Knarvik (or Knarrviki) 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 ...

Alver Municipality Alver is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordhordland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Knarvik. Other villages include Alversund, Alver, Isdalstø, Lind� ...

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,

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 is located on the mainland, about straight north of

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 ...

at the confluence of four

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 ...

Osterfjorden Osterfjorden is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. The fjord is one of three fjords surrounding the island of Osterøy. The fjord runs along the municipal border of Alver and Osterøy municipalities. The fjord begins at the Romarheimsfjorde ...

(heading east), Sørfjorden (heading southeast),

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 eas ...

(heading southwest), and the

Radfjorden Radfjorden is a fjord in Alver Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The long fjord runs between the islands of Radøy and Holsnøy. The northwestern end of the fjord is called the ''Mangerfjorden'' and it flows out into the Hjeltefjorden ...

(heading northwest). The village of Isdalstø lies immediately north of Knarvik. The village has a population (2019) of 5,875 and a

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 ...

of . This makes it the largest settlement in the

Nordhordland Nordhordland is a traditional district in the western part of Norway. The district consists of the northern portion of the old Hordaland county (now in Vestland county), north of the city of Bergen. It includes the municipalities Alver, Aus ...

district of Vestland. Amfi KnarvikA

The centre of the village is the site of the Knarvik Senter, the largest shopping centre in Nordhordland with 61 stores. 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 (city), Trondheim, to Aalborg via Bergen, Stavanger and Kristiansand. In total, there are nine ferries, more than any other ...

highway runs straight through the village dividing it into two major parts. The northern part is where the large shopping mall is located while the southern part is still in its original state with scattered buildings and shops. Knarvik has several kindergartens, a junior high school, and a regional high school (

Knarvik vidaregåande skule Knarvik Upper Secondary School (in Norwegian language, Norwegian, Knarvik vidaregåande skule) is a high school located on Knarvik in Lindås, 30 km north of Bergen in Norway. The school is one of the largest in Hordaland, with over 950 pupils ...

) with more than 1,000 students. The newly built Knarvik Church was completed in 2014 to serve the growing community. Before its completion, residents had to travel up to Alversund Church in the village of Alversund, located about to the north.

Transportation

In recent years population and traffic have increased creating demand for an upgrade of the infrastructure. Rush hour traffic is an increasingly common sight. Today, Knarvik is connected with

Bergen Municipality 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 ...

to the south via the

Hagelsund Bridge The Hagelsund Bridge () is a suspension bridge in Alver Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The bridge connects the island of Flatøy with the village of Knarvik on the mainland. The length of the bridge is . The length of the main span, i. ...

(finished 1982) and the

Nordhordland Bridge The Nordhordland Bridge () 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, Norway. It is long, of whic ...

(finished 1994). The car ferry connection between Knarvik and Bergen (Knarvik – Steinestø), which historically transported cars and people between the two places was in use up until the completion of the Nordhordland Bridge. That ferry connection was at one time carrying more vehicles than any other car ferry connection in

References

{{use dmy dates, date=June 2020 Villages in Vestland Alver (municipality)