Fjærland or Mundal is a village in

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 ...

, at the end of the

Fjærlandsfjorden Fjærlandsfjorden is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. It is a fjord arm that branches off the main Sognefjorden to the north, running through Sogndal Municipality. The long fjord begins at the village of Fjærland in Sogndal, flowing to the ...

, in

Vestland Vestland is a Counties of Norway, 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 cit ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, 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 ...

. The Fjærlandfjorden is a branch going north off the

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 sma ...

, the longest fjord in Norway. The village area is located about northwest of the municipal center of Sogndalsfjøra, along the

Norwegian National Road 5 Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

. The village and its surrounding area encompass rich farming country, including the nearby areas of Bøyum and Oygard. The glacier arms Bøyabreen and Supphellebreen (a part of the

Jostedalsbreen Jostedal Glacier or is the largest glacier in continental Europe. It is in Vestland county in Western Norway. Jostedalsbreen lies in the municipalities of Luster, Sogndal, Sunnfjord, and Stryn. The highest peak in the area is Lodalskåpa at a ...

glacier) and the Norwegian Glacier Museum are located nearby. Fjærland is also the Norwegian

book town A book town is a town or village with many used book or antiquarian bookstores. These stores, as well as literary festivals, attract bibliophile tourists. Some book towns are members of the International Organisation of Book Towns. List of bo ...

, with book shops situated in old cow sheds and pigpens; there are also book shops on the ferry quay and in the Hotel Mundal. The Hotel Mundal is an old wooden building in 19th-century style still in business as a hotel. The hotel was owned by the Orheim family for over a hundred years, until August 2008, when it was sold. Fjærland Church is located in the village, serving the whole Fjærland area.

History

Fjærland was originally part of

, but in 1849 it was transferred to the newly created Balestrand Municipality. Historically, the only transportation to Fjærland had been by ferry along the Fjærlandsfjorden. In 1986, the Fjærland Tunnel was opened, by

Walter Mondale Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928 – April 19, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesota ...

, connecting Fjærland to the village of Skei in neighboring Jølster Municipality to the northwest. In 1994, the Frudal Tunnel was opened to the southeast which connected Fjærland to the village of Sogndalsfjøra in neighboring

. These tunnels are now the best access from the large district of Norway's west coast toward the capital,

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 ...

. The completion of the Frudal Tunnel was the main reason why the Fjærland area left Balestrand municipality and merged into the municipality of Sogndal on 1 January 2000.

Climate

Notable residents

The paternal grandparents of

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice p ...

from 1977 to 1981 and the Democratic Party's nominee for President in 1984, were born in Mundal in Fjærland. It is common in Norway that

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

s come from the name of the original home place.

References

External links

Information FjærlandWeather forecast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fjaerland Villages in Vestland Sogndal