Hordaland Totally Explained

Everything about Hordaland totally explained

is a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark and Rogaland. Hordaland is the third largest county after Akershus and Oslo by population. The county administration is in Bergen. Before 1972 Bergen was a separate entity from Hordaland.

The name

Hordaland (Norse: Hörðaland) (Frisian: Hörnaland) is the old name of the region - revived in modern times. The first element is the plural genitive case of hörðar, the name of an old Germanic tribe (see Charudes). The last element is land as in 'land, region'.
Until 1919 the name of the county was Søndre Bergenhus amt - with the meaning '(the) southern (part of) Bergenhus amt'. (The old Bergenhus amt, created in 1662, was divided in 1763.)
(See also Rogaland and Sogn og Fjordane.)

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms was made official for Hordaland in 1961 - but originally it was used by the region Sunnhordland in the 14th century.

Geography

Hordaland is semi-circular in shape. It is located on the western coast of the country, split from southwest to northeast by the long, deep Hardangerfjorden, one of Norway's main fjords and a great tourist attraction. About half of the National park of Hardangervidda is in the county. The county also includes many well-known waterfalls of Norway, like Vøringsfossen and Stykkjedalsfossen. It also includes the glaciers Folgefonna and Hardangerjøkulen.
More than 60% of the inhabitants live in Bergen and the surrounding area. Other urban or semi-urban centres include Leirvik, Voss and Odda.

Famous people from Hordaland

Ole Bull, composer and violinist from Bergen
Edvard Grieg, composer from Bergen
Ludvig Holberg, playwright and author from Bergen
Roald "Kniksen" Jensen, soccer player from Bergen
Leif Andreas Larsen, naval officer from Bergen
Christian Michelsen, politician from Bergen, Norway's first Prime Minister
Kari Traa, skier from Voss
Varg Vikernes, black metal musician
Herman Friele, mayor and coffee king
Sissel Kyrkebø, singer

Districts

The county is conventionally divided into traditional districts. The inland districts are Hardanger and Voss and the coastal districts are Sunnhordland, Midhordland and Nordhordland [sic]. Strilelandet is the name of a more informal region commonly held to encompass Midhordland and Nordhordland. Stril is a name the inhabitants of Bergen apply to the people living in the traditionally agricultural areas surrounding the city.

Municipalities

Hordaland has a total of 33 municipalities. See List of municipalities in Hordaland, Norway for a more detailed list of the municipalities.

Further Information

Get more info on 'Hordaland'.

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