The Bergen Peninsula ( nb, Bergenshalvøya, ; nn, Bergenshalvøyen) is a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on a ...

Vestland Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the cit ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

. The city of

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, secon ...

, Norway's second largest city, is located on the peninsula. The peninsula extends out from the mainland and it is surrounded by the following fjords:

Samnangerfjorden Samnangerfjorden () is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. The long fjord is located in the municipalities of Bjørnafjorden and Samnanger. The head of the fjord is located in Samnanger, surrounded by the villages of Årland, Haga, and Tyss ...

Bjørnafjorden Bjørnafjorden is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. It runs through the municipalities of Austevoll, Bjørnafjorden, and Tysnes. The large island of Tysnesøya (and many small, surrounding islands such as Reksteren) lie along the south si ...

Fusafjorden Fusafjorden () is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. It lies in between Bjørnafjorden Municipality and Tysnes Municipality. The long fjord branches off northwards from the Bjørnafjorden at the village of Osøyro. The Fusafjorden is a wid ...

Raunefjorden Raunefjorden is a strait (even though it is called a fjord) in Vestland county, Norway. The wide strait flows between the mainland Bergen Peninsula and the island of Sotra. Bergen Municipality is located on the east side on the mainland and Øy ...

, Byfjorden,

Salhusfjorden Salhusfjorden is a long fjord and sound between Bergen Municipality and Alver Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. To the west, it starts between the villages of Salhus and Frekhaug, where the Byfjorden meets the Herdlefjorden. To the e ...

, Sørfjorden. The peninsula is connected to the rest of mainland Norway by a narrow, wide strip of land between the villages of

Trengereid Trengereid is a village in the borough of Arna, Norway, Arna in the municipality of Bergen in Hordaland county, Norway. History In 1895, Johan Jebsen established a factory in Trengereid. The factory produced ribbons and lace, and it had its own po ...

and

Årland Årland is a village in Austevoll municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the southern part of the island of Stolmen Stolmen is an island in Austevoll municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island lies in a ...

. The municipality of Bergen, about of the municipality of

, and about of the municipality of

Samnanger Samnanger () is a municipality in the Midhordland region of Vestland county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tysse. Other main villages in the municipality include Haga and Bjørkheim in Nordbygda. The ...

are all located on the peninsula. The highest point is the tall mountain

Gullfjellet Gullfjellet or Gulfjellet is a tall mountain in Vestland county, Norway. It is situated on the border between the municipalities of Bergen and Samnanger, and it is the highest mountain in the municipality of Bergen. The name "Gul" is an old name ...

Geography

The primary mountain region on the peninsula is

, with the tall mountain ''Gullfjellstoppen'' as the highest peak. A number of lower peaks are found on, or connected to, the Gullfjellet

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

. Another significant mountain plateau,

Ulriken Ulriken (or the older, ''Ålreken'') is the highest of the Seven Mountains, Bergen, Seven Mountains ( no, De syv fjell) that surround the city of Bergen, Norway. It has a height of above sea level. Ulriken has an aerial tramway, Ulriksbanen, that ...

- Vidden -

Rundemanen Rundemanen is a mountain in the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. It is considered one of the " seven mountains" which surround the city centre of Bergen. At in height, it is the second highest of them all. It's a part of the same massi ...

, is found just east of Bergen's city centre.

Sveningen Sveningen is a mountain in Vestland county, Norway. The tall summit of the mountain is a tripoint, marking the border of three municipalities: Bergen, Samnanger, and Bjørnafjorden. It is the second highest mountain in Bergen municipality, afte ...

is another massif south of Gullfjellet, bordering Samnanger and Os municipalities. Additionally, a number of smaller mountains and forest hills are scattered around within the peninsula. All of the mountains are highly accessible to the public, seen in light of road access, trail systems, and low climbing difficulty. Both Gullfjellet and the Ulriken - Vidden - Rundemanen massif by Bergen are popular in all seasons. The Ulriken - Vidden - Rundemanen massif also offer easy access through

gondola The gondola (, ; vec, góndoła ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull, ...

and

funicular railway A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...

. The leveled plateau between Rundemanen and Ulriken is excellent for skiing in winter, providing the snow stays. Those who seek behind the public trails will also find interesting routes on the massifs mentioned above. You will even find good scrambling opportunities very near Bergen through the ridges on Søre Midtfjell and on the north side of Ulriken.

Transport

Bergen Peninsula has many roads and highways. The two main highways are the

European route E16 European route E16 is the designation of a main west-east road through Northern Ireland, Scotland, Norway and Sweden, from Derry to Gävle, via Belfast, Glasgow, Edinburgh, previously by ferry to Bergen, Voss, through the Gudvanga Tunnel and th ...

highway running from the city of Bergen to the east and the

European route E39 European route E39 is the designation of a north–south road in Norway and Denmark from Klett, just south of Trondheim, to Aalborg via Bergen, Stavanger and Kristiansand. In total, there are nine ferries, more than any other single road in Eur ...

highway running north–south through the city of Bergen. The

Nordhordland Bridge The Nordhordland Bridge ( no, Nordhordlandsbrua) is a combined cable-stayed and pontoon bridge which crosses Salhusfjorden between Klauvaneset (in Bergen Municipality) and the island of Flatøy (in Alver Municipality) in Vestland county, No ...

on the E39 highway connects the Bergen peninsula to the islands and mainland to the north. There are rail connections along the

Bergen Line The Bergen Line or the Bergen Railway ( no, Bergensbanen or nn, Bergensbana), is a long scenic standard gauge railway line between Bergen and Hønefoss, Norway. The name is often applied for the entire route from Bergen via Drammen to Osl ...

railway that run through the mountain

to Arna from the city center and then on to

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

. Previously there was a railway line from Nesttun and Os, called Nesttun-Os Railway.

Bergen Airport, Flesland Bergen Airport ( nn, Bergen lufthamn; ), alternatively Bergen Flesland Airport or simply Flesland Airport, is an international airport located at Flesland in the city and municipality of Bergen, Vestland, Norway. Opened in 1955, it is the sec ...

, located on the southwestern shore of the peninsula has air connections to other airports in Norway as well as Europe and Asia. This airport serves as main airport for nearly 600,000 people and had five million passengers in 2008.

References

Peninsulas of Vestland Geography of Bergen Bjørnafjorden Samnanger {{Vestland-geo-stub