Utvær is an

island group An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

Solund Municipality Solund is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sogn. Solund is the westernmost island municipality in Norway. Holmebåen on the island of Steinsøy is the westernmost point in all of Nor ...

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 ...

. It is the westernmost

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

in Norway. The main residential area on the rocky islands is also called Utvær. It lies on the western side of the

Sognesjøen Sognesjøen is a strait in Vestland county, Norway. The strait is the outermost part of the large Sognefjorden. It runs along the border between Solund and Gulen municipalities. The long strait begins around the village of Rutledal on the mai ...

which is the mouth of the vast

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 ...

. It is about west of the municipal centre of

Hardbakke Hardbakke () is the administrative centre of the municipality of Solund in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the west side of the island of Sula, just across the strait from the island of Steinsundøyna. Hardbakke is located a ...

. The entire archipelago is protected as the Utvær

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

. Historically, Utvær had a very robust

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

industry and in 1858, the greater Utvær area was split off from the municipality of Eivindvig to become its own municipality known as Utvær. On 1 July 1890, the municipality's name was changed and now the municipality is known as

Solund Solund is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the Counties of Norway, county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sogn. Solund is the westernmost island municipality in Norway. Hol ...

Holmebåen Holmebåen is a point on the tiny island of Steinsøy in an archipelago of small islands northwest of the Utvær islands in the municipality of Solund in Vestland county, Norway. It lies about west of the municipal center of Hardbakke. Holmeb� ...

is the westernmost point in Norway (when you don't count

Jan Mayen Jan Mayen () is a Norway, Norwegian volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean with no permanent population. It is long (southwest-northeast) and in area, partly covered by glaciers (an area of around the Beerenberg volcano). It has two parts: la ...

). It is located on the island of Steinsøy in the western part of Utvær. Utvær Lighthouse is also located in the island group. The old Utvær Chapel was historically located in Utvær as well, but it has since been moved closer to the mainland.

History

In 1066, King

Harald Hardråde Harald Sigurdsson (; – 25 September 1066), also known as Harald III of Norway and given the epithet ''Hardrada'' in the sagas, was List of Norwegian monarchs, King of Norway from 1046 to 1066. He unsuccessfully claimed the Monarchy of Denma ...

gathered his naval forces at Utvær as he prepared for an invasion of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He took 200 naval boats plus supply boats from Utvær and its surrounding islands and sailed to the southwest towards England.

Media gallery

Utvær - S-1602U4 1 15.jpg Utvær - S-1602U4 1 16.jpg Utvær - S-1602U4 1 17.jpg Utvær, 1913. (8422302869).jpg Utvær, 1913. (8423399802).jpg Admiralty Chart No 2291 Norway west coast sheet 2 Bergen to Stav Fiord, Published 1874.jpg Admiralty Chart No 509 Norway, west coast Blomö (Blomøyna) to Utvaer, Published 1895.jpg Utvær fyr 3.jpg Utvær fyr 4.jpg Utvær fyr 6.jpg Utvær fyr 8.jpg

References

Solund Islands of Vestland {{Vestland-island-stub

History

Media gallery

See also

References