Kvinnherad
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Kvinnherad 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' ...
in
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 ...
. It is located in the traditional district of
Sunnhordland Sunnhordland is a traditional district in the western region of Norway. The district consists of the southern coastal regions of the old Hordaland county (now part of Vestland county). It includes the areas that surround the mouth of the Harda ...
, along the
Hardangerfjorden The Hardangerfjord () is the fifth longest fjord in the world, and the List of Norwegian fjords, second longest fjord in Norway. It is located in Vestland county in the Hardanger region. The fjord stretches from the Atlantic Ocean into the mou ...
. The municipality was the 5th in size in former
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 ...
county. 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 is the village of Rosendal. The largest village is
Husnes Husnes is the largest village in Kvinnherad municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the southern shore of the Hardangerfjorden on the Folgefonna peninsula, about south of the village of Herøysund and immediately north ...
, with about 6,000 people living in or near the village. Other villages include
Ænes Ænes is a village in Kvinnherad municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the southeastern shore of the Hardangerfjorden at the mouth of the Maurangsfjorden. Ænes Church is located in the village. There has been a c ...
, Ã…kra,
Dimmelsvik Dimmelsvik is a village in Kvinnherad municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the south shore of the Hardangerfjorden, about south of the municipal centre of Rosendal, Norway, Rosendal and about northeast of the villa ...
, Eidsvik, Hatlestrand, Herøysund,
Høylandsbygd Høylandsbygd is a village in Kvinnherad municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the eastern part of the island of Halsnøya. It is one of the largest urban areas on the island, just after Sæbøvik and Eidsvik. Wh ...
,
Ølve Ølve is a village in Kvinnherad municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located along the Kvinnheradsfjorden in the western part of the municipality. It is the site of Ølve Church. Ølve is located near the border with Bjø ...
,
Sæbøvik Sæbøvik is a village in Kvinnherad municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the narrow, western part of the island of Halsnøya, about west of the village of Høylandsbygd and immediately east of the village of Eidsv ...
,
Sunndal Sunndal or Sundal may refer to: Places *Sunndal Municipality, a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway *Sunndal, Vestland, a village in Kvinnherad Municipality in Vestland county, Norway *Sundal Hundred, a hundred in Dalsland, Sweden *Sun ...
, Sunde,
Uskedal Uskedal or Uskedalen is a village in Kvinnherad municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located in a small valley along the southern shore of the Hardangerfjorden, about southwest of the village of Dimmelsvik and about east of t ...
, and Valen. The municipality is the 104th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Kvinnherad is the 93rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 13,058. 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 1.9% over the previous 10-year period. In the southern part of Kvinnherad you will find the typical fjord landscape of
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 ...
. The areas of Mauranger and Rosendal are said to have about the most beautiful fjord landscape of
Hardanger Hardanger is a traditional district in the western part of Norway, dominated by the Hardangerfjord and its inner branches of the Sørfjorden and the Eid Fjord. It consists of the municipalities of Ullensvang, Eidfjord, Ulvik and Kvam, and is ...
as a whole: narrow fjords, wild water-falls, and the nearby
Folgefonna Folgefonna is a collective term for three plateau glaciers in the Hardanger region of Vestland county, Norway. They are located on the Folgefonna peninsula in the municipalities of Ullensvang, Kvinnherad, and Etne. The three glaciers are: * ...
, the third biggest
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 ...
in Norway.


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 ...
of ''Qvindherred'' was established as a municipality 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). On 1 January 1907, a small area northwest of the villages of
Ølve Ølve is a village in Kvinnherad municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located along the Kvinnheradsfjorden in the western part of the municipality. It is the site of Ølve Church. Ølve is located near the border with Bjø ...
and Husa (population: 67) was transferred from neighboring
Tysnes Tysnes () is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sunnhordland. The administrative centre is the village of Uggdal. Other popul ...
municipality to Kvinnherad. 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 1965, the following areas were merged into one large municipality of Kvinnherad: *All of
Skånevik Skånevik is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1965. It included the land surrounding both sides of the Skånevikfjorden and its smaller branches: the Åkr ...
municipality located north of the Skånevikfjorden-
Ã…krafjorden Ã…krafjorden is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the municipalities of Etne and Kvinnherad. The long fjord reaches a maximum depth of . The fjord flows from the southern part of the Folgefonna National Park, draining the ...
and west of the Ã…kra area (population: 1,189) *All of
Fjelberg Fjelberg is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until 1965 when it was dissolved. In 1965, the municipality covered , mostly islands and a small area on the mainland. It encompassed par ...
municipality (population: 2,308) *All of the old Kvinnherad municipality (population: 5,831) *All of
Varaldsøy Varaldsøy is an island (and village) in the municipality of Kvinnherad in Vestland county, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe ...
municipality, except for the Mundheim area, (population: 511) On 1 January 2013, the southwestern part of the Folgefonna peninsula (south of Kysnesstranda) was transferred from Kvinnherad to the neighboring
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 ...
municipality. This removed forty residents and of land area from the municipality.


Name

The municipality (originally 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 ...
) is named after the old name for the area (). The first element may be derived from the word which means "double", likely referring to the two rivers running through Rosendal, 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. The last element is which means "district" or "countryside". The municipal name has been spelled several ways throughout history. Before 1889, the name was written ''Quindherred'', then in 1889 the spelling was "modernized" to ''Kvinnherred''. At that time, all municipalities in Norway were titled (which was used similarly to the word "municipality"), so it was formally named ''Kvinnherred herred'', which looked a little repetitive. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to ''Kvinnherad''.


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 18 June 1982. 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 ''"
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 ...
, a pall wavy azure"'' (). This means the arms have a
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) has 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
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 ...
which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The ordinary is a pall with wavy edges. The design of the arms show the
confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...
of two blue rivers into one on a white or silver background. The rivers symbolize the many
stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...
s and
river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
s in the municipality, especially the Hattebergselvi and the Melselvi, that come together just before they run into the sea at Rosendal. The arms were designed by Truls Nygaard, after a proposal by Magnus Hardeland. 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 nine parishes () within the municipality of Kvinnherad. It is part of the Sunnhordland 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 ...
.


Economy

The economy of Kvinnherad is based on the rich water resources within its boundaries. This includes power production,
aluminium production 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 ...
( Sør-Norge Aluminium),
fish farming Fish farming or pisciculture involves commercial breeding of fish, most often for food, in fish tanks or artificial enclosures such as fish ponds. It is a particular type of aquaculture, which is the controlled cultivation and harvesting of ...
,
shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...
( Eidsvik Skipsbyggeri,
Hellesøy Verft Hellesøy Verft is a small shipyard in Kvinnherad, 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 th ...
, Bergen Group Halsnøy), and lifeboat production ( Umoe Schat-Harding, Norsafe, Eide Marine Tech, Noreq). These industries are spread throughout the municipality. Kvinnherad has two local newspapers, ''
Kvinnheringen ''Kvinnheringen'' is a Norwegian regional newspaper for the Kvinnherad municipality in Vestland county. In print since 1973, it is currently released bi-weekly with more than 7000 readers and a circulation of 4 400 as of January 2021. Since 2003, t ...
'' and '' Grenda'', as well as a local TV channel, TV Sydvest.


Government

Kvinnherad 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 ...
is
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 Haugaland og Sunnhordland 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
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 Kvinnherad is made up of 35 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
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 Kvinnherad: * 1838–1845: Elias Børge Unger * 1846–1849: Christian Lerche Dahl * 1850–1851: Gabriel Andreas Heiberg * 1852–1855: Samson Torsen Stueland * 1856–1857: Christian Lerche Dahl * 1858–1861: Hans H. Helland * 1862–1862: O. Matthiesen * 1862–1865: Ole L. Berget * 1866–1867: Lars Olsen Skeie * 1868–1869: Hans H. Helland * 1870–1873: Clemmet Gerhardsen Roalstveit * 1874–1875: Michael L. Langballe * 1876–1881: Ole Andreas Olsen ( V) * 1882–1885: Godskalk Knudsen Aarsand ( V) * 1886–1893: Andreas Lavik ( MV) * 1894–1898: Ivar Arnesen ( V) * 1899–1916: Axel Lea ( V) * 1917–1941: Ingemar Traavik ( Bp) * 1942–1945: Einar Tvedt ( NS) * 1945–1949: Ingemar Traavik ( Bp) * 1949–1955: Lars Eikeland ( V) * 1956–1959: Magnus Aksnes ( V) * 1960–1963: Knut Skaaluren ( Sp) * 1964–1971: Berge Sæberg ( Sp) * 1972–1975: Jens Arnesen ( H) * 1976–1979: Berge Sæberg ( Sp) * 1980–1985: Jens Arnesen ( H) * 1986–1993: Thorleif J. Hellesøy ( Sp) * 1994–1995: Eirik Meyer Eide ( KrF) * 1995–2003: Aksel Kloster ( Ap) * 2003–2007: Bjarne Berge ( LL) * 2007–2015: Synnøve Solbakken ( Ap) * 2015–2019: Peder Sjo Slettebø ( H) * 2019–2021: Hans Inge Myrvold ( Sp) * 2021–2023: Hilde Enstad ( Ap) * 2023-present: Vegard Bjørnevik ( H)


Geography

The municipality is located along the large
Hardangerfjorden The Hardangerfjord () is the fifth longest fjord in the world, and the List of Norwegian fjords, second longest fjord in Norway. It is located in Vestland county in the Hardanger region. The fjord stretches from the Atlantic Ocean into the mou ...
, mostly on the southeast side of the fjord on the
Folgefonna Folgefonna is a collective term for three plateau glaciers in the Hardanger region of Vestland county, Norway. They are located on the Folgefonna peninsula in the municipalities of Ullensvang, Kvinnherad, and Etne. The three glaciers are: * ...
peninsula, but also a small part on the other side. It includes several notable islands in the fjord including
Varaldsøy Varaldsøy is an island (and village) in the municipality of Kvinnherad in Vestland county, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe ...
, Fjelbergøya, Borgundøya, and
Halsnøy Halsnøya or Halsnøy is an island in Kvinnherad municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island lies between the Hardangerfjorden and Skånevikfjorden. The island has about 2,300 inhabitants (2008) and it is the most populated island in K ...
a. The large
Folgefonna National Park Folgefonna National Park () is a national park in Vestland county, Norway. The park is located on the Folgefonna peninsula, and it spans the municipalities of Kvinnherad, Etne, and Ullensvang. The national park was opened by Queen Sonja on 14 ...
, which surrounds the
Folgefonna Folgefonna is a collective term for three plateau glaciers in the Hardanger region of Vestland county, Norway. They are located on the Folgefonna peninsula in the municipalities of Ullensvang, Kvinnherad, and Etne. The three glaciers are: * ...
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 ...
, is partially located in Kvinnherad. The northern part of the municipality is often referred to as Mauranger. It is the area surrounding the Maurangsfjorden. The notable Bondhusbreen glacier is located just south of that fjord, near the village of
Sunndal Sunndal or Sundal may refer to: Places *Sunndal Municipality, a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway *Sunndal, Vestland, a village in Kvinnherad Municipality in Vestland county, Norway *Sundal Hundred, a hundred in Dalsland, Sweden *Sun ...
. The Jondal Tunnel and
Folgefonna Tunnel The Folgefonna Tunnel () is a long road tunnel in Vestland county, Norway. The tunnel connects the village of Eitrheim and the town of Odda at the head of Sørfjorden in Ullensvang Municipality to the village of Austrepollen at the head of M ...
both connect Mauranger with neighboring
Odda Odda () is a list of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the old Hordaland counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1913 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into Ullensvang Municipality i ...
and
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 ...
by cutting through the large mountains surrounding Mauranger. The municipality has many large lakes including
Blådalsvatnet Blådalsvatnet is a glacial lake in the municipality of Kvinnherad in Vestland county, Norway. The lake lies just outside the Folgefonna National Park, about north of the village of Indre Matre. The lake is formed by the glacial runoff from ...
, Juklavatnet, and Onarheimsvatnet. Many of these lakes are utilized for hydroelectric power generation.


Population


Tourism and places of interest

Kvinnherad is a popular
tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...
location because of its natural landscape as well as several places of interest. The most notable of which include Kvinnherad Church, the Bondhusbreen glacier, the shipping mural in
Høylandsbygd Høylandsbygd is a village in Kvinnherad municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the eastern part of the island of Halsnøya. It is one of the largest urban areas on the island, just after Sæbøvik and Eidsvik. Wh ...
, and Radiohola. Rosendal, 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, is the site of the greatest tourist attraction in Kvinnherad: the Barony Rosendal. The Barony is the only one of its kind in Norway. It is a museum, which offers valuable information about the Union with Denmark, an important period of Norwegian history. It was one of the locations of the 1958 film "The Vikings" starring Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh and Ernest Borgnine. Many of the citizens of Kvinnherad/Hardanger, Norway were used as extras.


Media gallery

File:Rosendal kirke.jpg, Kvinnherad Church in Rosendal File:Rosendal castle west.png, The Barony Rosendal File:Husnes.jpg,
Husnes Husnes is the largest village in Kvinnherad municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the southern shore of the Hardangerfjorden on the Folgefonna peninsula, about south of the village of Herøysund and immediately north ...
and the
Hardangerfjord The Hardangerfjord () is the fifth longest fjord in the world, and the second longest fjord in Norway. It is located in Vestland county in the Hardanger region. The fjord stretches from the Atlantic Ocean into the mountainous interior of No ...
File:Bondhusbreen.jpg, Bondhusbreen glacier File:Hardangerfjord Kvinnherad.JPG, View from Gjermundshamn across the
Hardangerfjord The Hardangerfjord () is the fifth longest fjord in the world, and the second longest fjord in Norway. It is located in Vestland county in the Hardanger region. The fjord stretches from the Atlantic Ocean into the mountainous interior of No ...
, with
Varaldsøy Varaldsøy is an island (and village) in the municipality of Kvinnherad in Vestland county, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe ...
island and
Folgefonna Folgefonna is a collective term for three plateau glaciers in the Hardanger region of Vestland county, Norway. They are located on the Folgefonna peninsula in the municipalities of Ullensvang, Kvinnherad, and Etne. The three glaciers are: * ...
glacier


Notable people

*
Axel Gyntersberg Axel Gyntersberg (c. 1525 – 1588) was a Norwegian nobleman and feudal overlord. Gyntersberg (also referred to as ''Axel Gyntersberg til Mel'') was the son of Heinrich Güntersberg and Kirsten Lagesdatter Ref. His exact birthplace is not know ...
(ca.1525 – 1588 in Kvinnherad), a Norwegian nobleman and feudal overlord * Johannes Lauritsson (ca.1540 – ca.1620), a wealthy Norwegian landowner who lived Valen 1563–1578 * Axel Rosenkrantz (1670 in Kvinnherad – 1723), a landowner and baron who owned the Barony Rosendal * Andreas Lavik (1854–1918), a revivalist, temperance advocate, magazine editor, farmer, headmaster, and politician who lived in Kvinnherad from 1885 where he was Mayor for eight years * Jens Tvedt (1857 in Kvinnherad – 1935), a Norwegian novelist and writer of short stories * Gisle Midttun (1881 in Kvinnherad – 1940), a Norwegian cultural historian and museologist * Olav Midttun (1883 in Mauranger – 1972), a philologist, biographer, and magazine editor *
Ragnvald Vaage Ragnvald Vaage (29 April 1889 – 27 June 1966) was a Norwegian poet, novelist and children's writer. Biography He was born at Husnes in Kvinnherad, Norway. His parents were Ola Larsson Vaage (1844–97) and Ragnhild Larsdotter Oppsanger (1855â ...
(1889 in Husnes – 1966), a Norwegian poet, novelist, and children's writer * Sigurd Valvatne DSO DSC (born 1913 in Kvinnherad), a naval officer and submariner * Frank Meidell Falch (1920 in Kvinnherad – 2013), a Norwegian media director and politician * Egil Myklebust (born 1942 in Kvinnherad), a businessperson, lawyer, and CEO of
SAS Group SAS AB, trading as SAS Group, is a Swedish airline holding company headquartered in Solna Municipality, Sweden. It is the owner of the airlines Scandinavian Airlines, SAS Link, and SAS Connect. As of 2024, SAS Group is owned by a group of s ...
*
Lars Amund Vaage Lars Amund Vaage was born in 1952 at Sunde, Kvinnherad on the west coast of Norway, and studied classical piano at the Bergen Music Conservatory. He made his literary debut in 1979 with the novel ''Exercise Cold Winter'', and has since published ...
(born 1952 at Sunde), a novelist * Endre Hellestveit (born 1976 in Rosendal), a Norwegian actor. Retrieved 26 October 2020. * Hans Inge Myrvold (born 1985), a Norwegian politician and mayor of Kvinnherad in 2019 * Erlend Bratland (born 1991 in Husnes), a Norwegian singer who won
Norske Talenter ''Norske Talenter'' (English: ''Norway’s Got Talent'', ''Norwegian Talents'') is a Norwegian talent show with a similar format to '' Britain's Got Talent,'' making it one of the ''Got Talent'' franchise programmes. The 16-year-old singer E ...
in 2008


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 ...
* http://www.kvinnherad.kommune.no * http://www.baroniet.uio.no
Kvinnheradguiden.no

Kvinnheringen.no

Grenda.no

Innsida.no

Husnes Ungdomsskule
{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Municipalities of Vestland 1838 establishments in Norway