Fjærland
Encyclopedia
Fjærland is a village in the municipality of Sogndal
Sogndal
Sogndal is a municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sogn. The village of Sogndalsfjøra is the administrative center of Sogndal municipality. Other main villages include Kaupanger, Kjørnes, and Fjærland...

, along the Fjærlandsfjord, in 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, 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...

. The Fjærlandfjord is a branch of the Sognefjord
Sognefjord
The Sognefjord is the largest fjord in Norway, and the second longest in the world. Located in Sogn og Fjordane county, it stretches inland to the small village of Skjolden...

, the longest fjord in Norway. The village is located about 31 kilometres (19.3 mi) northwest of the municipal center of Sogndalsfjøra
Sogndalsfjøra
Sogndalsfjøra is the administrative centre of the municipality of Sogndal in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It is located where the river Sogndalselvi runs out in the Sogndalsfjord, a branch of the Sognefjord. The village has a population of 3,208...

.

Fjærland was originally part of the municipality of Leikanger
Leikanger
is a municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center is the village of Leikanger, which is also the administrative center of Sogn og Fjordane county....

, but in 1849 it was transferred to the newly created Balestrand
Balestrand
Balestrand is a municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center is the village of Balestrand....

 municipality. Historically, the only transportation to Fjærland had been by ferry. In 1986 a highway tunnel was opened to the village of Skei
Skei, Sogn og Fjordane
Skei is the administrative centre of the municipality of Jølster in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The village is located at the northeastern end of the lake Jølstravatn along the highway...

 to the northwest which connected Fjærland to Jølster
Jølster
Jølster is a municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative centre is the village of Skei...

. In 1994 another highway tunnel was opened to the southeast which connected Fjærland to Sogndalsfjøra
Sogndalsfjøra
Sogndalsfjøra is the administrative centre of the municipality of Sogndal in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It is located where the river Sogndalselvi runs out in the Sogndalsfjord, a branch of the Sognefjord. The village has a population of 3,208...

. These tunnels now constitute the best road from a large district of Norway's west coast toward the capital, Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

. These tunnels were part of the reason that the area Fjærland left Balestrand and merged into the municipality of Sogndal on 1 January 2000.

The glacier arms Bøyabreen and Supelabreen (a part of the Jostedalsbreen
Jostedalsbreen
Jostedalsbreen is the largest glacier in continental Europe. It is situated in Sogn og Fjordane county in Western Norway. Jostedalsbreen lies in the municipalities of Luster, Balestrand, Jølster, and Stryn. The highest peak in the area is Lodalskåpa at a height of .Jostedalsbreen has a total area...

 glacier) and the Norwegian Glacier Museum are located nearby. Fjærland is also the Norwegian book town
Book town
A book town is a town or village with a large number of second-hand or antiquarian book shops. These shops, and sometimes also literary festivals, attract bibliophile tourists to them...

, with book shops situated in old cow sheds and pigpens, there are also book shops on the ferry quay and in the Hotel Mundal. The Hotel Mundal is an old wooden building in 19th century style still in business as a hotel. The hotel was owned by the Orheim family for over a hundred years, until August 2008 when it was sold.

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