Western Norway (; ) is the region along the Atlantic coast of South 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 approximately 1.4 million people. The largest city is Bergen and the second-largest is Stavanger. Historically the regions of Agder, Vest-Telemark, Hallingdal, Valdres, and northern parts of Gudbrandsdal have been included in Western Norway.
Western Norway, as well as other parts of historical regions of Norway, shares a common history with Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Iceland and to a lesser extent the Netherlands and Britain. For example, the Icelandic horse is a close relative of the Fjord horse and both the Faroese and Icelandic languages are based on the Old West Norse.
In early Norse times, people from Western Norway became settlers at the Western Isles in the Northern Atlantic, England, Scotland, Ireland, Orkney, Shetland, France, the Faroe Islands and Iceland. During the Viking Age settlements were made at the Hebrides and Man.
In early modern times, Western Norway experienced much emigration to the United States, Canada, and to a lesser extent to the United Kingdom. This applies particularly to the US states of Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Wisconsin, Montana, and the Canadian province of Manitoba. The Icelandic and Faroese people, and many people in the British Isles, are descendants of Norsemen and Vikings who emigrated from Western Norway during the Viking Age. On the other hand, thousands of Western Norwegians are descendants of Dutch and German traders who arrived in the 16th and the 17th centuries, especially in Bergen.
Vestland is also the name of a county consisting of two former counties, viz. Hordaland and Sogn og Fjordane. The two counties were re-merged after having been split in 1763 (then called Søndre Bergenhus and Nordre Bergenhus, respectively).
History
Early history Norway's history begins on the west coast, particularly in Rogaland. Excavations and rock art tells us that it was in Rogaland that the first humans settled in Norway, when the ice retreated after the last ice age ca. 10,000 years ago. There are many artifacts from the Stone Age in Rogaland. The preliminary oldest traces of humans are found in a settlement on Galta, Rennesøy, near the ferry terminal Mortavika and Vista in Randaberg Municipality. In the beginning there has been sure short visits by people from the south who hunted along the coast. It is thought that people came from Doggerland, the North Sea land area between Denmark and England, which disappeared when the ice retreated and sea levels rose. The people who lived there must now find a new land. Some retreated south again, while a few passed the Norwegian Trench (which was considerably smaller than now) in its hunt for deer and the new country.
Viking Age
The region includes most of the scope of the old Gulating, which was founded around the year 900. The Gulating Act divided the country into the Western counties, which consisted of the former småkongedømmene that existed in the area before the unification of the 800's and then was converted to jarle judge. These were Sunnmørafylke (Sunnmøre), Firda County (Fjordane), Sygna County (Sogn), Hordafylke (Hordaland), Rygjafylke (Rogaland) and Egdafylke (Agder).
Harald Hairfair united Norway and parts of Sweden west of Lake Vänern and Götaälv in the 9th century from his Castle Avaldsnes on Karmøy near Haugesund. Norway was named from the Way North by seafaring.
Before the millennium, iron was introduced and used in agriculture, and there was a shortage of land to cultivate. In the same period, the kings' power increased, and large tax claims caused many to seek freedom and fortune abroad. Many emigrated, and looting became an alternative source of income. Effective boats and weapons made the Vikings feared among contemporary Christian Europeans. But the images of Vikings as bloodthirsty plunderers are not always representative. The Vikings were involved in a wealthy merchant trade, not only in Europe but also including the Byzantine Empire and the Baghdad Caliphate.
Historically Vikings are often introduced with the Viking attack on Lindisfarne in 793, when they really made their mark in European history. The era ends with the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066. Vikings' seaworthiness and wanderlust resulted in new areas being developed. Norwegian settlers moved into the North Sea westward to Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Shetland, Orkney, Isle of Man and the Hebrides. Settlements were established in the southeast corner of Ireland including in Dublin, Waterford and Wexford. Norwegians settled along the northwest area of England, principally in the area of modern-day Cumbria. The Norwegian Vikings also discovered Vinland, present-day America, long before Christopher Columbus.
Christianization
Christianity became the dominant religion in Norway in the 11th century, but the religion was probably known among Norwegians already in the 7th century. While Eastern Norway was introduced to Christianity by missionaries and monks from Germany and Friesland, Western Norway was mainly introduced to the religion by English, Scottish, Irish people and Vikings who had converted to Christianity. Norse paganism existed in some areas in Western Norway until being totally replaced by Christianity by the 13th century. The coastal areas were the first to be introduced to the new faith, and then the inland areas. Churches were established throughout the country.
Emigration to Iceland
The main source of information about the settlement period in Iceland is the Book of Settlements (Landnámabók), written in the 12th century, which gives a detailed account of the first settlers. According to this book, Western Norwegian sailors accidentally discovered the country. A few voyages of exploration were made soon after that and then the settlement started. Ingólfur Arnarson was said to be the first settler. He was a chieftain from Norway, arriving in Iceland with his family and dependents in 874. He built his farm in Reykjavík, the site of the present capital. During the next 60 years or so, Viking settlers from Scandinavia and also from Norse colonies in the British Isles—Ireland, Scotland and the Scottish Isles—settled in the country. There was therefore a Celtic element among the first inhabitants which has left few traces in the archaeological record, nor has it contributed more than a handful of words to the Icelandic language, which is Scandinavian dialect, more or less identical with the Viking Age Norse spoken in Western Norway, the Faroes, Shetland, Orkney, etc.
The settlement of Iceland may also be viewed in the context of the general Viking expansion of the period, plausibly linked to population pressure in Western Norway and increasing scarcity of farming land. Today it is estimated that 60% of the Icelandic population are descendants of people from Western Norway.
Emigration to America
For a century emigration was a central aspect of Norwegian history and more than 800,000 Norwegians emigrated to the United States. The first organized group of emigrants left Stavanger on the sloop Restoration on 4 July 1825. In 1837, Ægir left Bergen as the first ship with emigrants from Hordaland.
The Emigration Center of Western Norway is a memorial to those who left and to their descendants. The emigrant archives now include 96,000 names of emigrants from the two counties of Hordaland and Sogn og Fjordane up to 1924. This has been possible thanks to the work of many years by Jahn Sjursen, who has also collected books and other publications, pictures and objects related to Norwegian emigrants in the United States. He officially donated his collections to the Emigration Center at the opening in 1997. The Center continues to receive publications and objects for its collection. Access via the internet to the national digital records of emigrants from Norway to the United States has been developed by the University of Bergen and the Bergen Public Archives. The center's Emigrant Church was originally the Brampton Lutheran Church in Sargent County, North Dakota, built by Norwegian emigrants at the turn of the 19th century. The Brampton congregation was formed 1 July 1908. and 22 June 1996, the congregation donated their fully furnished church to the Emigration Center. It was taken down, transported to Sletta and reconstructed there by volunteers from Radøy. The church was reconsecrated by the Bishop of Bjørgvin, Ole Danholt Hagesæther, 6 July 1997.
Geography
Western Norway is the third largest region in Norway by area. It covers an area of .
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 from the Faroe Islands to Western Norway while Unst in the Shetland Islands is about away. Western Norway has a 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.
Western Norway is highly mountainous; in less than 10 kilometers from the Sognefjord, there are peaks that are over 2000 meters in height. The highest point is Store Skagastølstind (also known as Storen), which is 2,405 meters high. It is situated on the border between Luster Municipality and Årdal Municipality and is part of the Hurrungane range. The summit is a 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 common being Heftye's renne (Heftye's couloir). Another 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 are 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 Vestland county it stretches 205 km (127 mi) inland to the small village of Skjolden.
Providing the most spectacular fjord and mountain scenery in Norway, the region has been a tourist mecca for centuries. Except for the Jæren plain located at the extreme southern end of the region, Vestlandet is mountainous, with the Jotunheim Mountains and the Hardanger Plateau being the highest areas. The Jostedals Glacier, the largest glacier in Europe, is located in the north-central part of the region, while Hardanger Icecap (Hardangerjøkulen) and the Folgefonna Glacier are smaller ice fields in the south. Norway's longest fjord, Sogn Fjord (205 km [127 mi]), located in the central part of the region, nearly divides Vestlandet in two; farther south Hardanger Fjord stretches inland for . Many waterfalls flow into the fjords, with the Syv Systre, Toka Gorge, and Vørings Falls (Vøringsfossen) among the best known. The rugged coastline is protected by thousands of offshore islands in a nearly continuous line. Occasionally, the northern parts of Møre og Romsdal are considered to be part of Trøndelag.
Statistics Map references: Europe
Area: total: 58,582 km2
Area – comparative: slightly larger than Croatia, but slightly smaller than West Virginia.
Coastline: 26,592 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone:
continental shelf:
exclusive economic zone:
territorial sea:
Physical geography