Solvorn
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Solvorn is a village in
Luster Municipality Luster is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located at the end of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative centre is the village of Gaupne. Other villages in Luster include Fortun, Hafslo, Indre ...
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 ...
. The village is located on the western shore of the
Lustrafjorden The Sognefjord or Sognefjorden (, ), nicknamed the King of the Fjords (), is the list of Norwegian fjords, longest and deepest fjord in Norway. Located in Vestland county in Western Norway, it stretches inland from the ocean to the small village ...
, the innermost part of the
Sognefjorden The Sognefjord or Sognefjorden (, ), nicknamed the King of the Fjords (), is the longest and deepest fjord in Norway. Located in Vestland county in Western Norway, it stretches inland from the ocean to the small village of Skjolden in the muni ...
. The village sits directly across the fjord from the village of Ornes, where the famous 12th-century
Urnes Stave Church Urnes Stave Church () is a 12th-century stave church at Ornes, along the Lustrafjorden in the municipality of Luster in Vestland county, Norway. The church sits on the eastern side of the fjord, directly across the fjord from the village of ...
is located. The village of
Hafslo Hafslo is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1963. It is located in the present-day Luster Municipality (in Vestland county) in the traditional distric ...
lies about to the northwest. The village is the site of the historic Walaker Hotel, dating back to about 1650. Solvorn Church, built in 1883, is located in the village. There has been a regular ferry route from Solvorn to Ornes, across the fjord, since 1859. From 1963 until 1990, there was also a regular ferry route from Solvorn to
Årdalstangen Årdalstangen is the administrative centre of Årdal Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is one of the two main population centers in the municipality, along with the village of Øvre Årdal. The village has a population (2019 ...
, about down the fjord. Solvorn has a long history as a trade center, a church site, a courthouse site, and it was the seat of the district magistrate for Inner
Sogn Sogn is a traditional district in Western Norway (''Vestlandet''). It is located in the county of Vestland, surrounding the Sognefjord, the largest/longest fjord in Norway. The district of Sogn consists of the municipalities of Aurland, Balestra ...
. The village has had a church since the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, the first time Solvorn Church is mentioned in historical records is in the 14th century. Solvorn was a natural place to go to for all the people who lived around the lake
Hafslovatnet Hafslovatnet is a lake in the municipality of Luster in Vestland county, Norway. The lake lies at an elevation of , has a surface area of , and a water volume of . It serves as a reservoir for the hydroelectric power station in Årøy. The prim ...
and its surrounding villages when they would sell or buy anything. The village had its heyday when the fjord was the main thoroughfare for transportation for the region. Since that time, car transportation has become more important that fjord travel, and the Norwegian County Road 55 was built on the other side of the mountains, closer to Hafslo, so Solvorn is no longer located along the main transportation route. Solvorn received a post office in 1841 and had that post office until 1995 when it was closed.


Name

The name () seems to be a compound of ''sól'' (meaning 'sun') and ''vǫrn'' (meaning 'protection'). The meaning of the name is then 'protector of the Sun'. This would refer to the fact that the deep valley of Solvorn secure the old chieftain site of Ornes sunlight in the evenings, when the areas north and south of Ornes lies in the shadows of the mountains.


Media gallery

File:Solvorn 1.jpg, Aerial view of the village File:Solvorn.jpg, View from the fjord, looking west File:Solvorn 01.jpg, View of boathouses along the fjord File:Blick von Urnes nach Solvorn 18.07.08 3.jpg, View of Solvorn from Ornes (across the fjord) File:Walaker hotell.jpg, Walaker hotel File:Solvorn kyrkje.jpg, Solvorn Church


References

Villages in Vestland Luster, Norway {{Vestland-geo-stub