Ingólfur Arnarson , in some sources named Bjǫrnólfsson , ( c. 849 – c. 910 ) is commonly recognized as the first permanent Norse settler of Iceland , together with his wife Hallveig Fróðadóttir and foster brother Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson . According to tradition, they settled in Reykjavík in 874.
20-608: Ingólfur Arnarson was from the valley of Rivedal in Sunnfjord in western Norway. According to the Icelandic Book of Settlements , he built his homestead in and gave name to Reykjavík in 874. However, archaeological finds in Iceland suggest settlement may have started somewhat earlier. The medieval chronicler Ari Þorgilsson said Ingólfur was the first Nordic settler in Iceland, but mentioned that Irish monks had been in
40-693: Is ] , the first thing , or parliament, in Iceland. It was a forerunner of the Althingi . In 1924, a statue of Ingólfur Arnarson, designed by Icelandic sculptor Einar Jónsson (1874–1954), was erected in Reykjavík. A copy of the statue was erected at Rivedal in 1961. Sunnfjord Sunnfjord (English: the southern fjord - in contrast to Nordfjord ) is a traditional district in Western Norway located in Vestland county . It includes
60-553: Is a tourist region, with waterfalls, fishing, white-water rafting, glaciers, hiking, and scenery–including Jostedalsbreen National Park . The area was the site of the largest air battle over Norway during World War II , and a museum is dedicated to the event in Naustdal . There are two airports in Sunnfjord: Førde Airport, Bringeland , just outside the town of Førde , and Florø Airport , just outside
80-577: Is based in Hermansverk . Vestland is one of two counties in Norway that have Nynorsk as their official written language form. Vestland was created on 1 January 2020, when the former counties of Hordaland and Sogn og Fjordane were merged. Vestland county is a newly created county, but it has been inhabited for millennia. The area was made up of many petty kingdoms under the Gulating during
100-488: Is located in the south of the county. This is a UNESCO listed fjord area. There are several archipelagos, including Øygarden , Austevoll , Bulandet , Bremangerlandet , and Kinn . The westernmost point in Norway proper is Holmebåen in Solund municipality. The island of Unst , part of Shetland Islands is around 300 km (190 mi) west of Holmebåen. The terrain changes quite rapidly with mostly smaller mountains on
120-751: Is located on the western coast of Norway . It is split up by several long, deep fjords including the Nordfjorden , Sognefjorden , and Hardangerfjorden , some of Norway 's most notable fjords and great tourist attractions. About half of the Hardangervidda National Park is in the county. It also includes the Jostedal , Folgefonna , and Hardangerjøkulen glaciers . The county also includes many well-known waterfalls , such as Vøringsfossen , Brudesløret and Stykkjedalsfossen . Ramnefjellsfossen (previously called Utigardfossen)
140-401: Is the elected administration of the county. It is led by the county council ( Norwegian : fylkesting ) of 65 members. Heading the county council is the county mayor ( Norwegian : fylkesordførar ). Since 2020, the county mayor of Vestland County Municipality has been Jon Askeland . The county also has a county governor ( Norwegian : statsforvaltar ) who is the representative of
160-556: Is the tallest in Norway and third tallest in the world and Vettisfossen is one of Norway's highest waterfalls with a vertical drop of 275 m (902 ft). Both are located in the Jotunheim mountains. Outside of the Bergen metropolitan area, the county is mostly a rural area with a scattered population. Cruise ships visit Vestland all summer because of the unique vistas of high mountains and deep blue fjords. The famous Nærøyfjord
180-557: The Atlantic Ocean . With his blood brother Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson , he sailed for Iceland. When land was in sight, he threw his high seat pillars overboard and promised to settle where the gods decided to bring them ashore. Two of his slaves then searched the coasts for three years before finding the pillars in the small bay which eventually became the site of Reykjavík . In the meantime, Hjörleifr had been murdered by his Irish slaves. Ingólfur hunted them down and killed them in
200-548: The King and Government of Norway . Lars Sponheim is the current County Governor of Vestland and this office is based in Hermansverk . The municipalities in Vestland are divided among several district courts ( Norwegian : tingrett ): Nordhordland District Court , Sunnhordland District Court , Bergen District Court , Hardanger District Court , and Sogn og Fjordane District Court . All of these courts are subordinate to
220-639: The Middle Ages . The northern part was the known as Firdafylke (now the Fjordane region; Nordfjord-Sunnfjord), the central are was known as Sygnafylke (now the Sogn region), and the southern part was known as Hordafylke . 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 including Firdafylke , Sygnafylke , Hordafylke , and Sunnmørafylke (in
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#1732772289501240-639: The Westman Islands . The islands got their name from that event, with westmen (Old Norse: vestmenn ) being a name that the Norsemen used for the Irish. Ingólfur was said to have settled a large part of southwestern Iceland, although after his settlement nothing more was known of him. His son, Þorsteinn Ingólfsson, was a major chieftain and was said to have founded the Kjalarnesþing [
260-479: The municipalities of Askvoll , Fjaler , the southernmost parts of Kinn , Sunnfjord , and the southernmost parts of Bremanger . It covers an area of about 4,476 square kilometres (1,728 sq mi) and has a population (2016) of 43,324–about 8% of the population of Vestland county. The central geographical characteristic of the Sunnfjord region are the fjords : Dalsfjorden and Førdefjorden . It
280-509: The border was re-drawn so that all of Gulen was located in the northern part. On 1 January 1919, Nordre Bergenhus amt was renamed Sogn og Fjordane fylke and Søndre Bergenhus amt was renamed Hordaland fylke during a period of time when many location names in Norway were changed. The city of Bergen was removed from the Bergenhus amt in 1831 and it was classified as a city-county (byamt) from 1831 to 1972. During that time in 1915,
300-398: The coastline, gradually increasing to mountains reaching more than 2,000 m (6,600 ft). Because of the steep rise in elevation and fjords cutting through the terrain, the amount of precipitation is very high. Low pressure systems come in from the west and meet the mountains (a phenomenon known as orographic lifting ) and cause rain and snowfall. The Vestland County Municipality
320-423: The country before the Norsemen. He wrote that they left because they did not want to live among the newly arrived Norse pagans . The Book of Settlements (written two to three centuries after the settlement) contains a story about Ingólf's arrival. The book claims he left Norway after becoming involved in a blood feud . He had heard about a new island which Garðar Svavarsson , Hrafna-Flóki and others had found in
340-426: The municipality of Årstad was annexed into Bergen. In 1972, the neighbouring 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 once again. On 1 January 2020, Hordaland and Sogn og Fjordane counties were merged back together once again, forming Vestland county. Vestland
360-548: The present day Møre og Romsdal county). The new Bergenhus len was administered from the Bergenhus Fortress in the city of Bergen . In 1662, the lens were replaced by amts . On 19 February 1662, a royal decree changed the name to Bergenhus amt . The new Bergenhus amt originally consisted of the present-day areas of Vestland and the Sunnmøre region of Møre og Romsdal , plus the far northern Nordlandene amt
380-475: The town of Florø . The European route E39 highway passes through the region, going north and south. This Vestland location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Vestland Vestland is a county in Norway . The county is located in Western Norway , and its administrative centre is Bergen , where the executive and political leadership is based. The County Governor
400-548: Was subordinate to Bergenhus amt. The Sunnmøre region was transferred to Romsdalen amt in 1689 and the Nordlandene amt was separated around that time as well. In 1763, the amt was divided into northern and southern parts: Nordre Bergenhus amt and Søndre Bergenhus amt . When the amt was split, the present day municipality of Gulen was split with the southern part ending up in Søndre Bergenhus amt. In 1773,
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