Hafrsfjord or Hafrsfjorden is a

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

in the

Stavanger Peninsula Stavanger Peninsula () is a peninsula in Rogaland County, Norway. The peninsula is named for the city of Stavanger, located on its northeastern shore and it includes the most populous parts of the Greater Stavanger urban area. The peninsula ex ...

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. As of 1 January 2024, it had a population of 49 ...

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 ...

. The long fjord forms the border between the municipalities of

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

and

Sola Sola may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Albums * ''Saints of Los Angeles'', a 2008 album by Mötley Crüe * ''Sola'', an album by Olga Tañón * ''Sola'', an album by Zayda y los Culpables Songs * Sola (Becky G song), "Sola" (Becky G song ...

. On the west side of the fjord is the large village of

Tananger Tananger is a large village and urban area in Sola, Norway, Sola municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The urban area is located on the west side of the Stavanger Peninsula between the North Sea and the Hafrsfjorden. It lies about southwes ...

, on the south is the village of

Solakrossen Solakrossen or Sola is the administrative center of Sola municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located at the south end of the Hafrsfjorden on the Stavanger Peninsula, just northwest of the city of Sandnes. The large Stavang ...

, and on the east end of the fjord is the borough of

Madla Madla is a borough of the Stavanger (city), city of Stavanger which lies in the southwestern part of the large municipality of Stavanger in Rogaland county, Norway. It lies in the western part of the city, along the coast of the Hafrsfjorden. T ...

in the city of Stavanger. The

Møllebukta Møllebukta (Mill Bay) is a small bay with a sandy beach in the inner part of the Hafrsfjorden in the borough of Madla in the city of Stavanger in the southwestern part of the large Stavanger Municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is named ...

bay area, located on the innermost part of the fjord, is the site of a popular beach and the

Sverd i Fjell ''Sverd i fjell'' () is a commemorative monument located in the Hafrsfjord neighborhood of Madla, a borough of the city of Stavanger which lies in the southwestern part of the large municipality of Stavanger in Rogaland county, Norway. Histor ...

statues. The only bridge over the fjord is the

Hafrsfjord Bridge Hafrsfjord or Hafrsfjorden is a fjord in the Stavanger Peninsula in Rogaland county, Norway. The long fjord forms the border between the municipalities of Stavanger and Sola. On the west side of the fjord is the large village of Tananger, on t ...

which runs between

Kvernevik Kvernevik is a neighborhood (''delområde'') in the city of Stavanger which lies in the southwestern part of the large municipality of Stavanger in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the borough of Madla, located at the mouth of the Hafrsfj ...

in Stavanger and Jåsund in the village of Tananger in Sola. Hafrsfjord is also the name of a neighbourhood (''delområde'') in the borough of

in the city of Stavanger. It has a population of 4,003, distributed on an area of . Hafrsfjord is also the location of the KNM Harald Hårfagre, the Basic Training Establishment for the

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy () is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for navy, naval operations of Norway, including those of the Norwegian Coast Guard. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 i ...

. The camp had been used for military purposes since 1871 and in 1934 it was renamed Madlaleiren. In 1952, Parliament decided that the Navy's boot camp would be added to the camp and also that the Navy would formally take over the camp. Three years later, the camp was named KNM Harald Hårfagre. Today KNM Harald Hårfagre is the principal training camp for both the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. Officer Candidate School for the Navy moved the intake and basic education from

Horten Horten () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Jarlsberg. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Horten (town) ...

to KNM Harald Hårfagre during the summer of 2005.

Battle of Hafrsfjord

Historically, the Hafrsfjorden was principally known for its association with the

Battle of Hafrsfjord The Battle of Hafrsfjord () was a naval battle fought in Hafrsfjord sometime between 872 and 900 that resulted in the unification of Norway, later known as the Kingdom of Norway (872–1397), Kingdom of Norway. After the battle, the victorious Vi ...

(''Slaget i Hafrsfjord''). King Harald "Fairhair", the first king of Norway, won a great naval battle during the year 872 which resulted in the unification of Norway into one kingdom. The battle paved the way for Harald to gain control over most of western coast of Norway and rightly call himself king of the country. In 1983, a monument by Norwegian sculptor and artist

Fritz Røed Fritz Røed (15 August 1928 – 20 December 2002) was a Norwegians, Norwegian sculptor. He is most associated with his work, ''Sverd i fjell'', the commemorative monument that symbolizes the unification of the nation of Norway. Biography R ...

was raised in

at the northeasternmost end of the Hafrsfjorden. The monument is called

(Swords in Rock) and represents the Battle of Hafrsfjord. The crowns on the top of the swords represent the three districts that participated in the battle.''Fritz Røed'' (Store norske leksikon)
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Name

The modern form of the name should be ''Haffjorden'', but because of its historical significance 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 ...

form of the name has been revived. The first element is the

genitive case In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive ca ...

of ''hafr'' which means 'male

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

' and ''fjord'' means 'fjord'. ''Hafr'' might have been the name of a

skerry A skerry ( ) is a small rocky island, or islet, usually too small for human habitation. It may simply be a rocky reef. A skerry can also be called a low stack (geology), sea stack. A skerry may have vegetative life such as moss and small, ...

at the narrow entrance of the fjord.

References

External links

Heimskringla - Battle in Hafrsfjord
{{Authority control Fjords of Rogaland Boroughs and neighbourhoods of Stavanger Jæren Sola, Norway