Norheimsund

Norheimsund
Village

View of the village
Norheimsund
Norheimsund

Location in Hordaland county

Coordinates: 60°22′15″N 06°08′44″E / 60.37083°N 6.14556°E / 60.37083; 6.14556Coordinates: 60°22′15″N 06°08′44″E / 60.37083°N 6.14556°E / 60.37083; 6.14556
Country Norway
Region Western Norway
County Hordaland
District Hardanger
Municipality Kvam
Area[1]
 • Total 2.5 km2 (1.0 sq mi)
Elevation[2] 6 m (20 ft)
Population (2012)[1]
 • Total 2,224
 • Density 890/km2 (2,300/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+01:00)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+02:00)
Post Code 5600 Norheimsund

Norheimsund is the administrative centre of the municipality of Kvam in Hordaland county, Norway. The village is located on the northern side of the Hardangerfjord, about 80 kilometres (50 mi) from the city of Bergen. The village of Øystese lies about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to the northeast and the village of Vikøy lies about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) southeast of Norheimsund. The village of Steine is a suburb, immediately to the west of Norheimsund. The 2.5-square-kilometre (620-acre) village has a population (2012) of 2,224; giving the village a population density of 890 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,300/sq mi), the largest settlement in the whole municipality.[1]

Norheimsund has a lot of tourist traffic, especially in the summers. The waterfall Steinsdalsfossen, as of 2006 the 6th most visited natural tourist attraction in Norway, is located in Steine, just west of Norheimsund.[3]

Norheimsund is the seat of municipal government and largest commercial center in the municipality with about 50 stores. There is also some industry in the village with factories, wood processing plants, and food processing plants. Norheimsund Church is located in the village. The Norheimsund Upper Secondary School is also located here. The waterfront area in Norheimsund has been redeveloped and beautified, and has won awards for development (in 2000) and for attractiveness (in 2013).[4]

History

The downtown center of Norheimsund was destroyed by a large fire on 7 October 1932. It was rebuilt with very functionalist-style architecture (rather than historic). During the Nazi occupation of Norway during World War II, the Germans had a large training camp at Norheimsund and large fortifications were built along the bay.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Statistisk sentralbyrå (1 January 2012). "Urban settlements. Population and area, by municipality.".
  2. ↑ "Norheimsund, Kvam (Hordaland)" (in Norwegian). yr.no. Retrieved 2014-06-29.
  3. ↑ "Attraksjon 2006" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Innovasjon Norge. 2006. Retrieved 2008-03-06.
  4. ↑ Store norske leksikon. "Norheimsund" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2014-06-29.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/4/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.