Hordaland

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Hordaland 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 in Bergen. It was formerly called Søndre Bergenhus amt. Before 1972 Bergen was a separate entity from Hordaland.

Hordaland fylke

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County
Region Vestlandet
Administrative centre Bergen
County mayor
Area
- Total
- Percentage Ranked 9
15,460 km²
4.78 %
Population
- Total (2006)
- Percentage
- Change (10 years)
- Population density>Density Ranked 3
453,574
9.72 %
6.8 %
31/km²
Gross Regional Product
- Total (2001)
- Percentage
- GRP/capita 115,293 million Norwegian krone>NOK
7.55 %
263,056 NOK
Hordaland is semi-circular in shape. It is located on the western coast of the country, 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 the county. The county also includes many well-known waterfalls of Norway, like Vøringsfossen and Stykkjedalsfossen. It also includes the glaciers Folgefonna and Hardangerjøkullen.

More than 60% of the inhabitants live in Bergen and the surrounding area. Other important developed places are Bømlo, Leirvik, Voss and Odda.

Famous people from Hordaland:

Edvard Grieg Composer from Bergen
Christian Michelsen Politician from Bergen, Norway's first Prime Minister
Ole Bull Composer from Bergen
Ludvig Holberg Playwright and author from Bergen
Roald "Kniksen" Jensen Soccer player from Bergen
Kari Traa Skier from Voss

Hordaland is twinned with Cardiff, Wales.

Districts

The county is conventionally divided into traditional districts. The inland districts are Hardanger and Voss and the coastal districts are Sunnhordland, Midthordland and Nordhordland. Strilelandet is the name of a more informal region commonly held to encompass Midthordland and Nordhordland.

Municipalities

Hordaland has a total of 33 municipalities:

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

External links

Counties of Norway
Akershus \| Aust-Agder \| Buskerud \| Finnmark \| Hedmark \| Hordaland \| Møre og Romsdal \| Nordland \| Nord-Trøndelag \| Oppland \| Oslo \| Østfold \| Rogaland \| Sogn og Fjordane \| Sør-Trøndelag \| Telemark \| Troms \| Vest-Agder \| Vestfold

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