From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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. Before 1972 Bergen was a separate entity from Hordaland.

Hordaland fylke

County	NO-12
Region	Vestlandet
Administrative centre	Bergen
County mayor
Area  - Total  - Percentage	Ranked 9 15,460 km² 4.78 %
Population  - Total (2006)  - Percentage  - Change (10 years)  - Density	Ranked 3 453,574 9.72 % 6.8 % 31/km²
Gross Regional Product  - Total (2001)  - Percentage  - GRP/capita	Ranked 2 115,293 million NOK 7.55 % 263,056 NOK

Contents 1 The name 2 Geography 3 Famous people from Hordaland 4 Twin city 5 Districts 6 Municipalities 7 External links

Hordaland (Norse Hörðaland) (Frisian Hörnaland) is the old name of the region - revived in modern times. The first element is the plural genitive case of hörðar, the name of an old Germanic tribe (see Charudes). The last element is land as in 'land, region'. Orn and Ord are both of Turkish origin meaning "encampment".

Until 1919 the name of the county was Søndre Bergenhus amt - with the meaning '(the) southern (part of) Bergenhus amt'. (The old Bergenhus amt, created in 1662, was divided in 1763.)

See also Rogaland and Sogn og Fjordane

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 urban or semi-urban centres include Leirvik, Voss and Odda.

• 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
• Leif Andreas Larsen Naval officer from Bergen

Hordaland is twinned with Cardiff, Wales.

Hordaland is also twinned with Orkney, an island group off the northern coast of Scotland.

The county 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 Midthordland and Nordhordland.

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

• County web site
• Map of Hordaland

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

Coordinates: 60°15′N 6°00′E