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 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, ...

Balestrand 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 th ...

, Hyllestad, Høyanger, Gulen, Leikanger, Luster, Lærdal,

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 i ...

, Solund, Vik, and Årdal. The district covers and contains about 35% of the county's population. The largest urban area in Sogn is the village of Sogndalsfjøra (in Sogndal municipality), with 3,455 residents. The second largest urban area is the village

Øvre Årdal Øvre Årdal is a village in Årdal Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is the larger of the two primary villages in Årdal. The village is situated at the northern end of the long lake Årdalsvatnet, with the village of Årdalstangen at ...

(in Årdal municipality), with 3,397 people (this village used to be the largest, but recently it was passed by Sogndalsfjøra). The district of Sogn comprises the southern part of the former county Sogn og Fjordane. The districts of

Sunnfjord 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 souther ...

and Nordfjord are the other two districts in the county.

Etymology

The name ''Sogn'' derived from the name of Sognefjord. The name of the fjord is from the root of ''súga'' "to suck", referring to the strong tidal streams at the mouth of the fjord. An old name for the district is ''Sygnafylki''. The first element in this name is the genitive of ''sygnir'' which means "people from Sogn" and the last element is '' fylki'' "county".

History

Viking Age

Since early in the Viking Age, Sogn was a petty kingdom called ''Sygnafylki''. Some notable Kings of Sogn were Harald Gullskjegg ("Goldbeard", father of Ragnhild, first wife of Halfdan the Black), Halfdan the Black, and Harald Fairhair.

1662-present

In 1662, ''Sogn fogderi'' was created as part of the

Nordre Bergenhus amt 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 co ...

(county). Sogn was further divided into ''Indre Sogn'' (Inner Sogn) and ''Ytre Sogn'' (Outer Sogn). *''Indre Sogn'' consisted of the inner half of the district which included the present day municipalities of

, Leikanger, Luster, Lærdal,

, and Årdal. The village of Sogndalsfjøra was the administrative center. *''Ytre Sogn'' consisted of the present day municipalities of

, Gulen, Hyllestad, Høyanger, Solund, and Vik. The village of Høyanger was the administrative center. In 1919, ''Nordre Bergenhus amt'' was renamed '' Sogn og Fjordane fylke''.

References

{{coord, 61, 11, N, 06, 48, E, display=title, region:NO Districts of Vestland Petty kingdoms of Norway