Herdla is an island in the municipality of

Askøy Askøy is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island municipality is located in the Midhordland district of the county, sitting in a large group of islands immediately northwest of the city of Bergen. The administrative centre of the ...

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 island lies just north of the larger island of

and just west of the island of

Holsnøy Holsnøy is an island in Alver Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island lies to the north/west of the mainland, between the islands of Radøy to the north and Askøy to the south. The highest point on the island is the tall Eldsfjell ...

. The island is surrounded by the

Herdlefjorden Herdlefjorden is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. The long fjord runs between the islands of Holsnøy (in Alver Municipality) and Askøy (in Askøy Municipality). The fjord connects with the Salhusfjorden and the Byfjorden on the southe ...

and

Hjeltefjorden Hjeltefjorden is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. The long fjord runs north–south between many islands leading from the open ocean to the city of Bergen. It passes through the municipalities of Fedje, Øygarden, Alver, and Askøy. Its na ...

. The island of Herdla was part of the municipality of

Herdla Herdla is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1871 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality encompassed a large group of about 2,000 islands and skerries covering about of land area ...

until 1 January 1964 when it was merged into Askøy. The island has a nature reserve with 220 registered species of birds. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, it was the site of Herdla Airport and some coastal fortifications. Herdla Church is located on the island.

Air base and coastal fortifications

Herdla airfield bombing Operation Archery

During the

, all of Herdla was in effect a military base for the German

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-Fliegerabt ...

. The flat area "Herdlevalen" was considered a good place for an airport. The air base at Herdla was important to defend the west coast of Norway against Allied attacks. Many fortifications were built to hinder possibly invading forces. All civilians had to leave the island. In 1945, they came back to an island full of military installations. Herdla was seriously considered as the site for Bergen's main airport. After the war the air traffic control for the Bergen area was placed at Herdla. However, in 1955, the airport was finally built at

Flesland Flesland is a village in the borough of Ytrebygda in the municipality of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. It sits on the western coast of the Bergen Peninsula, about southwest of the city centre of Bergen. It is the site of Bergen Airport, Fle ...

instead, since that would not require boat to reach it. After the war some of the military installations were assimilated into the Royal Norwegian Coastal Artillery, who also built a series of new installations on the island. In recent years the

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

has been used for training new recruits for the

coastal artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form o ...

, but the fortress was permanently closed in 2000 as a part of a major restructuring of the

Norwegian Armed Forces The Norwegian Armed Forces ( no, Forsvaret, , The Defence) is the military organization responsible for the defence of Norway. It consists of five branches, the Norwegian Army, the Royal Norwegian Navy, which includes the Coast Guard, the Royal ...

, when the Royal Norwegian Coastal Artillery was decommissioned.

References

External links

Herdla museumHerdla golf clubHerdla Guest HouseHerdla holiday and leisure centreBergen Windsurf at Herdla
{{authority control Islands of Vestland Askøy

Air base and coastal fortifications

See also

References

External links