Lærdalsøyri 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 ...

of Lærdal Municipality 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 village is located along the Lærdalselvi river where it empties into the Lærdalsfjorden, a branch off of the main

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 village is located about north of the village of Tønjum at the east end of the

Lærdal Tunnel The Lærdal Tunnel ( no, Lærdalstunnelen) is a road tunnel connecting the municipalities of Lærdal and Aurland in Vestland county, Norway, and located approximately northeast of Bergen. The tunnel carries two lanes of European Route E16 and r ...

which is part 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. It sits about northwest of the village of Borgund and about across the

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, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icel ...

from the village of

Kaupanger Kaupanger is a village situated along the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the municipality of Sogndal in Vestland county, Norway. It sits along the Norwegian National Road 5, about southeast of the municipal centre of Sogndalsfjøra and a ...

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 ...

. Hauge Church is located in the village, and serves as the main church for the parish. The village has a population (2019) of 1,135 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 RosenberPopu ...

of .

Name

The name ''Lærdalsøyri'' is derived from the local river which flows through the village. The first element is the genitive case of the old name of the river ''Lærr'' (now the river is called Lærdalselvi) and the last element is ''dalr'' which means "valley" or "dale." The meaning of the old river name is unknown. The last element ''-øyri'' is the finite form of ''øyr'' which means " sandbank"; it is similar to the word

ayre Ayre ( ; gv, Inver Ayre) is one of the six sheadings of the Isle of Man. It is located in the north of the island (part of the traditional ''North Side'' division) and consists of the three historic parishes of Andreas, Bride and (Kirk Chri ...

which is used in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

History

The village center is listed as a national "heritage village" and tourists come to see the old city center with its 161 wooden houses that date from 1700 to 1800. Old Lærdalsøyri used to be a trading port between east and west in Norway. It is located near the head of Sognefjord, one of the longest fjords in Norway, which meant sea-going ships could carry goods deep inland before landing them at the village for the over-land journey into eastern Norway. Historically, several of the County Governors of Nordre Bergenhus lived in Lærdalsøyri while in office including

Christian Ulrik Kastrup Christian Ulrik Kastrup (1784 – 6 September 1850) was a Norwegian jurist, military officer and politician. A jurist by education, from Stavanger, he worked as a military officer until 1811, when he became chief of customs in Vardø. In 1817 he be ...

Michael Conrad Sophus Emil Aubert Michael Conrad Sophus Emil Aubert (2 July 1811 – 8 November 1872) was a Norwegian jurist and politician. Biography Aubert was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was one of ten children born to Benoni Aubert (1768–1832) and Jakobine ...

, and

Johan Collett Falsen Johan Collett Falsen (9 September 1817 – 2 September 1879) was a Norwegian jurist and politician. John Collett Falsen born in the town of Grimstad in Nedenes amt in southern Norway. He was the son of Hagbart Falsen and wife Aletta Fleischer. ...

2014 fire

At 22:56 (11:56 pm) on 18 January 2014, local fire departments were alerted to a fire in a residence on the ''Kyrkjegata'' road. Winds fanned the flames towards the town center, and the fire spread to a nearby forest, threatening the Old Lærdalsøyri heritage area. The town was evacuated at 00:30 (12:30 am), with residents evacuated to a hotel in the nearby municipality 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 Ba ...

. By 04:00 in the morning, over thirty houses were in flames.

Notable residents

Media gallery

File:Laerdalsoyri03.jpg, Some old houses in Lærdalsøyri File:Laerdal.JPG, Street in Lærdalsøyri File:Themistokles von Eckenbrecher Utsikt over Lærdalsøren.jpeg, Painting of Lærdalsøyri in 1901 File:P1000416Norsk Villakssenter.JPG, Norsk Villakssenter File:Laerdal Oyragata 20.07.2008 1.jpg, View of a building on Oyragata File:Laerdalsoyri04.jpg, Another historic building

References

External links

Pictures: Lærdalsoyri
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laerdalsoyri Villages in Vestland Lærdal