Fana is a
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle ...
of the city of
Bergen
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...
in
Vestland
Vestland is a 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 city of Bergen, whe ...
county,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a 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 Jan Mayen and t ...
. The borough makes up the southeastern part of the municipality of Bergen. The borough was once part of the historic municipality of
Fana which was incorporated into Bergen in 1972. The old municipality was much larger than the present-day borough of Fana. It also included all of the present-day boroughs of
Ytrebygda
Ytrebygda is a borough of the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. The borough is the site of Bergen Flesland Airport.
Location
Ytrebygda is located southwest of the city center, south of the Grimstadfjorden and the lake Nordåsvannet. It ...
and
Fyllingsdalen as well as the southern part of the present-day boroughs of
Ã…rstad. As of 1 January 2012, Fana had a population of 39,216.
Toponymy
"The name is really
farm name, in
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
''fani'', which probably means
swampland
A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
or ''myrlende''" (or
fen
A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires. T ...
), according to the ''
Store norske leksikon
The ''Great Norwegian Encyclopedia'' ( no, Store Norske Leksikon, abbreviated ''SNL''), is a Norwegian-language online encyclopedia.
The online encyclopedia is among the most-read Norwegian published sites, with more than two million unique vis ...
''.
Geography
Fana is the geographically largest of the city's boroughs, with an area of . Most major industries in Fana are located near the neighborhood of
Nesttun
Nesttun is an urban settlement in the borough of Fana in the municipality of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. It is located approximately south of the city centre. It was the centre of the old Fana municipality, which merged with Bergen in 1 ...
(which was the
administrative centre
An administrative center 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 administrative language (such as Belgium, L ...
of the old Fana municipality). The northeastern part is dominated by residential areas, being home to the majority of the borough's population, while the rest of the borough contains mostly forest, mountains, some farmland, in addition to a few settlements. The mountain
Livarden lies along the northeastern boundary of the borough.
Villages and neighborhoods
The villages and neighborhoods in the borough include:
Fanahammeren
Fanahammeren or Fanahammaren is a residential village area at the eastern end of the Fanafjorden in the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. Fanahammeren lies about south of the city centre.
The village area was the administrative cent ...
,
Nattland,
Nesttun
Nesttun is an urban settlement in the borough of Fana in the municipality of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. It is located approximately south of the city centre. It was the centre of the old Fana municipality, which merged with Bergen in 1 ...
,
Paradis,
Nordvåg,
Skjold, and
Krokvåg.
Landmarks
Gamlehaugen
Gamlehaugen is a Royal Castle in Bergen, Norway, and the residence of the Norwegian Royal Family in the city. Gamlehaugen has a history that goes as far back as the Middle Ages, and the list of previous owners includes many of the wealthiest men ...
is located by the lake
Nordåsvannet in northern Fana, south of the present-day
Fjøsanger residential area. The mansion is the residence of the
Royal Family
A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term p ...
in Bergen, and is surrounded by a park. It was commissioned by
Christian Michelsen, a shipping magnate and later
Prime Minister of Norway, in 1899, and he lived there until his death in 1925. While the park is open to the public at almost all times, the building is only open for a few hours a day in the summer and receives about 2000 visitors a year.
Hop is the location of
Troldhaugen, a museum and home of the composer
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...
1885-1907.
A replica of the
Fantoft Stave Church has been located in Fana since 1997. The original was built in 1150 and it burned down in 1992, 109 years after it was moved to Bergen in 1883.
Fana Church
Fana Church ( no, Fana Kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Bergen Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in Fanahammeren, a village in the borough of Fana in the city of Bergen. It is one of the two churches for th ...
is a more recently built church that is used for most church functions in the area.
Culture
Fashion
The Fanakofte is an old
cardigan (sweater) pattern.
Food
The "Fanaost" gouda cheese won
World Cheese Awards
The Guild of Fine Food (GFF) is a British family-owned industry journal publisher that covers gourmet food news. It was founded by Bob Farrand in 1992.
All five directors are members of the Farrand family. Bob Farrand is the chairman, his son ...
in 2018.
Sport
Sports teams include
IL Gneist,
IL Bjarg and
Fana IL and the athletics club
FIK BFG Fana
Friidrettsklubben BFG Fana is a Norwegian athletics club from Fana in Bergen, founded in 1987 as an umbrella team for Bjarg, Fana and Gneist.
BFG Fana uses the Fana stadion, and hosted the Bislett Games in 2004.
Among its most prominent members ...
.
Choirs
Choirs include Sola Fide, Fana Mannskor, Korall.
Transport

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 ...
highway passes through the borough of Fana. From the border with Årstad borough (north of Fjøsanger) to the neighborhood of Hop, the E39 highway is the 4-lane
dual carriageway
A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
called ''Fritz C. Riebers veg''. At Hop, the E39 highway branches off from the 4-lane road and passes through two tunnels on its way to the village of Nesttun, where-from it continues southwestwards through
Valla and
Kaland before entering the neighboring municipality of
Os. From Hop, Fritz C. Riebers veg continues southwards as
Rv 580 to
Lagunen Storsenter.
Prior to the construction of ''Fritz C. Riebers veg'', the main road between central Bergen and Fana had been Fv 582, which passes through Storetveit, Paradis, Hop, Nesttun and Skjold from Årstad borough to Lagunen Storsenter. Other significant roads include Rv 546 from Lagunen Storsenter through Fanahammeren to Krokvåg, Fv 585 from
Landås in Årstad through
Nattland to Paradis,
Fv 163 over
Fanafjellet to Nordvik, and Fv 183 past
Bjøllebotn to
Myrdal.
Due to the insufficient standard of E39, the main road between Bergen and Os and
Stavanger
Stavanger (, , US usually , ) is a city and municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the administrative center of Rogaland county. T ...
, plans have been prepared for a new 4-lane road southwards from Bergen. The new road, which will branch off from Fritz C. Riebers veg north of Lagunen, will be funded partly by toll revenue.
As elsewhere in Bergen, the bus service in Fana is operated by
Tide Buss.
Education
In Fana, there are 13
elementary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
s, three
lower secondary schools, two combined elementary/lower secondary schools, one
special school
Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...
, and 3
upper secondary school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondar ...
s in Fana. With the exception of the upper secondary schools (which are administered by Hordaland county), all the schools are owned and administered by Bergen municipality.
Notable people
*
Kygo
Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll (born 11 September 1991), known professionally as Kygo (), is a Norwegian DJ and music producer. He garnered international attention with his December 2013 remix of the track " I See Fire" by Ed Sheeran and his December 20 ...
*Nordahl Grieg
*
Alan Walker
*
Erna Solberg
*Stig Van Eijk
References
{{use dmy dates, date=June 2020
Boroughs of Bergen