Salhusfjorden is a long

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 ...

and sound between

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 ...

and

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 ...

. To the west, it starts between the villages of Salhus and

Frekhaug Frekhaug is a village in Alver Municipality, located in Vestland county, Norway. The village sits at the southern tip of the island of Holsnøy. Prior to 2020, the village was the administrative centre of the old municipality of Meland. The vi ...

, where the Byfjorden meets the Herdlefjorden. To the east, the fjord ends between the village of

Knarvik Knarvik (or Knarrviki) is the administrative centre of Alver Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the mainland, about straight north of Bergen (city), Bergen at the confluence of four fjords: Osterfjorden (heading ...

and the Hordvikneset peninsula, where the

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 ...

runs northeast, the Sørfjorden runs southeast, 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 ...

runs north. The fjord is up to deep. It acts as one of the borders between the districts of

Midhordland Midhordland or Midthordland is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in the Vestlandet region of Norway. It consists of the central-west portion of the old Hordaland county (now part of Vestland county), mostly including the islands and coa ...

to the south and

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 ...

to the north. The islands of Holsnøy and Flatøy lie along the northern side of the fjord. Salhusfjorden is crossed by the Nordhordland Bridge, a combined pontoon and cable stayed

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

. Because of the depth, the bridge lacks lateral anchorage. The bridge, which carries

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 ...

, was opened on 22 September 1994. It is the second-longest bridge in Norway. The fjord takes its name from the village area of Salhus, which during the

Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

in the early 12th century there was an inn (known at the time as a ''sáluhus''), which would give name to the place. It acted as a

transport hub A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between mode of transport, transport modes. Public transport hubs include train station, railway stations, metro station, rapid transit stations, bus ...

for Nordhordland, and was a small market town. It was one of the first industrialized places when a hosiery manufacturer was established here in 1859. Previously, there were two ferry crossings of the Salhusfjorden. Starting on 7 July 1936, a ferry service ran between the villages of Isdalstø and Steinestø. In 1956, the ferry on the Nordhordland side moved to

, and it was the most trafficked ferry service in the country before the bridge opened in 1994. At first operated by Fergetrafikk, from 1967 it was run by

Bergen Nordhordland Rutelag Bergen Nordhordland Rutelag is a Norway, Norwegian company based in Vestland. The company operates a small fleet of ferry, ferries. History BNR It has roots back to 1880 when Lindaas-Masfjorden Dampskibsselskap was created. The company was fou ...

. Until 1984, there was also a ferry crossing between Salhus and Frekhaug, operated by the same company.Styve (1994): 46

References

{{Authority control Fjords of Vestland Alver (municipality) Geography of Bergen

See also

References