Bremanger is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

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 A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

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 ...

. The village of Svelgen is the

administrative centre An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgi ...

of the municipality. Other villages include Bremanger,

Berle Berle is a village on the west coast of Norway. It is located on the eastern coast of Bremangerlandet island in the municipality of Bremanger in Vestland county. The village lies along the Berlepollen fjord, a small inlet off the Frøysjøen ...

, Davik, Isane,

Kalvåg Kalvåg is a village in Bremanger Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the southeast side of the island of Frøya, Bremanger, Frøya on the coast along the Frøysjøen strait, the southern entrance to the Nordfjorden (Vestland ...

, Svelgen, Rugsund, and

Ålfoten Ålfoten is a village in Bremanger Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located along the Ålfotfjorden, a branch of the main Nordfjorden and has a population of about 200. The village has an elementary school, a grocery st ...

. Bremanger is the only municipality in Vestland, which is located in two districts. The northern and eastern parts comprising the villages of Oldeide, Berle, Rugsund, Davik, Isane, and Ålfoten is located in the

Nordfjord Nordfjord (—in contrast to Sunnfjord) is a traditional district in Vestland county, Norway. Geography The region is located in the northern part of Vestland county in Western Norway. It centers on the Nordfjorden and it comprises Stad Muni ...

region, while the villages of Bremanger, Kalvåg, Svelgen, Sørgulen, and Botnane are located in the

Sunnfjord Sunnfjord ( - in contrast to Nordfjord) is a traditional district in Western Norway located in Vestland county. It includes the municipalities of Askvoll, Fjaler, the southernmost parts of Kinn, Sunnfjord, and the southernmost parts of Brem ...

region. Politically, the municipality works with the Nordfjord region in the council of Nordfjord municipalities. Bremanger has many

tourist destination A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beau ...

s such as Kalvåg, which has one of the largest and best-kept waterfront environment in the county, the Grotlesanden ocean beach, the

Hornelen Hornelen is a mountain in Bremanger municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The mountain sits on the eastern end of the island of Bremangerlandet, along the Frøysjøen strait, in the Nordfjord region of Norway. At , it is the highest sea clif ...

mountain, with the tallest sea cliff in Northern Europe, Rock carvings at Vingen, and the old trading stations of Rugsund and Smørhavn. The Bortne Tunnel was completed in 2013 to more easily connect the outer islands of Bremanger to the municipal centre of Svelgen. The Skatestraum Tunnel and Rugsund Bridge connect the islands to the mainland. The municipality is the 138th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Bremanger is the 215th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 3,482. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

is and its population has decreased by 11.7% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

Kinn Kinn is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It was established on 1 January 2020. It is in the traditional districts of Nordfjord and Sunnfjord. The municipality is the only non-contiguous municipality in Norway since the municipality ...

was established as a

on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () was the name of a Norwegian self-governing municipality. The name was used from the establishment these municipalities in 1838 until the name fell out of use in 1863. The municipalities had their legal basis from two laws enacted on 14 Jan ...

law). The northern district of Kinn was established as the

''(prestegjeld)'' of Bremanger within the municipality of Kinn in 1864. On 1 January 1866, the parish of Bremanger was established as a separate municipality with a population of 1,852. The Bremanger parish was sub-divided into new sub-parishes in the early 1900s. Midtgulen sub-parish was created in 1903 and Bremangerpollen in 1908. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee () was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a ...

. On 1 January 1964, the Husefest and Breivik farms were transferred from Bremanger to the neighboring municipality of

Flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

. On 1 January 1965, the neighboring municipality of Davik was dissolved and most of it was transferred to Bremanger. All of Davik south of the Nordfjorden and all the islands except Husevågøy, Grindøy, Gangsøy, and Risøy were merged into Bremanger. This added 1,567 residents to the population of Bremanger, bringing the new total to 5,600. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly created

county after

Sogn og Fjordane Sogn og Fjordane (; literally "Parish and the Fjords") was a Counties of Norway, county in western Norway, from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, after it was merged to become part of Vestland county. Bordering previous counties Møre og Romsda ...

and

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Munici ...

counties were merged.

Name

The municipality (originally the

) is named after the local ''Bremangerpollen'' fjord (). The first element is which means " breaker wave" or "heavy sea". The last element is which means "

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

" or "

inlet An inlet is a typically long and narrow indentation of a shoreline such as a small arm, cove, bay, sound, fjord, lagoon or marsh, that leads to an enclosed larger body of water such as a lake, estuary, gulf or marginal sea. Overview In ...

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

was granted on 24 October 1986. The official

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

is ''"Quartered

embowed Embowed () is a term in heraldry and architecture which means: *''curved like a bow'' (when applied to fish, animals or heraldic charges) *''bent'' (when applied to the human arm or leg), or *''having an arch or arches'' but, in the Anglophone h ...

azure and

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

"'' (). This means the arms have are divided into four

wave In physics, mathematics, engineering, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from List of types of equilibrium, equilibrium) of one or more quantities. ''Periodic waves'' oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium ...

s. The

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

(background) alternates between the four waves. The top and bottom waves have a

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

of blue and the other two waves have a tincture of

which means they are commonly colored white, but if the arms are made out of metal, then silver is used. The arms symbolize the

sea A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...

and

hydro-electric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and also ...

, both of which are of great economic importance to the municipality. The arms were designed by Inge Rotevatn. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

has seven parishes () within the municipality of Bremanger. It is part of the Nordfjord prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...

) in the

Diocese of Bjørgvin The Diocese of Bjørgvin () is one of the 11 dioceses that make up the Church of Norway. It includes all of the churches located in the county of Vestland in Western Norway, and those outside of Norway in the Seamen's Church. The cathedral cit ...

Government

Bremanger Municipality is responsible for

primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

senior citizen Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

services,

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

and other

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

zoning In urban planning, zoning is a method in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into land-use "zones", each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for ...

economic development In economics, economic development (or economic and social development) is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and object ...

, and municipal

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

s and utilities. The municipality is governed by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

of directly elected representatives. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

indirectly elected An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting,'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office ( direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the o ...

by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Sogn og Fjordane District Court and the

Gulating Court of Appeal The Gulating Court of Appeal () is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Bergen. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Vestland and Rogaland plus Sirdal Municipality in Agder county ...

Municipal council

The

() of Bremanger is made up of 23 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

Mayors

The

of a municipality in Norway is a representative of the majority party of the municipal council who is elected to lead the council. The

mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

() of Bremanger: *1866-1869: Rasmus Andreas Lexau *1870-1871: Gullak Vindspoll *1872-1873: Nils Øvrebotten *1874-1875: Absalon Gulestøl *1876-1879: Nils Øvrebotten *1880-1880: Eilert O. Nøttingnes *1881-1881: Didrik Lexau *1882-1890: Eilert O. Nøttingnes *1891-1891: Anders Hauge *1892-1896: Abraham N. Øvrebotnen *1897-1898: Didrik Lexau *1898–1913: Kristofer Indrehus ( V) *1913-1913: Didrik Værøy *1914-1914: Augustinus Nordbotten *1915-1916: Didrik Værøy *1917-1919: Augustinus Nordbotten *1920-1928: Henrik Grotle *1929-1941: Alf Torvanger *1945-1951: Alf Torvanger *1952-1959: Reidar Torvanger *1960–1965: Mons Monsen ( Ap) *1966–1967: Alf Bakke ( LL) *1968–1979: Abraham Øvrebotten ( Ap) *1980–1981: Bjarne Haugland ( V) *1982–1988: Svein Kåre Senneset ( Ap) *1988–1996: Roar Førde ( H) *1996–2004: Einar Kjerpeset ( Sp) *2004–2011: Kåre Olav Svarstad ( Ap) *2011–2015: Karl Vidar Førde ( Sp) *2015–2019: Audun Åge Røys ( H) *2019–present: Anne Kristin Førde ( Ap)

Geography

Bremanger is located along the south side of the Nordfjorden. Most of the municipality is on the mainland, but there are many islands that are also part of the municipality including Bremangerlandet, Rugsundøya, and Frøya, the three largest. These islands are separated from the mainland by the

Frøysjøen Frøysjøen is a fjord (or more accurately, a strait) in Bremanger Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The fjord is about long and between wide. The fjord runs on a northeast–southwest axis between the mainland of Norway (on the east) a ...

strait. Bremanger is bordered to the north by the municipalities of

Vågsøy Vågsøy is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It was located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The municipality's administrative center was the town Måløy. Other population centers in Vågsøy included ...

and Eid (across the fjord), to the east by

Gloppen Gloppen 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 Nordfjord. Gloppen is generally subdivided into three areas: Hyen ...

, to the south by

, and to the west by the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

. The Frøysjøen is the sea between the mainland and the main islands of Bremangerlandet and Frøya. The Gulen fjord branches off of the Frøysjøen, and that fjord splits off into the Nordgulen, Midtgulen, and Sørgulen. On the east end of the municipality is the Isefjord and Ålfotfjorden. Valleys in the municipality include the Førdedalen.

Industry

Elkem Bremanger is the largest company in Bremanger. The company's own

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

facility provides good and regular connections with the main ports of Norway and the rest of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Elkem Bremanger has specialized in the manufacturing of

silicon Silicon is a chemical element; it has symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic lustre, and is a tetravalent metalloid (sometimes considered a non-metal) and semiconductor. It is a membe ...

metal,

ferrosilicon Ferrosilicon is an ferroalloy, alloy of iron and silicon. It has a typical silicon content of 15–90% by weight and a high proportion of iron silicides. Production and reactions Ferrosilicon is produced by reduction of silica or sand with coke ...

, and specialty inoculants. Silicon metals are primarily used in

electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...

solar Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...

, and

aluminium Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

industries. The variety of Elkem Bremanger's operations shows the importance it places on both tradition and looking toward the future. The expansion of

hydropower Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...

resources began in 1917, while the first

pig iron Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate good used by the iron industry in the production of steel. It is developed by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with si ...

production began in 1928. The company then developed and patented several of its production processes, and today manufactures metallurgic products and

chemicals A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...

for the world market. Much has happened since 1917, but the company is still known for its developmental know-how and state-of-the-art

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

Attractions

Tongane Coastal Fortress

Tongane Coastal Fortress lies on the western end of the island of Rugsundøya near the mouth of the Nordfjorden. This is one of the largest

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

s which was built in Norway during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The coastal fort was attacked under the well-known

Måløy Måløy () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in the List of municipalities of Norway, municipality of Kinn in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the southeastern side of the Vågsøy (island), island of Vågsøy, about northea ...

raid, Operation Archery, during

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

1941. The majority of the fortification still remains, among other the main

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

s and soldier's

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

. The fort at Rugsundøy is situated with a good view over the approach to the town of

and the entrance to Nordfjorden.

Ålfotbreen Glacier

The Ålfotbreen

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

, the westernmost

, is located at an elevation of above sea level. Ålfotbreen Glacier can be reached by foot on marked footpaths or walking with a guide. Ålfotbreen Glacier can be seen from the road in the village of

. The

Gjegnalundsbreen The Gjegnalundsbreen glacier is located in Vestland county, Norway. The glacier sits on the borders of the municipalities of Bremanger and Gloppen. The glacier sits on the eastern side of the tall mountain Blånibba, inside the Ålfotbreen ...

glacier lies northeast of the Ålfotbreen glacier.

Hornelen

The legendary mountain

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff or rock face is an area of Rock (geology), rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. ...

is situated straight across the fjord from Vingen rock carving site. Many

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...

s are linked to this mountain which is Europe's tallest sea cliff. It raises over the sea and is a good

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...

for ships. Over the centuries, it has been a well-known sailing mark. The trip to the top of Hornelen takes approximately 3 hours from Hunskår, or 4 hours from Berleneset.

Kalvåg

The fishing village of

is the largest and best preserved fishing village in

Western Norway Western Norway (; ) is the Regions of Norway, region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the Counties of Norway, counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrative fu ...

. In 1860, there were thousands of people working in the large

herring Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...

fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farm ...

. Today, approximately 500 people live there. Vamråkbuene is situated in Kalvåg. During the large herring fisheries in the middle of the 18th century, thousands of fishermen visited Kalvåg. Vamråkbuene represents one part of the trading life that the herring fisheries created, and today it is part of the Coastal

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

Myklebust Farm

At the Myklebust hill farm, there is still a working

hill farm Hill farming or Terrace Farming, terrace farming is an extensive farming in Highland (geography), upland areas, primarily rearing sheep, although historically cattle were often reared extensively in Upland pasture, upland areas. Fell farming is t ...

. The hill farm in

is authentic and unique in this part of Norway. Many of the local hill farms have stopped running and following the tradition of moving the

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

to the hill farms in the summer.

Rugsund

The islands of Storøya and Litleøya (Big island and Little island) lie in the sound, providing shelter for the old trading post at Rugsund. The excellent, sheltered

harbour A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be Mooring, moored. The t ...

centrally located beside the inner shipping fairway along the coast was popular with seafarers. Today, the harbour is very popular with boat

tourists Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

who have seriously begun to discover the attractions of this peaceful, idyllic harbour.
Rugsund Handelsstad
is a preserved

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

dated back to the 17th century. The historical and restored buildings are clustered around the edge of the sea.

Smørhavn Handelstad

Smørhamn Handelstad (Old Trading Post) is from the 16th century and has been an important junction point for

clipper A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed. The term was also retrospectively applied to the Baltimore clipper, which originated in the late 18th century. Clippers were generally narrow for their len ...

s and cutters (sailing boats) between Nordfjord and

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

. The

was important to

fishermen A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishermen may be professional or recr ...

and to local inhabitants in the area. Here you could buy everything from sharpening stones, pins, syrup to soap, together with beer and distilled spirits. In 1790, there were approximately 30 houses in Smørhamn. Today, there are a few boat houses and houses. Presently, Smørhamn Handelstad is privately owned and not open to tourists. You can see the trading post from the road and from the sea approximately 4 km from the centre of

Vingen

The Rock carvings at Vingen is one of the largest rock carving sites in

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

. Animal carvings, human figures, and many other abstract symbols are sketched on the mountains. The oldest dates back 4,500 years. In all, more than 1,500 figures are registered. Vingen has probably been a

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

ist meeting place in the region for thousands of years.

Botnane

If you stop at the grave mounds at Botnane you get a feeling of the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

. There are altogether 8 mounds dating back to early

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

and Bronze Age. Because some of them are so large, it's easy to see them from the road.

Historic churches

Ålfoten Church

Ålfoten Church Ålfoten Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Bremanger Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Ålfoten, very close to the shore of the Ålfotfjorden. It is the church for the Ålfoten parish ...

is the oldest wooden church in Nordfjord. The log timber church was built in 1610 on the site of an earlier

stave church A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts ...

. In the small church, its history is still on the walls, which is a testimony to life and destiny of the remote

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

through the ages.

Rugsund Church

Rugsund Church was built at the beginning of the 1930s. It is a very interesting church and is rich in decoration with wall paintings,

Mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

glass, and carvings. The church was designed by Hans Ditlev F. Linstow. It is often said to be the most beautiful church in Nordfjord. Vetvika Bremanger

Vicarage

The poet-priest Claus Frimann lived and worked in Davik. Frimann (1780–1822) established a reading room for the village's young men and women. But he didn't just carry out unselfish activities. In his official capacity he also looked after the large estate and was also known to be rather zealous in collection of debts and land taxes. Frimann is best known as a "poet priest" and he has often been mentioned in the same connection as Petter Dass. The

vicarage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or Minister (Christianity), ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of n ...

is situated on the priest's farm estate. Here you can see a memorial column to Claus Frimann at the church.

Beaches

Grotlesanden is one of the largest sandy

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

es in outer Bremanger. Here there is silky soft

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

as far as the eye can see. Vetvika is situated on the north-western side of Bremangerlandet island. Vetvika is accessible only by boat or foot. Vetvika has a beautiful sandy beach and an old graveyard. Vetvika is deserted since the 1950s, but the houses still remain well kept as holiday houses. The largest farm in Bremanger in early times was the farm Solheim at Vetvika. The farm is situated on the northern side of Vetvika.

Notable people

* Nikolai Astrup (1880–1928), a distinctive, innovative painter with intense use of colour * Arvid Eikevik (1935–2015), a Norwegian painter * Bjørg Hope Galtung (born 1942), a Norwegian politician and Mayor of

Jondal Jondal is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1863 until its dissolution in 2020 when it became part of Ullensvang Municipality in Vestland county. It ...

from 1979-1993 * Åge Nigardsøy (1954–2008), a disability rights activist, hobby drummer, and former piano tuner

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway (, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every year on its web site. All rele ...

{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Municipalities of Vestland 1866 establishments in Norway