Berle is a village on the west coast of Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. It is located on the eastern coast of Bremangerlandet

Bremangerlandet

Bremangerlandet is an island in the municipality of Bremanger in the traditional district of Nordfjord in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The island is the largest island in the county. The highest point on the island is the mountain Svartevassegga at , however the cliff at Hornelen, located ...

 island in the municipality of Bremanger

Bremanger

Bremanger is a municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. Bremanger is the only municipality in Sogn og Fjordane, which is located in two districts. The north-eastern parts comprising Oldeide, Berle, Rugsund, Davik, Isane and Ålfoten is located in Nordfjord, while Bremanger, Kalvåg,...

, Sogn og Fjordane

Sogn og Fjordane

is a county in Norway, bordering Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland. The county administration is in the town of Hermansverk in Leikanger municipality while the largest town is Førde....

 county. The village lies along the Berlepollen fjord

Fjord

Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...

, about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the cliff Hornelen

Hornelen

Hornelen is a mountain in the municipality of Bremanger, in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. At , it is the highest sea cliff in Europe, and has for a long time been used as a landmark for naval navigation. The horizontal distance from the summit to the sea shore is approximately...

. Berle is about a 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) drive west from the village of Bremanger. Berle Church

Berle Church

Berle church is a local church community center in the village of Berle in the municipality of Bremanger, Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The church is a part of the Bremanger prestegjeld in the Nordfjord deanery of the Diocese of Bjørgvin.The church, which can seat 210 persons, was consecrated...

 is located in the village, just across the Frøysjøen (strait) from the mainland. The population (2001) of the village is 135.

Name

The name of the village comes from the name of the small river nearby (Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

: Berðla). The small Berlepollen fjord nearby is similarly named. The name Berðla comes from the Old Norse word barð, meaning "edge", possibly since it is on the edge of the island. The village's name is mentioned as early as in the Egils saga

Egils saga

Egils saga is an epic Icelandic saga. The oldest transcript dates back to 1240 AD. The saga is centered on the life of Egill Skallagrímsson, an Icelandic farmer, viking and skald...

.

History

Berle has a rich history, which goes back to the year 750. Berle was then populated by Viking

Viking

The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...

s. The best known Viking who lived there was Berle Kåre

Berle-Kari

Berle-Kari was a viking chieftain who lived in ninth-century Norway. His home was at Berle , in present-day Bremanger in Sogn og Fjordane county. Landnámabók names him as the son of Vemund, and brother of Skjoldolf, one of the early settlers of Iceland.According to Egil's Saga, Kari was a berserker...

. Snorri Sturluson

Snorri Sturluson

Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...

, the Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

ic historian, writes about the King in Berle, and his sons were a central subject in the histories of Harald Fairhair

Harald I of Norway

Harald Fairhair or Harald Finehair , , son of Halfdan the Black, was the first king of Norway.-Background:Little is known of the historical Harald...

.

During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, German soldiers built a defense station there to prevent the allies

Allies of World War II

The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...

 from entering Frøysjøen, as part of Festung Norwegen

Festung Norwegen

Festung Norwegen was the German term for the heavy defense and fortification system of Norway during the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany in World War II...

.