Coordinates: 60°15′N 6°00′E / 60.25°N 6°E / 60.25; 6

Hordaland fylke
—  County  —
Coat of arms
Hordaland within Norway
Country	Norway
County	Hordaland
Region	Vestlandet
County ID	NO-12
Official language form	Nynorsk
Demonym	Hordalending
Administrative centre	Bergen
Government
• Governor	Lars Sponheim   Venstre   (2010–present)
• County mayor	Torill Selsvold Nyborg   Kristelig Folkeparti   (2003–present)
Area (#9 in Norway, 4.78% of Norway's land area)
• Total	15,460 km2 (5,970 sq mi)
• Land	14,551 km2 (5,618 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	491,900
• Density	32/km2 (82/sq mi)
• Change (10 years)	7.9 %
• Rank in Norway	3 (9.72% of country)
Time zone	CET (UTC+01)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+02)
Income (per capita)	148,300 NOK
GDP (per capita)	263,056 NOK (2001)
National Rank:	2 (7.55% of country)
Website	www.hordaland.no
Data from Statistics Norway

 Hordaland (help·info) is a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark and Rogaland. Hordaland is the third largest county after Akershus and Oslo by population. The county administration is located in Bergen. Before 1972, the city of Bergen was its own separate county apart from Hordaland.

About the County[link]

[edit] The name Hordaland

Hordaland (Old Norse: Hǫrðaland) is the old name of the region which was revived in modern times. The first element is the plural genitive case of hǫrðar, the name of an old Germanic tribe (see Charudes). The last element is land which means "land" or "region".

Until 1919 the name of the county was Søndre Bergenhus amt which meant "(the) southern (part of) Bergenhus amt". (The old Bergenhus amt was created in 1662 and was divided in 1763.)

Coat of arms[link]

The coat-of-arms were officially granted on 1 December 1961. They were designed by Magnus Hardeland, but the general design had been originally used in the Sunnhordland region during the 14th century. In the early 20th century, leaders of the county began using the old arms as a symbol for the county once again. The arms are on a red background and consist of two golden axes that are crossed with a golden crown above them.^[3]

Flag[link]

The flag of Hordaland

The flag of Hordaland shows two golden axes and a crown in red. The flag is a banner of the coat of arms derived from the old seal of the guild of St. Olav from Onarheim in Tysnes municipality. This seal was used by the delegates of Sunnhordland in 1344 on the document to install king Haakon V of Norway. It was thus the oldest symbol used for the region and adapted as the arms and flag in 1961. The symbols refer to the patron saint of the guild, Saint Olav, King of Norway, whose symbol is an axe.

The flag was officially granted on December 1, 1961.^[4]

History[link]

Hordaland county has been around for more than one thousand years. Since the 7th century, the area was made up of many petty kingdoms under the Gulating and was known as Hordafylke since around the year 900. In the early 16th century, Norway was divided into four len. The Bergenhus len was headquartered in Bergen and encompassed much of western and northern Norway.^[5]

In 1662, the lens were replaced by amts. Bergenhus amt consisted of Hordaland, Sogn og Fjordane, Sunnmøre, Troms and Nordland. In 1763, the amt was divided into northern and southern parts: Nordre Bergenhus amt and Søndre Bergenhus amt. Søndre Bergenhus amt was re-named Hordaland fylke in 1919.^[5]

The city of Bergen was classified as a city-county (byamt) from 1831-1972. During that time in 1915, the municipality of Årstad was annexed into Bergen. In 1972, the neighboring municipalities of Arna, Fana, Laksevåg and Åsane were annexed into the city of Bergen. Also at that same time, the city of Bergen lost its county status, and became a part of Hordaland county.^[5]

Government[link]

A county (fylke) is the chief local administrative area in Norway. The whole country is divided into 19 counties. A county is also an election area, with popular votes taking place every 4 years. In Hordaland, 57 members are elected to form a county council (Fylkesting). Heading the Fylkesting is the county mayor (fylkesordførar). Since 2003, the Hordaland county municipality has been led by Torill Selsvold Nyborg, the county mayor.

The county also has a County Governor (fylkesmann) who is the representative of the King and Government of Norway. Lars Sponheim is the County Governor of Hordaland.

The municipalities in Hordaland are divided among four district courts (tingrett): Nordhordland, Sunnhordland, Bergen and Hardanger. Hordaland is also part of the Gulating Court of Appeal district based in Bergen.^[5]

• Nordhordland District Court: Askøy, Austevoll, Austrheim, Fedje, Fjell, Fusa, Lindås, Masfjorden, Meland, Modalen, Os, Osterøy, Radøy, Samnanger, Sund, Vaksdal, Voss, Øygarden and Gulen
• Sunnhordland District Court: Bømlo, Etne, Fitjar, Kvinnherad, Stord, Sveio and Tysnes
• Bergen District Court: the city of Bergen
• Hardanger District Court: Eidfjord, Granvin, Jondal, Kvam, Odda, Ullensvang and Ulvik

Hardanger is one of Norway's most important sources of fruit and constitutes approximately 40% of the national fruit production, including apple, plum, pear, wild cherry and redcurrant.

Most of the municipalities in Hordaland are part of the Hordaland police district. Gulen and Solund in Sogn og Fjordane county are also part of the Hordaland police district. Bømlo, Etne, Fitjar, Stord and Sveio are a part of the "Haugaland and Sunnhordland" police district, along with eight other municipalities in Rogaland county.^[5]

Geography[link]

Finse is the highest point of the Norwegian Railway System, located at 1222m. above sea level.

Hordaland is semi-circular in shape. It is located on the western coast of Norway, split from southwest to northeast by the long, deep Hardangerfjorden, one of Norway's main fjords and a great tourist attraction. About half of the National park of Hardangervidda is in this county. The county also includes many well-known waterfalls of Norway, such as Vøringsfossen and Stykkjedalsfossen. It also includes the Folgefonna and Hardangerjøkulen glaciers.

More than 60% of the inhabitants live in Bergen and the surrounding area. Other urban or semi-urban centres include Leirvik, Voss and Odda.

Municipalities[link]

In 1837, the counties were divided into local administrative units each with their own governments. The number and borders of these municipalities have changed over time, and at present there are 33 municipalities in Hordaland.

Municipalities of Hordaland
Key
Askøy Austevoll Austrheim Bergen Bømlo Eidfjord Etne Fedje Fitjar Fjell Fusa Granvin Jondal Kvam Kvinnherad Lindås Masfjorden	Meland Modalen Odda Os Osterøy Øygarden Radøy Samnanger Stord Sund Sveio Tysnes Ullensvang Ulvik Vaksdal Voss

Districts[link]

Map of Hordaland Districts and Municipalities

  Nordhordland

  Midthordland

  Sunnhordland

  Hardanger

  Voss

Hordaland is conventionally divided into traditional districts. The inland districts are Hardanger and Voss and the coastal districts are Sunnhordland, Midhordland and Nordhordland [sic]. Strilelandet is the name of a more informal region commonly held to encompass Midhordland and Nordhordland. Stril is a name the inhabitants of Bergen apply to the people living in the traditionally agricultural areas surrounding the city.

Sister regions[link]

Hordaland county has the following official sister regions:^[5]

• Basse-Normandie, France
• Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
• Kaunas, Lithuania
• Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom

People from Hordaland[link]

• Ole Bull (1810–1880), composer, violist
• Tore Eikeland (1990-2011), politician
• Edvard Grieg (1843–1907), composer
• Nordahl Grieg (1902–1943), writer
• C. J. Hambro (1885–1964), politician
• Ludvig Holberg (1684–1754), writer
• Leif Andreas Larsen ("Shetlands-Larsen") (1906–1990), military officer in World War II.
• Christian Michelsen (1857–1925), politician
• Johan Sebastian Welhaven (1807–1873), writer

Panorama over the island of Sotra.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hordaland

References[link]