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 Møre og Romsdal (; en, Møre and Romsdal) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is the ...

, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland, the county administration was in the village of Hermansverk in Leikanger municipality. The largest town in the county was Førde. Although Sogn og Fjordane has some industry, predominantly hydroelectricity and aluminium, it is predominantly an

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

area. Sogn og Fjordane is also home to the

Urnes Stave Church Urnes Stave Church ( no, Urnes stavkyrkje) is a 12th-century stave church at Ornes, along the Lustrafjorden in the municipality of Luster in Vestland county, Norway. The church sits on the eastern side of the fjord, directly across the fjord f ...

and the Nærøyfjord, which are both listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. The Western Norway University of Applied Sciences has campuses in

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 ...

and Førde.

Name

The name ''Sogn og Fjordane'' was created in 1919; a literal translation is: ''Sogn and the fjords.'' The first element is the name of the region of Sogn, located in the southern part of the county. The last element is the plural definite form of ''fjord'', which refers to the two regions in the county called Nordfjord and

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 ...

in the northern and central parts of the county. Prior to 1919, the name of the county was ''

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 ...

'' which meant ''"(the) northern (part of) Bergenhus

amt Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...

"''. (The old

Bergenhus amt Bergenhus len was an administrative division of the Kingdom of Norway that existed from 1503 to 1662, with the Bergenhus Fortress in Bergen as its administrative center Norwegian administrative division. The ''len'' was changed to an ''amt'' (distr ...

, created in 1662, was divided into northern and southern halves in 1763.)

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms of Sogn og Fjordane The coat of arms of Sogn og Fjordane is an official symbol of Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The coat of arms features the geographical layout of the county. The three blue peaks on a silver background symbolize the three fjords of the county: ...

was granted on 23 September 1983. The arms show the geographical layout of the county: three large blue fjords protruding into the white colored land. The three fjords represent the three regions of the county: Nordfjord (surrounding Nordfjorden),

(with Førdefjorden), and Sogn (surrounding

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 ...

). Nearly all villages and towns are situated along one of these fjords and the name of the county is based on the fjords.

Written standard

Sogn og Fjordane is the only county in Norway in which all municipalities have declared Nynorsk to be their official

written form A writing system is a method of visually representing verbal communication, based on a script and a set of rules regulating its use. While both writing and speech are useful in conveying messages, writing differs in also being a reliable form ...

of the Norwegian language.

History

The county consisted of the two historic counties: ''Firdafylke'' (now the Fjordane region; Nordfjord-Sunnfjord) and ''Sygnafylke'' (now the Sogn region). These both were formed in the Middle Ages under the Gulating government. They were merged with ''Hordafylke'' (now Hordaland) and ''Sunnmørafylke'' (now Sunnmøre) to form the ''Bergenhus len'' in the late Middle Ages. The Bergenhus len was one of four ''len'' in Norway. It was administered from the Bergenhus Fortress in the city of Bergen.:no:Sogn og Fjordane On 19 February 1662, a royal decree changed the name to ''Bergenhus amt''. The Sunnmøre region was moved to Møre og Romsdal, Romsdalen amt in 1689. Later, in 1763, the ''amt'' was divided in half creating: ''Nordre Bergenhus'' and ''Søndre Bergenhus'' (Northern and Southern Bergenhus). Later, on 1 January 1919, ''Nordre Bergenhus amt'' was renamed ''Sogn og Fjordane fylke'' during a period of time when many location names in Norway were changed. In 2017, the Norwegian government announced the merger of this county as well as Hordaland into a new county called Vestland.moderniseringsdepartementet, Kommunal- og (7 July 2017). "Regionreform" . Regjeringen.no. Archived from the original on 23 March 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2018

Government

A county ''(fylke)'' is the chief local administrative area in Norway. The country is divided into 19 counties. A county is also an election area, with popular votes taking place every 4 years. The Sogn og Fjordane County Municipality was the government that oversaw the county. It was a group of 39 members who were elected to form a county council (Norway), county council ''(Fylkesting)''. Heading the ''Fylkesting'' was the county mayor ''(fylkesordførar)''. The last county mayor for the Sogn og Fjordane County Municipality was Åshild Kjelsnes, the county mayor. She replaced Nils R. Sandal, who was county mayor from 2003 until 2011. The county also had a County governor (Norway), County Governor ''(fylkesmann)'' who was the representative of the Monarchy of Norway, King and Politics of Norway, Government of Norway. Anne Karin Hamre was the last County Governor of Sogn og Fjordane. She replaced Oddvar Flæte, who was county governor from 1994 until 2011. The municipalities of Sogn og Fjordane were divided among three district court (Norway), district courts (''tingrett''): Sogn District Court, Sogn, Fjordane District Court, Fjordane, and Nordhordland District Court, Nordhordland. Sogn og Fjordane was also part of the Gulating Court of Appeal district based in Bergen. * Sogn District Court: Aurland, Balestrand, Leikanger, Luster, Norway, Luster, Lærdal,

, Vik, and Årdal * Fjordane District Court: Askvoll, Bremanger, Eid, Norway, Eid, Fjaler, Flora, Norway, Flora, Førde, Gaular, Gloppen, Hornindal, Hyllestad, Høyanger, Jølster, Naustdal, Selje, Solund, Stryn, and Vågsøy * Nordhordland District Court: Gulen (and the rest of the Nordhordland district of the county of Hordaland) All of the municipalities of Sogn og Fjordane except Gulen and Solund were part of the Sogn og Fjordane Law enforcement by country#Norway, police district. Gulen and Solund were part of the Hordaland police district.

Geography

It is mainly a rural area with a scattered population. Sogn og Fjordane includes the largest glacier in mainland Norway, Jostedalsbreen, in the Breheimen mountain range, and the deepest lake, Hornindalsvatnet. There are also many famous waterfalls located in the area. Ramnefjellsfossen (previously called Utigardfossen) is the tallest in Norway and third tallest in the world and Vettisfossen is one of Norway's highest waterfalls with a vertical drop of . Both are located in the Jotunheim mountains. Cruise ships visit Sogn og Fjordane all summer because of the unique vistas of high mountains and deep blue fjords. The famous Nærøyfjord is located in the south of the county. This is a UNESCO listed fjord area. There are several archipelagos, including Bulandet, Bremangerlandet and islands around Florø. The westernmost point in Norway proper is Holmebåen in Solund municipality. The island of Unst, part of Shetland Islands is around west of Holmebåen. The terrain changes quite rapidly with mostly smaller mountains on the coastline, gradually increasing to mountains reaching more than . Because of the steep rise in elevation and fjords cutting through the terrain, the amount of precipitation (meteorology), precipitation is very high. Low pressure systems come in from the west and meet the mountains (a phenomenon known as orographic lifting) and cause rain and snowfall.

Transport

Transport is made more difficult because of the fjords and the mountains. The fjords have to be crossed by ferries or rounded, often a large detour. There are four airports in the county, at Florø Airport, Florø, Førde Airport, Bringeland, Førde, Sandane Airport, Anda, Sandane and Sogndal Airport, Haukåsen, Sogndal. There is only one railway station, Flåm. The county contracts bus and boat companies for bus and boat routes in the county, under the new (2015) brand name Kringom.

Districts

The county is conventionally divided into three Districts of Norway, traditional districts. These are Sogn (in the south),

(in the centre), and Nordfjord (in the north). Sogn surrounds

from Solund on the offshore island of Sula, Sogn og Fjordane, Sula in the North Sea to the village of Skjolden in Luster, Norway, Luster along Lustrafjorden, a branch of the Sognefjord. The total length is . The middle district of Sunnfjord actually has two main fjords: Førdefjorden and Dalsfjorden (Sunnfjord), Dalsfjorden. The northern district surrounds Nordfjorden.

Municipalities

In 1837, the counties were divided into local administrative units, each with their own governments. The number and borders of these Municipalities of Norway, municipalities have changed over time, and before the dissolution of the county, there were 26 municipalities in Sogn og Fjordane. Originally the municipalities were the same as the old Church of Norway prestegjeld, parishes. # Askvoll # Aurland # Årdal # Balestrand # Bremanger # Eid, Norway, Eid # Fjaler # Flora, Norway, Flora # Førde # Gaular # Gloppen # Gulen # Hornindal # Hyllestad # Høyanger # Jølster # Leikanger # Luster, Norway, Luster # Lærdal # Naustdal # Selje #

# Solund # Stryn # Vik # Vågsøy

Cities

* Florø * Førde * Måløy

Parishes

* Arnafjord Church, Arnafjord * Askrova Chapel, Askrova * Askvoll Church, Askvoll * Aurland * Bakka Church, Bakka * Balestrand (Tjugum) * Batalden Chapel, Batalden * Berle Church, Berle * Bjordal Church, Bjordal * Borgund Church (Lærdal), Borgund * Borgund Stave Church, Old Borgund * Breim Church, Breim * Brekke Church, Brekke * Bremanger Church, Bremanger * Bremangerpollen * Bru (Svanø) * Bygstad Church, Bygstad (Svanø) * Bulandet Chapel, Bulandet * Bø Church (Hyllestad), Bø * Dale Church (Fjaler), Dale i Fjaler * Dale Church (Luster), Dale i Luster * Davik Church, Davik * Eid Church (Nordfjord), Eid * Eikefjord Church, Eikefjord * Ervik Church, Ervik * Farnes Church, Farnes * Feios Church, Feios (Rinde) * Fet Church (Luster), Fet * Fjaler (Ytre Holmedal) * Fjærland Church, Fjærland (Mundal) * Florø Church, Florø * Flåm Church, Flåm * Folkestad Chapel, Folkestad * Fortun Church, Fortun * Fresvik Church, Fresvik * Frøya Church, Frøya * Førde Church, Førde * Gaular * Old Gaupne Church, Old Gaupne * Gaupne Church, Gaupne * Gimmestad Church, Gimmestad * Old Gimmestad Church, Old Gimmestad * Gjemmestad * Gloppen * Guddal Church, Guddal * Gulen Church, Gulen (Evindvik) * Hafslo Church, Hafslo * Hauge Church, Hauge * Heggjabygda Church, Heggjabygda * Helgheim Church, Helgheim * Haukedalen Church, Haukedalen * Hellevik Chapel, Hellevik * Hersvik Church, Hersvik * Hestad Chapel, Hestad * Holmedal Church, Holmedal * Holsen Church, Holsen * Hopperstad Stave Church, Hopperstad * Hornindal Church, Hornindal * Hove Church, Hove * Husøy Church (Solund), Husøy (Husø) * Hyen Church, Hyen * Hyllestad Church, Hyllestad * Høyanger Church, Høyanger * Indre Holmedal, see Gaular * Innvik Church, Innvik * Joranger Church, Joranger * Jostedal Church, Jostedal * Jølster * Kaupanger Stave Church, Kaupanger * Kinn Church, Kinn (Kinden) * Kirkebø, see Kyrkjebø * Kjølsdalen Church, Kjølsdalen * Kvamsøy Church, Kvamsøy * Kyrkjebø Church, Kyrkjebø * Lavik Church, Lavik * Leikanger Church, Leikanger * Leikanger Church (Selje), Leikanger (Leganger) i Selje * Ljosheim Chapel, Ljosheim * Loen Church, Loen * Luster (Lyster) * Lærdal * Midtgulen Church, Midtgulen * Mjømna Church, Mjømna (Mjømen) * Mundal (Fjæreland) * Naustdal Church, Naustdal (Nøssedal) * Nedstryn Church, Nedstryn * Nes Church (Sogn og Fjordane), Nes * Nordal Church, Nordal * Norddalsfjord * Nord-Vågsøy Church, Nord-Vågsøy * Nordsida Church, Nordsida * Norum * Nærøy * Olden Church, Olden * Old Olden Church, Old Olden * Oppstryn Church, Oppstryn * Ortnevik Church, Ortnevik * Randabygd Church, Randabygd * Rinde * Rugsund Church, Rugsund * Sandane Church, Sandane * Sande Church (Gaular), Sande * Selje Church, Selje * Sogndal * Solund Church, Solund (Sulen) * Solvorn Church, Solvorn * Stavang Church, Stavang * Stedje Church, Stedje * Stongfjorden Chapel, Stongfjorden * Stryn (Innvik) * Stårheim Church, Stårheim * Sulen, see Solund * Svanøy * Svelgen Chapel, Svelgen * Sæle Church, Sæle * Sør-Vågsøy Church, Sør-VågsøySør-Vågsøy * Tjugum Church, Tjugum (Balestrand) * Totland Church, Totland * Tønjum Church, Tønjum * Undredal Stave Church, Undredal * Urnes Stave Church, Urnes * Utvik Church, Utvik * Vangen Church (Aurland), Vangen * Vangsnes Church, Vangsnes * Vassenden Church, Vassenden * Veitastrond Chapel, Veitastrond * Vereid * Vereide Church, Vereide * Vevring Church, Vevring (Vefring) * Vik * Vik Church, Vik (Hopperstad, Hove) * Viksdalen Church, Viksdalen * Vilnes * Værlandet Chapel, Værlandet * Ytre Holmedal, see Fjaler * Ølmheim Church, Ølmheim * Øn Church, Øn * Ålfoten Church, Ålfoten * Ålhus Church, Ålhus * Årdal Church (Sogn og Fjordane), Årdal

Villages

* Nese, Norway, Arnafjord * Askvoll (village), Askvoll * Aurlandsvangen * Austreim * Bakka, Sogn og Fjordane, Bakka * Balestrand (village), Balestrand * Hovden, Sogn og Fjordane, Barekstadlandet * Barmøya, Barmen * Barmøya * Berle * Bjordal * Borgund, Sogn og Fjordane, Borgund * Brandsøy * Brekke (village), Brekke * Bremanger (village), Bremanger * Bruland * Svanøya, Brulandet * Bryggja * Bygstad * Byrkjelo * Byrknes * Dale, Sogn og Fjordane, Dale * Dalsøyra * Davik (village), Davik * Degnepoll * Degnepoll, Deknepollen * Dingja * Eikefjord * Eimhjellen * Eivindvik * Egge, Sogn og Fjordane, Egge * Ervik, Sogn og Fjordane, Ervik * Espedal * Feios * Fimreite * Fjærland * Flatraket * Flekke * Flo, Norway, Flo * Flåm * Fortun (village), Fortun * Fresvik * Frønningen * Gaupne * Sørstranda, Sogn og Fjordane, Gimmestad * Grodås * Grov, Sogn og Fjordane, Grov * Guddal * Gudvangen * Hafslo (village), Hafslo * Hardbakke * Haukedalen * Heggjabygda * Helgheim * Helle, Sogn og Fjordane, Helle * Hermansverk * Hersvikbygda * Hestad, Sogn og Fjordane, Hestad * Holvik, Vågsøy, Holvik * Holmedal * Holsen * Randabygda, Hopland * Hovden, Sogn og Fjordane, Hovden * Straume, Sogn og Fjordane, Hyen * Hyllestad (village), Hyllestad * Håvik * Høyanger (village), Høyanger * Indre Offerdal * Indrevevring * Innvik (village), Innvik * Instefjord * Isane * Jostedal * Kalvåg * Kandal, Norway, Kandal * Kaupanger * Kjølsdalen * Kjørnes * Kolgrov * Kvalheim * Kvammen * Kvamsøy, Sogn og Fjordane, Kvamsøy * Kyrkjebø (village), Kyrkjebø * Langenes, Sogn og Fjordane, Langenes * Langhaugane * Lavik (village), Lavik * Hermansverk, Leikanger * Leikanger, Selje, Leikanger * Leirvik, Sogn og Fjordane, Leirvik * Loen, Norway, Loen * Losnegard * Lote, Norway, Lote * Luster (village), Luster * Lærdalsøyri * Midtgulen * Mjømna * Mogrenda * Myrdal Station, Myrdal * Naustdal (village), Naustdal * Nedstryn * Nes, Sogn og Fjordane, Nes * Nese, Norway, Nese * Nornes, Norway, Norane * Norddalsfjord * Nordfjordeid * Nornes, Norway, Nornes * Roset, Sogn og Fjordane, Nordsida * Nyttingnes * Olden, Norway, Olden * Oppstryn * Ornes, Sogn og Fjordane, Ornes * Ortnevik * Randabygda * Raudeberg * Re, Sogn og Fjordane, Re * Re, Sogn og Fjordane, Reed * Refvik * Rognaldsvåg * Roset, Sogn og Fjordane, Roset * Rugsund * Rutledal * Sørstranda, Sogn og Fjordane, Rygg * Sandane * Sande, Sogn og Fjordane, Sande * Seimsdalen * Selje * Silda, Sogn og Fjordane, Silda * Skei, Sogn og Fjordane, Skei * Skjolden * Skorpa, Sogn og Fjordane, Skorpa * Sogndalsfjøra * Solvorn * Stavang * Steinhovden * Stongfjorden * Straume, Sogn og Fjordane, Straume * Stryn (village), Stryn * Stårheim * Svanøya * Svelgen * Sørbøvågen * Sørstranda, Sogn og Fjordane, Sørstranda * Hermansverk, Systrond * Tennebø * Totland, Sogn og Fjordane, Totland * Tjugum * Tønjum * Undredal * Ornes, Sogn og Fjordane, Urnes * Utvik * Vadheim * Vangsnes * Vassenden * Vedvik * Veitastrond * Vereide * Vik, Gaular, Vik * Vikøyri * Vågsvåg * Ytre Oppedal * Øvre Årdal * Ålfoten * Ålhus * Årdalstangen

Former Municipalities

* Borgund, Sogn og Fjordane, Borgund * Breim * Brekke * Bru, Sogn og Fjordane, Bru * Davik * Eikefjord * Florø * Hafslo * Innvik * Jostedal * Kinn * Kyrkjebø * Lavik * Lavik og Brekke * Nord-Vågsøy * Sør-Vågsøy * Vevring

Gallery

File:Myklebustdalen-sanddal-fjordane.jpg, Myklebustdalen valley east of Byrkjelo File:Stadt Hoddevik.jpg, The village of Hoddevik on the Stad (peninsula), Stad peninsula in Selje File:Laerdalsoyri03.jpg, Some old houses in Lærdalsøyri, Lærdal File:Norway Aurland Laerdal.jpg, View from Aurland File:Aurlandsfjord in August 2019 168.jpg, Aurlandsfjord in August 2019

References

External links

County web site

NRK County encyclopedia

Firda – Sogn og Fjordane's largest newspaper

forum.firda.no – Sogn og Fjordane's largest discussion group
{{Authority control Sogn og Fjordane, Former counties of Norway History of Vestland 2020 disestablishments in Norway