HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Flåm () is a village in the
Flåmsdalen Flåmsdalen is a valley in Aurland Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is long and runs from Myrdal to the village of Flåm, dropping over the course of its run. The river Flåmselvi runs through the valley, as does the Flåm Line ...
valley which is located at the inner end of the
Aurlandsfjorden Aurlandsfjord (, ) is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. The fjord flows through the municipalities of Aurland, Vik, and Lærdal. The long fjord is a branch off of the main Sognefjorden, Norway's longest fjord. The fjord is deep and narrow ...
, a branch of
Sognefjorden The Sognefjord or Sognefjorden (, ), nicknamed the King of the Fjords (), is the longest and deepest fjord in Norway. Located in Vestland county in Western Norway, it stretches inland from the ocean to the small village of Skjolden in the muni ...
. The village is located in
Aurland Municipality 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, ...
in
Vestland Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. The county is located in Western Norway, and its administrative centre is Bergen, where the executive and political leadership is based. The County governor (Norway), County Governor is based in ...
county,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. In 2014 its inhabitants numbered 350.


Name

The name ''Flåm'' is documented as early as 1340 as ''Flaam''. It is derived from the plural
dative In grammar, the dative case (abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob a drink". In this exampl ...
form of the
Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
word ''flá'' meaning "plain, flat piece of land", and it refers to the flood plains of the Flåm River. ("A plain between steep mountains" is the
toponomy Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for a proper nam ...
of the encyclopedia ''
Store Norske Leksikon The ''Great Norwegian Encyclopedia'' (, abbreviated ''SNL'') is a Norwegian-language online encyclopedia. It has several subdivisions, including the Norsk biografisk leksikon. The online encyclopedia is among the most-read Norwegian publishe ...
''.)


History

In 1670
Flåm Church Flåm Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Aurland Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Flåm. It is the church for the Flåm parish which is part of the Sogn prosti (deanery) in the Dioces ...
was built, replacing an older
stave church A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts ...
. In 1908, the
Norwegian Parliament The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional represe ...
approved the construction of the
Flåm Line The Flåm Line () is a long railway line between Myrdal and Flåm in Aurland Municipality, in Vestland county, Norway. A branch line of the Bergen Line, it runs through the valley of Flåmsdalen and connects the mainline with Sognefjord. The li ...
railway, though the funds to construct the railway were not allocated until 1923. In 1942, regular operation of (steam-powered) trains started on the Flåm Line. "In the 1960s,
cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...
s stayed on the fjord" ithout reaching the port according to
Dagens Næringsliv ''(DN)'' ( Norwegian for "''Today's Business Affairs''"), is a Norwegian daily newspaper focusing on economic and business current affairs. it is the third-largest newspaper in Norway by circulation. Editor-in-chief is Janne Johannessen, appoint ...
. In 2000, the "new pier" was referred to in a government document. ("The pier was built at the entrance to the new millennium", according to Dagens Næringsliv.)


Transportation


Air

The closest airport is
Sogndal Airport, Haukåsen Sogndal Airport (; ) is a regional airport serving Sogndal Municipality and the surrounding area in Vestland, Norway. It is situated at Haukåsen, from Kaupanger and from Sogndalsfjøra. It serves the whole Sogn district. The airport consists of ...
, approximately from Flåm.


Road

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 ...
highway between
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) 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 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
and
Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...
runs through Flåm. The village sits about southwest of the municipal centre of
Aurlandsvangen Aurlandsvangen () is the administrative center of Aurland Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the east side of the Aurlandsfjorden (a branch of the main Sognefjorden) where the Aurlandselvi river flows into the fjor ...
, south of the village of
Undredal Undredal is a small village in Aurland Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The popular tourist destination of Undredal is located along the Aurlandsfjorden which is a branch off the massive Sognefjorden in Norway's "fjord-country." It sits ...
, and east of the village of
Gudvangen Gudvangen is a village in Aurland Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is a popular tourist destination and is located at the end of the Nærøyfjord where the Nærøydalselvi river empties into the fjord. The European route E16 highway ...
(through the Gudvanga Tunnel). The
Navvy Navvy, a Clipping (morphology), clipping of navigator (United Kingdom, UK) or navigational engineer (United States, US), is particularly applied to describe the manual Laborer, labourers working on major civil engineering projects and occasional ...
road, Rallarvegen stretches from
Myrdal Myrdal is an area in Aurland, Norway. Its only built-out facilities is Myrdal Station on the Bergen Line and the Flåm Line The Flåm Line () is a long railway line between Myrdal and Flåm in Aurland Municipality, in Vestland county, Norwa ...
down to Flåm. (Pedestrians and bicyclists still use it.) At Myrdal, it connects with the navvy road for the previously built Bergen Line.


Rail

Flåm is also connected by rail through the
Flåm Line The Flåm Line () is a long railway line between Myrdal and Flåm in Aurland Municipality, in Vestland county, Norway. A branch line of the Bergen Line, it runs through the valley of Flåmsdalen and connects the mainline with Sognefjord. The li ...
, a branch line of the
Bergen Line The Bergen Line, or the Bergen Railway ( or ), is a long scenic overlook, scenic standard gauge railway line between Bergen and Hønefoss, Norway. The name is often applied to the entire route from Bergen to Oslo, including the Randsfjord Line ...
, the line itself travels though picturesque views so is popular with tourists.


Sea

The port can take up to three cruise-ships a day though give a limit of 5000 passengers leaving the ship at a time, in 2020 in was announced they are adding a large (16MVA) power connection allowing ships to turn off their engines whilst docked (known as " Cold ironing") and in May 2025 a contractor was announced.


Tourism

The village of Flåm has since the late 19th century been a tourist destination. It currently receives almost 450,000 visitors a year. Most ride the
Flåm Line The Flåm Line () is a long railway line between Myrdal and Flåm in Aurland Municipality, in Vestland county, Norway. A branch line of the Bergen Line, it runs through the valley of Flåmsdalen and connects the mainline with Sognefjord. The li ...
between Flåm and
Myrdal Myrdal is an area in Aurland, Norway. Its only built-out facilities is Myrdal Station on the Bergen Line and the Flåm Line The Flåm Line () is a long railway line between Myrdal and Flåm in Aurland Municipality, in Vestland county, Norwa ...
, one of the steepest railway tracks at 1 in 18 (not counting
rack railway A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with ...
s) in the world. There are also a few
spirals In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving further away as it revolves around the point. It is a subtype of whorled patterns, a broad group that also includes concentric objects. Two-dimensional A two-dimension ...
. A former rail station building in Flåm now houses a museum dedicated to the Flåm railway. The harbour of Flåm receives some 160 cruise ships per year.


Complaints about and suggested curbs on tourism

Air pollution in Flåm and Geiranger during the cruise season is similar to that of a big city. Cruise traffic in Norway, which is one of the largest exporters of oil in the world, emits more
NOx In atmospheric chemistry, is shorthand for nitric oxide () and nitrogen dioxide (), the nitrogen oxides that are most relevant for air pollution. These gases contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain, as well as affecting tro ...
than all road traffic in Norway combined. In a 2005
Bergens Tidende is Norway's fifth-largest newspaper, and the country's largest newspaper outside Oslo. is owned by the public company Schibsted ASA. Norwegian owners held a mere 42% of the shares in Schibsted at the end of 2015. History and profile Founded ...
article, Kjetil Smørås (a hotel director and chairman of Fjord Norge said that "The cruise traffic pollutes more than several ten thousands of cars, and many of the worst ships sail up here (...) cruise tourists trod down the pristine Norwegian nature, and destroy the foundation for
Vestlandet Western Norway (; ) is the region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrative function. The region has a population of ...
's four entries on Unesco's World Heritage lists". In 2009, Jens Riisnæs (an author and
NRK The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...
journalist) said "We have the world's most beautiful nation, we don't need to follow the cruise operators' premises. They can go other places with their polluting ships. It is unwanted noise." In 2009, Dagens Næringsliv said that a report by '' Vestlandsforskning'' says that both "Flåm and
Geiranger Geiranger is a small tourist village in Sunnmøre region of Møre og Romsdal county in the western part of Norway. It is located in Stranda Municipality at the head of the Geirangerfjorden, which is a branch of the large Storfjorden (Sunnmøre), ...
are nearing a limit in capacity. It might be an alternative and rather stand forth as a «relaxed», exclusive and somewhat less of a
mass tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...
, cruise destination." In a 2014 Dagens Næringsliv article, a farmer said that "Previously the smell of summer was that of grass that had been cut. Now the smell is of heavy oil". Furthermore, "They retired coupletalk about fish that has disappeared from the fjord. In Norway, cruise ships are permitted to dump overboard their
greywater Greywater (or grey water, sullage, also spelled gray water in the United States) refers to domestic wastewater generated in households or office buildings from streams without fecal contamination, i.e., all streams except for the wastewater fro ...
in the postcard-narrow fjord-arms. Furthermore, the news article says that
defecation Defecation (or defaecation) follows digestion and is the necessary biological process by which organisms eliminate a solid, semisolid, or liquid metabolic waste, waste material known as feces (or faeces) from the digestive tract via the anus o ...
in public by tourists, is already a problem; the village's train station has the only public toilets, and 200,000 tourists are expected in the summer season. In 2014, tourism professor Arvid Viken said that "it is about time this ype oftourism is evaluated somewhat more soberly than how it has been done in many municipalities for some years". Furthermore, this tourism "has low profit per tourist, but is often associated with considerable costs for" the municipal administrations.Uvelkomne cruisegjester
nwelcome cruise guests/ref>


People

Flåm was the birthplace of the poet
Per Sivle Per Sivle (6 April 1857 – 6 September 1904) was a Norwegian poet, novelist and newspaper editor. He is known for his novel ''Streik'' from 1891, and for his collections of stories issued between 1887 and 1895, ''Sogor'' (includes the story "Ber ...
.


In media

Part of the book " The Ship of the Dead" is set in Flåm.


Media gallery

File:Flåm Church, Flåm, Norway - June 2022.jpg,
Flåm Church Flåm Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Aurland Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Flåm. It is the church for the Flåm parish which is part of the Sogn prosti (deanery) in the Dioces ...
, built in 1670 File:Kjosfossen.jpg, The Kjosfoss waterfall along the Flåmsbana, the railway line from Flåm to
Myrdal Myrdal is an area in Aurland, Norway. Its only built-out facilities is Myrdal Station on the Bergen Line and the Flåm Line The Flåm Line () is a long railway line between Myrdal and Flåm in Aurland Municipality, in Vestland county, Norwa ...
File:Trainstationinflam.jpg, Tourists at the railway station in Flåm. The station has the village's only
public toilet A public toilet, restroom, bathroom or washroom is a room or small building with toilets (or urinals) and sinks for use by the general public. The facilities are available to customers, travelers, employees of a business, school pupils or pris ...
s File:Flåm 51.jpg, Flåm harbour File:MF Flåm.jpg, A
catamaran A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a watercraft with two parallel hull (watercraft), hulls of equal size. The wide distance between a catamaran's hulls imparts stability through resistance to rolling and overturning; no ballast is requi ...
in Flåm harbour File:View of the Aurlandsfjord, Aurlandsvangen and Flam from below the Prest Summit.jpg, View of
Aurlandsfjord Aurlandsfjord (, ) is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. The fjord flows through the municipalities of Aurland, Vik, and Lærdal. The long fjord is a branch off of the main Sognefjorden, Norway's longest fjord. The fjord is deep and narrow, ...
and Flåm from a nearby summit File:Last view on Flåm.jpg, View from Flåm File:Bru over Flåmselvi 1.jpg, View of Flåm bridge with cruise ship behind File:Flam.jpg, Flåm harbour and railway station File:SS Norway in Norway.jpg, The SS Norway in Flåm, 1999 File:MSC Fantasia in Flåm (1).jpg, The MSC Fantasia in Flåm File:T199612.jpg,
Ægir Ægir (anglicised as Aegir; Old Norse 'sea'), Hlér (Old Norse 'sea'), or Gymir (Old Norse less clearly 'sea, engulfer'), is a jötunn and a anthropomorphism, personification of the sea in Norse mythology. In the Old Norse record, Ægir hosts the ...
, a micro brewery and pub in a traditional-style building File:Flåm Norway P&O MV Britannia.jpg, P&O MV Britannia docked in Flåm File:AIDAprima in Flåm, Norway - June 2022.jpg, AIDAprima in Flåm


References


External links


Flåm webcam

Visit FlåmFlam
a
Cruisemapper
on Tripadvisor {{DEFAULTSORT:Flaam Villages in Vestland Aurland Tourist attractions in Vestland