Western Norway

Western Norway Vestlandet
—  Region (landsdel)  —
Briksdalsbreen
Nickname(s): West-Norway
Country	Norway
Capital	Bergen, Stavanger, Molde, Leikanger
Counties (fylker)	Møre og Romsdal Sogn og Fjordane Hordaland Rogaland
Area
- Total	58,582 km2 (22,618.6 sq mi)
Population (2009)
- Total	1,253,610
- Density	21.4/km2 (55.4/sq mi)
- Demonym	Westlendic people
Website	Vestlandsrådet

Western Norway (Norwegian: Vestlandet) is the region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the counties Rogaland, Hordaland, Sogn og Fjordane, and Møre og Romsdal and the region has a population of approx.1.2 million people. The largest city is Bergen, second largest is Stavanger. Agder, Vest-Telemark, Hallingdal, Valdres and northern parts of Gudbrandsdal is sometimes a part of Western Norway.

The area shares a common history with Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Iceland and to a lesser extent Netherlands, Scotland and England. For example, is the icelandic horse a close relative of the fjord horse and Faroese language may resemble a West Norwegian dialect.

Western Norway has also had a large immigration to the United States and Canada. It is possible that live as many as 2.5 million Norwegians from Western Norway of North America. This applies particularly the State of Minnesota.

Geography

One of the many beaches along the Jæren coastline.

Preikestolen is a massive cliff 604 metres (1982 feet) above Lysefjorden, opposite the Kjerag plateau, in Forsand.

Ona is an island situated in Sandøy municipality in the district of Romsdal.

Hardanger is one of Norway's most important sources of fruit and constitutes approximately 40% of the national fruit production, including apple, plum, pear, wild cherry and redcurrant.

The United Kingdom and the Faroe Islands lie to the west across the North Sea, while Denmark lies south of its southern tip across the North Sea. It is 675 km (419 miles) from the Faroe Islands to Western Norway while Unst in the Shetland Islands is about 300 km away. Western Norway has a 26 592 kilometers long coastline.

The southern part of the region is called Jæren. This is one of the major agricultural areas in Norway. Farms in other areas of Western Norway are often small. The total area of agricultural in Western Norway is 2 650 square kilometers, which is 5,3 % of the total area in the region.

Mountains are a lot of net, and the mountains are high. In relation to that region is as close to the sea here is extremely high mountains. In less than 10 kilometers from the Sogne Fjord to find a peaks over 2000 meters altitude. Further down, the mighty fjords which is several hundred kilometers long.

The highest point is Store Skagastølstind (also known as Storen). The mountain is 2,405 meter high. It is situated on the border between the municipality of Luster and Årdal and is part of the Hurrungane range. The summit is a popular destination for mountaineers but is fairly difficult. First ascent by William Cecil Slingsby on 21 July, 1876. There are a number of different routes, the most popular being Heftye's renne (Heftye's couloir). Another popular route of ascent is via Andrew's renne (Andrew's couloir), first ascent A. W. Andrews and party in 1899. Store Skagastølstind and the mountaineering of the late 19th century in Norway is traditionally linked to the historical hotel Turtagrø.

There are many fjords in Western Norway, Hardangerfjorden, Boknafjorden and Sognefjorden is the longest. The Sognefjord (Sognefjorden) is the largest fjord in Norway, and the second longest in the world, after Scoresby Sund on Greenland. Located in Sogn og Fjordane it stretches 205 km (127 mi) inland to the small village of Skjolden.

Occasionally, the northern parts of Møre og Romsdal are considered part of Trøndelag.

Climate

Vøringsfossen waterfall in Eidfjord.

Hurrungane is a large mountainous area.

Western Norway is one of the wettest regions in Europe, with precipitation in the mountains near the coast of about 3,500 mm per year on average, and exceeding 5,000 mm in peak years. In Bergen city the average precipitation is 2,250 mm per year [1]. The wet climate is partly due to the Gulf Stream, which also gives this region a milder winter than other parts of Norway, with rain being more common than snow in the winter.

Summer

Late June to early August is when summer is at its peak. This is when the weather is at its most stable and warmest with sunny, long and bright days. It is not unusual with temperatures reaching 25°C and above.

Autumn

During the cause of September the landscape is painted in golden colours. Red clusters of rowan berries hang on naked branches. Autumn also means harvest time along the fjords.

Winter

Wintertime, usually from November, turns the mountain areas of Western Norway into a skier’s paradise. Gales, rain and cloud are likely along the west coast, particularly in winter, and the rainfall is frequent and heavy. Thanks to the warming Gulf Stream, the Norwegian fjords enjoy a relatively mild climate and remain virtually ice-free even during the winter.

Spring

During springtime the most amazing colours burst forth to honour the warmth of the rising sun. Orchards of flowering fruit trees along the Hardangerfjord in May are images of paradise.

Language

Ivar Aasen came from Ørsta, Sunnmøre. He was the father of Nynorsk.

Western Norway is also notable for the extensive use of the Nynorsk variant of the Norwegian language: Most of the Nynorsk users in Norway (87%) live in Western Norway. But in spite of this the majority of the inhabitants here (56%) use Bokmål (because Bokmål is predominant in the cities). In Sogn og Fjordane (without larger cities) the use of Nynorsk is predominant (97%), and the users of Nynorsk is also a majority in Møre og Romsdal (54%). But in Hordaland and Rogaland the users of Nynorsk are a minority (42% and 26%, respectively). The percentage would be higher if the numbers excluded the northern areas of Møre og Romsdal and the southern areas of Rogaland. It must also be noted that every single municipality in Sogn og Fjordane, Sunnmøre (except Ålesund), Hordaland (except Bergen, Askøy and Odda) and Ryfylke (except Strand and Kvitsøy) have selected Nynorsk as the official written language form.

In many cases Nynorsk is more similar to Icelandic than Bokmål:

• Bokmål: Jeg kommer fra Norge. Jeg snakker norsk.
• Nynorsk: Eg kjem frå Noreg. Eg talar norsk.
• Icelandic: Ég kem frá Noregi. Ég tala norsku.
• English: I come from Norway. I speak Norwegian.

Economy

Troll gas field is a natural gas and oil field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, 100 km North-West of Bergen, 50 km west of the island of Fedje.

Western Norway is the part of Norway which has had the greatest immigration to the United States. The copper from Visnes, Karmøy was source of the copper used for the Statue of Liberty in New York City.^[1]Knute Nelson and Knut Rockne was famous persons from Voss in the United States. A emigrant church on Sletta, Radøy approached from Bergen had been moved from North Dakota. It was a gift from the Norwegian emigrants in the United States and Canada.

Western Norway is a very rich region. The region is stood for around 70% of the total Gross National Product of Norway - Europe`s richest country. Today is Stavanger the capital of oil in Norway. Before petroleum, fishing and agriculture were the most important economic activities in Western Norway. The region was responsible for 51% of aquaculture and fishing domestic product in Norway.^[2] Western Norway, Jæren, Karmøy, Voss, Sunnfjord and Fræna comprises a rich agricultural area. The inland fjord areas of Hardanger are more sheltered, with rich fruit districts specializing in apples and cherries.

Stavanger is a leading industrial area in Western Norway. Ålesund contains many engineering firms, and the bulk of Norway’s furniture industry is gathered on its rocky coast.

Along the coast fishing plays the same role that forestry does elsewhere. At the same time, it forms the basis of a large fish-processing industry and offers seasonal employment for many farmers. Of all fishermen only half fish as their sole occupation. Most vessels are owned by the fishermen themselves, the necessary crew members being paid by shares of gross income in a continuation of a centuries-old tradition of the sea. A critical problem is how to avoid depleting the fish resources while maintaining the volume. About half the catch goes into fish meal and oil, but some is processed for human consumption in freezing plants. Fish offal is used as feed at mink farms. In the northwest the city of Ålesund thrives on fishing. Ålesund is one of the world's largest and most important ports for bacalao.

By the mid-1990s Norway had become the world’s second largest oil exporter (behind Saudi Arabia). The first commercially important discovery of petroleum on Norway’s continental shelf was made at the Ekofisk field in the North Sea late in 1969, just as foreign oil companies were about to give up after four years of exploratory drilling. Intensified exploration increased reserves faster than production. Nevertheless, by the mid-1990s about half of export earnings and nearly one-tenth of government revenues came from offshore oil and gas, and these revenues continued to increase as the end of the century approached. It was estimated that the high rate of oil production could be sustained at least into the second decade of the 21st century, while that of natural gas was projected to increase dramatically and be sustained much longer.

More than one-fourth of the huge investment made in Norwegian offshore operations by the mid-1990s went toward the development of the Troll field just west of Bergen, one of the largest offshore gas fields ever found. Its development ranked as one of the world’s largest energy projects. With a water displacement of one million tons and a height of nearly 1,550 feet (475 metres), the Troll A production platform was the tallest concrete structure ever moved when it was towed into place in 1995. Gas deliveries from the Troll field made Norway a leading supplier of natural gas to continental Europe.

Demographics

Western Norway has the highest population growth rate in Norway for 2008, 1,40 %. For the whole country it is 0,88 %. The womans in this region have often many born, more than in other parts of Norway. The population 1. July 2009 is 1,253,610. 37,7 % of the population lived in Hordaland, 33,8 % in Rogaland, 19,9 % in Møre og Romsdal, and 8,5 % in Sogn og Fjordane. 60 % of the population is under 40 years old, and 30 % is under 20 years old. Many of the historical immigrants in Western Norway came from countries like Scotland, England, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Sweden. Western Norway is the part of Norway who has the larget immigration from the western world.

Country of origin	Norway	Immigrants	Asia	Eastern Europe	Western Europe	Africa	Nordic countries	South America	North America	Oceania	Total
Population [4]	1,142,962	102,477	30,677	29,674	15,344	9,883	9,169	4,752	2,524	454	1,245,439

Religion

Christianity is the largest religion. 1,054,573 people are members of the Church of Norway. There is also 50,474 members in other Christian churches. Islam have 9,578 members in Western Norway. Buddhism have 1,689 members. 1,171 are from Bahá'í Faith, Judaism, Sikhism and other related religions.

Christian Democraty Party is a large party in Western Norway. In Norway it have only 5-6 % of the votes, but in Western Norway, it have around 10 % and it is the fourth largest party in this region.

Culture

Traditional Lefse from Western Norway.

Skillingsboller, a traditional roll from Bergen.

Cuisine

Western Norway is famous for much of the cuisine in Norway. In its traditional form is based largely on the raw materials readily available in Norway and its mountains, wilderness and coast. It differs in many respects from its continental counterparts with a stronger focus on game and fish.

Modern Norwegian cuisine, although still strongly influenced by its traditional background, now bears the marks of globalization: Pastas, pizzas and the like are as common as meatballs and cod as staple foods, and urban restaurants sport the same selection you would expect to find in any western European city.

Lamb's meat and mutton is very popular in autumn, mainly used in fårikål (mutton stew with cabbage). Pinnekjøtt, cured and sometimes smoked mutton ribs that is steamed for several hours, is traditionally served as Christmas dinner in the western parts of Norway. Another Western specialty is smalahove, a smoked lamb's head.

Music

Hardingfele, a fiddle from Hardanger.

Music based on traditional Norwegian form usually includes minor or modal scales (sometimes mixed with major scales), making a sober and haunting sound. Pure major key dance music forms also exist. Prior to the 1700s, there is scant written record of what kind of music was played in Norway, but there is a large aural tradition. In 1380, Norway had come under Danish rule, and thus had no royal house or nobility of its own; as a result, for 450 years, Norway did not participate as much in the musical development which occurred in royal (or "cultured") circles throughout the rest of Europe. Religious and traditional (folk) music were dominant throughout this era in rural areas, though again scant records exist to document their nature. In the last half of the 20th century, Norway, like many other countries in the world, underwent a roots revival that saw indigenous music being revived.

The violinist Ole Bull (1810–1880) from Bergen was the first major Norwegian musician. He became world-famous starting in about 1834, and was known as the Nordic Paganini.

From about 1831, traditional Norwegian music began to influence the classical scene, especially through Ole Bull, who befriended the famous traditional Hardanger fiddle player Myllarguten and through the friendship gained better understanding of traditional music. Bull himself started playing the Hardanger fiddle, and was the first to present folk tunes to the public in urban areas. He also saw to that Myllarguten played with him in concert, presenting a rural traditional musician to an urban audience for the very first time, in February, 1849, at the very height of Norwegian romantic nationalism. This later inspired Edvard Grieg to look for folk musical sources. But urban audiences were slow to gain an appreciation and understanding of traditional (rural) music.

Vamp is a band from Haugesund, which was started in 1991. The band’s musical profile is a mix of Norwegian folk music, Celtic music and rock.

Leif Ove Andsnes, a pianist from Karmøy is one of the most famous pianist in the world.

Literature

Norway is famous for many writers. Ludvig Holberg was one of them. He was born in Bergen, but he moved to Copenhagen when he was young. He was influenced by Humanism, the Enlightenment and the Baroque. Other famous writers from Western Norway is Alexander Kielland, Arne Garborg, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Arnulf Øverland and Inger Hagerup.

Sports

Football is a popular sports in Western Norway, like the rest of the country. The first football-team in Norway was probably started by a buekorps in Bergen, Nygaards Bataljonen, in 1883.

Urnes stave church is now on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Architecture

Brudeferden i Hardanger.

In the early Middle Ages, stave churches were constructed throughout Norway. Many of them remain to this day and represent Norway’s most important contribution to architectural history. A fine example is The Stave Church at Urnes which is now on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Another notable example of wooden architecture is the Bryggen Wharf in Bergen, consisting of a row of narrow wooden structures along the quayside. At the beginning of the 20th century, the city of Ålesund was rebuilt in the Art Nouveau style. The 1930s, when functionalism dominated, became a strong period for Norwegian architecture, but it is only in recent decades that Norwegian architects have truly achieved international renown.

Art

Kitty Kielland, the sister to A. Kielland and Nikolai Astrup are famous painters from Western Norway. Brudeferden i Hardanger is the best known art from Western Norway. This is painted by the famous Norwegian painters Adolph Tidemand and Hans Gude.

Transport

Car ferries are a vital part of the highway infrastructure in coastal regions. Above is "MF Stavangerfjord" which goes between Arsvågen and Mortavika in Rogaland.

Jet2 previously flew a route to Newcastle from Bergen Airport, Flesland with their Boeing 737-300s.

Aviation

Of the 26 airports in Western Norway,^[5] 15 are public,^[6] and 11 are operated by the state-owned Avinor.^[7] To airports have more than one million passengers annually.^[6] 41,089,675 passengers passed through Norwegian airports in 2007, of which 13,397,458 were international.^[6]

The regional airport service was introduced in the 1960s, with 30 airports being served by short take-off and landing aircraft.^[6] These are located mainly in Sogn og Fjordane, in areas with long distances to large cities and with too little traffic to support commercial flights. The airports, which typically have a 800 metres (2,600 ft) runway, are run by Avinor, while the airplanes are operated based on subsidized public service obligation contracts with the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications.^[8][9] The by far largest contractor is Widerøe with their fleet of de Havilland Canada Dash 8 aircraft,^[10] but also Danish Air Transport, Lufttransport and Kato Air have won bids.^[11]

Rail transport

The main long-haul network consists of lines from Bergen and eastwards to Voss and over the mountains to Oslo. A line connecting Stavanger to Oslo via Kristiansand. There is also a line from Åndalsnes in Romsdal to Oslo. In Bergen, it is one funicular and one light rail way who opened in 2010. There is also planned a light way system on Nord-Jæren.

Road transport

MS Midnatsol of The Coastal Express, Hurtigruten

The most important national routes are part of the European route scheme, and the most prominent are the E39 going north-south through the entire region. National and county roads are managed by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.^[12]

The E39 road passes through the cities, connecting from Trondheim to Aalborg. The E16 road to Oslo passes through the Lærdalstunnelen, the longest road tunnel in the world.^[13]

Water transport

Fast ferries operate many places where fjords and islands make it quicker to follow the waterways than the roads; some small islands are served by water buses. Public transport by ship transported eight million passengers 273 million passenger kilometers in 2007 in whole the country.^[14] The Coastal Express (known as Hurtigruten) operates daily cruiseferries from Bergen to Kirkenes, calling at 35 ports.^[15] International cruiseferries operate from Bergen and Stavanger to the United Kingdom and Denmark.^[16][17]

The petroleum and natural gas production on the Norwegian continental shelf uses pipelines to transport produce to processing plants on mainland Norway and other European countries; total length is 9,481 kilometres (5,891 mi).^[5] The government-owned Gassco operates all natural gas piplines; in 2006, 88 billion cubic meters were transported, or 15% of European consumption^[18]

Politics

Gulating lagmannsrett cover Rogaland, Hordaland and Sogn og Fjordane, but not Møre og Romsdal.

In Sogn og Fjordane policy is little different than in the other counties. A lot of the population votes on the Centre Party. Here is Norwegian sheep and Luster landscape.

Vestlandet and Sørlandet has always been the two land areas in Norway, with the greatest preponderance of the secular voters. The election in 2007 give the nonsocialist parliamentary parties 65.4% against the socialist parliamentary parties 29.7%. The government party had collected 39.5% against 55.6% parliamentary opposition.

The election in 2007 give following vote distribution:^[19]

• Norwegian Labour Party 24,6 %
• Progress Party 20,6 %
• Conservative Party of Norway 19,0 %
• Christian Democratic Party 10,2 %
• Centre Party 9,8 %
• Liberal Party of Norway 5,8 %
• Socialist Left Party 5,1 %
• Red Electoral Alliance 1,6 %
• Other 3,4 %.

The elections from 2001 to 2009 give following vote distribution:

Cities

Western Norway has 22 cities/towns. Ranked by population:

• Bergen
• Stavanger
• Sandnes
• Ålesund
• Haugesund
• Molde
• Kristiansund
• Stord
• Egersund
• Førde
• Bryne
• Florø
• Åkrehamn
• Kopervik
• Jørpeland
• Odda
• Ulsteinvik
• Sauda
• Fosnavåg
• Skudeneshavn
• Måløy
• Åndalsnes

Urban areas

Districts

View over Aurlandsvangen and Flåm.

• Nordmøre (traditionally not considered to be part of Western Norway)
• Romsdal
• Sunnmøre
• Nordfjord
• Sunnfjord
• Sogn
• Voss
• Nordhordland
• Midthordland
• Sunnhordland
• Hardanger
• Haugaland
• Ryfylke
• Jæren
• Dalane

Counties

Coat of arms	County	Adm. center	Largest city	Population (2009)	Area (km²)	Density	Mayor	Party	Governor	Language form
	Hordaland	Bergen	Bergen	472,647	15,440	30,61	Torill Selsvold Nyborg	Christian Democratic Party	Svein Alsaker	Nynorsk
	Rogaland	Stavanger	Stavanger	424,193	9,377	45,23	Tom Tvedt	Norwegian Labour Party	Harald Thune	Neutral
	Møre og Romsdal	Molde	Ålesund	249,976	15,121	16,53	Olav Bratland	Conservative Party of Norway	Ottar Befring	Nynorsk
	Sogn og Fjordane	Leikanger	Førde	106,794	18,622	5,73	Nils R. Sandal	Centre Party	Oddvar Flæte	Nynorsk
Total			Bergen	1,253,610	58,560 km²	21,40/km²

Municipalities

Famous people

A

Tone Damli Aaberge

• Tone Damli Aaberge, singer, songwriter
• Ivar Aasen, philologist, lexicographer, playwright and poet
• John Anderson, publisher
• Nikolai Astrup, painter

B

Ole Bull

• Eirik Bakke, football player
• Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, writer and the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate
• Cecilia Brækhus, boxer and proffboxer
• Lars Bystøl, ski jumper
• Ole Bull, composer and violinist

E

Leif Ericson

• Leif Ericson, is currently regarded as the first European to land in North America 492 years before Christopher Columbus.

F

• Jan Åge Fjørtoft, former footballer
• Tore André Flo, football striker
• Herman Friele, mayor and coffee king

G

Edvard Grieg

• Arne Garborg, writer
• Edvard Grieg, composer

H

Ludvig Holberg

• Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen, doctor, the one to discover the leprosy bacteria, Mycobacterium leprae
• Ludvig Holberg, playwright and author
• Ingrid Espelid Hovig, television chef and author of cook books

J

• Roald "Kniksen" Jensen, soccer player

K

• Alexander Kielland, author
• Hanne Krogh, singer
• Eirik Kvalfoss,
• Sissel Kyrkjebø, singer

L

• Leif Andreas Larsen, naval officer

M

Marilyn Monroe

• Christian Michelsen, politician, Norway's first Prime Minister
• Joni Mitchell, musician, songwriter, and painter.
• Marilyn Monroe, actress, singer and model.

N

Kurt Nilsen

• Knute Nelson, politician, senator of Minnesota
• Jo Nesbø, bestselling author and musician
• Kurt Nilsen, singer, winner Norwegian Idol season one, and World Idol.

O

• Alexander Dale Oen

P

Liv Grete Skjelbreid Poirée

• Liv Grete Skjelbreid Poirée, career biathlete

R

Knute Rockne

• John Arne Riise, football player
• Knute Rockne, football player
• Kjell Inge Røkke, businessman

S

Amalie Skram

• Jakob Sande, writer, poet and folk singer
• Eric Sevareid, CBS news journalist
• Geir Skeie, chef, winner of the 2008 Bocuse d'Or Europe, and the 2009 Bocuse d'Or world final.
• Amalie Skram, writer
• Ole Gunnar Solskjær, football manager and former footballer
• Synnøve Svabø, talk show host
• Kathrine Sørland, fashion model, former winner of Miss Norway

T

Per Inge Torkelsen

• Harald Thune, civil servant
• Pia Tjelta, actress
• Per Inge Torkelsen, comic, author, radio personality, and self declared clown
• Kari Traa, skier

V

• Varg Vikernes, black metal musician
• Kristian Valen, comedian and pop star

Ø

• Finn Øglænd, author, poet, translator and literature critic
• Arnulf Øverland, author

A stone cross from Kvitsøy in Ryfylke.	Utne in Hardanger.	Mountain landscape in Romsdal.	The road Trollstigen in Rauma.
Store Skagastølstind, 2405 metres, seen from Dyrhaugsryggen. Vetle Skagastølstind to the left.	From Sunnmørsalpene.	From Bokn in the Boknafjord.	Låtefossen is a waterfall in the inner parts of Hardanger.
Some boathouses.	View over the city centre of Bergen.	Briksdalsbreen, is one of the most accessible and best known arms of the Jostedalsbreen glacier.	The little village Espevær, Bømlo.
Three swords from the Battle of Hafrsfjord.	Røldal stave church in Odda.	Ruins of the Selje Abbey on Selja.	Håtangen ligthouse in Hå, Jæren.
An photograph showing the seven sisters waterfall at the Geirangerfjord.	Hardangerjøkulen, one of the largest glacier on the european mainland.	Old house in Lærdalsøyri, Lærdal.	The village of Hoddevik on the Stad peninsula in Selje, Nordfjord.

References

External links

• Nærøyfjord and Geirangerfjord Unesco world heritage
• Fjords in Western Norway - Startpage

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