro d ...

who balanced on stacked chairs atop of masts over 35 meters tall *

Einar Kringlen Einar Kringlen (born 6 June 1931) is a Norwegian physician and psychiatrist. He was born in Høyanger; the son of teachers Andreas Kringlen and Enbjørg Lotsberg. Among his early research works are ''Schizophrenia in male monozygotic twins'' from 1 ...

(born 1931 in Høyanger) a Norwegian physician, psychiatrist and academic * Noralv Teigen (1932 in Høyanger – 2017) actor, theatre instructor and theatre director *

Einar Førde Einar Førde (20 January 1943 – 26 September 2004) was a Norwegian journalist and politician of the Labour Party. He served as Minister of Education and Church Affairs from 1979 to 1981, and director-general of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corp ...

(1943 in Høyanger – 2004) a journalist, politician and director-general of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK), 1989 to 2001 *

Marit Tusvik Marit Tusvik (born 13 March 1951, in Høyanger) is a Norwegian author, poet and playwright. Tusvik's works have been translated into multiple languages. Bibliography *''Reisa til mandarinlandet'' – poetry (1979) *''Mellom sol og måne'' ...

(born 1951 in Høyanger) a Norwegian author, poet and playwright *

Even Hovland Even Hovland (born 14 February 1989) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Allsvenskan club BK Häcken and the Norway national team. Club career In his youth, Hovland played for the local clubs Vadheim IL and IL ...

(born 1989 in Vadheim) a professional footballer with almost 300 club caps *

Vegar Gjermundstad Vegar Heggenes Gjermundstad (born 14 March 1990) is a Norwegian football defender who plays for Førde IL. Career He hails from Vadheim. He started his career in Vadheim IL and IL Høyang, but moved in 2006 to attend the school Norsk Toppidr ...

(born 1990 in Vadheim) a Norwegian football defender with over 200 club caps

Geography

Frå Høyanger 1.jpg, View of the village of Høyanger Ikjefjordbrua.jpg, Construction of the Ikjefjord bridge Føsundbrua over Fuglsetfjorden.JPG, View of the Fuglsetfjorden Ortnevik.jpg, View from Ortnevik, looking at the fjord The

(the largest fjord in Norway) runs through the center of the municipality. Høyanger is bordered to the north by the municipalities of

Fjaler Fjaler is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative centre is the village of Dale. Other places in Fjaler include Espedal, Flekke, Folkestad, Guddal, and Hellevik ...

and Sunnfjord, to the east by

Sogndal Sogndal is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansverk is the administrative center of Sogndal municipality. Other villages ...

and

Vik Vik (Old Norse: vík) means wick or bay in Norwegian and Swedish (''vig'' in Danish), and it may refer to the following: Places Iceland *Vík í Mýrdal, a village in southern Iceland Iran *Vik, Iran, a village in Zanjan Province, Iran Norway *V ...

, to the south by

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 ...

and

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 ...

, and to the west by

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, Byrkne ...

and

Hyllestad Hyllestad is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center is the village of Hyllestad. Other villages in the municipality include Sørbøvågen and Leirvik. Hyl ...

. Høyanger municipality covers an area of about . Stølsheimen Nature Reserve was created in 1990 in Høyanger. Its area stretches from high mountaintops through fertile

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

s and sweeps over steep

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or arti ...

s down to the

. Høyanger is perhaps best known for its

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

farms and lakes. From the village of

there are marked footpaths up to Stølsheimen Park and from the village of Bjordal you may drive up the Stordal road to the summit at above sea level.

Economy

Høyanger is a modern industrial community which has grown in pace with the principal employers being Hydro Aluminium and Høyanger Metallverk.

Hydroelectricity 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 ...

has played a major role in the development of the area. In addition to manufacturing

, Høyanger supports a varied range of light industry that is backed by retail and service trades. In the rural areas bordering the fjord,

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 peopl ...

is the main source of livelihood. There are currently 115 traditional farms ''gårds'' in the municipality. Each traditional farms originally had one owner, but most of them have been divided up and sold off over the years, and so there are more than 115 farms in use today.

Transportation

There are good connections with

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 ...

and

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 o ...

by bus, as well as air and fast boat services. The nearest airport is in

Førde Førde is a former municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It was located in the traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative center was the town of Førde which in 2016 had 10,255 inhabitants. Other villages in Førd ...

, about away. The village of

is an important junction for traffic to and from Bergen as it is a ferry port that is part of the European route E39 highway. Høyanger is reached from the neighboring municipality of Balestrand to the east by the ''Høyangertunnelen'' which is in length. It is part of the

Norwegian County Road 55 County Road 55 ( no, Fylkesvei 55) is a highway which runs between the municipalities of Lom and Høyanger in Norway. The section across Sognefjellet, known as Sognefjellsvegen, is designated a National Tourist Route. Also a short section at ...

. It is one of the longest

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

s in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. Good ferry services across the

link the northern and southern sides of the municipality.

Attractions

In 1986, in Høyanger, Norsk Hydro Aluminium/Høyanger Metallverk opened a museum designed to show what water power has meant both locally and to

as a whole. Visitors will get to learn about how the aluminium industry has grown and prospered in the area thanks to the vast

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of hea ...

produced by

water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

. Near

is an 18th-century stone bridge called the Ytredal Bridge. It is a popular tourist attraction. There is also a

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

funicular A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite e ...

railway in the area, first opened in 1953.Funiculars.net - Høyanger
/ref>

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway
Official website: Høyanger Kommune
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoyanger Municipalities of Vestland 1964 establishments in Norway 600 mm gauge railways