| General information
Community name: Most possibly comes from “aur” which means gravel or sand
County: Sogn og Fjordane (108 000 inhabitants)
Population: As of Jan. 2002 – 1800 (about 900 of employment age)
Highest population: 2811 in 1845
Persons per km3 1.3
Community centre Aurland, Vangen
Community weapon Symbol of a silver goat head against a blue background. This animal
was fundamental in the agricultural history of the community.
Total area: 1455 km2 – Non cultivatable area – 1387 km3
Location
Aurland lies 200 km from the west coast, In the south-eastern part of Sogn og Fjordane county, along the Aurlands fjord and the Nærøy fjord. These are fingers of the world’s longest and deepest fjord, the Sognfjord. The community borders Voss, Ulvik, Hol Lærdal and Vik communities.
Most of the area is composed of fjords and mountains with small populated areas concentrated in the lower river valleys at Aurland, Nærøy, Undredal, Flåm and Vassbygdi.
Wild and beautiful nature dominate the community from the fjords to mountain tops at 1200 to 1800 meters.
There are two permanent glaciers; Storskavlen and Blåskavlen
Climate
Typical inland climate with mild winters at the lower levels, early springs, and warm summers.
470 millimeters of precipitation make Aurland one of the driest areas in Norway. In comparison, Bergen has 2 500 mm.
Vegetation
Aurland has rich and varied flora, which is more typical of eastern rather than western Norway.
Especially rich is the mountain plant life which relies on calcium deposits.
Geology
The bedrock is varied. On the western side of Aurlands fjord there is rock that was pushed up into mountain
ranges several million years ago. The fjord itself was gouged out of an earlier valley. The last ice age left its marks.
Aurland village is typical of the lower areas, lying on an old river deltas. The mountainsides are steep
causing frequent rock slides and avalanches.
History
The earliest inhabitants lived by hunting and fishing until they gradually started farming about 2000 years ago.
Agriculture is still important with the rich valley floors and abundant mountain pastures. As in all of western Norway, the area was overpopulated in the middle 1800’s, and cotters were forced to clear land far up the mountainsides.
This difficulty led to emigration and in the 20 year period after 1845, 1050 moved out of the community, most of them to America.
Tourism came to the community as early as the middle of the 19th century, in the form of sport fishing and hunting.
Englishmen were dominant and we can still find English names for mountain tops, hunting cabins, and fishing holes.
Later there followed tourists who came to enjoy the natural beauty of the area and who created jobs in the form of transport and lodging. Three or four ships could anker up in Nærøy fjord at one time, creating the need for scores of horse drawn carriages to take the tourists up to Stalheim hotel.
For more information contact the local historical centre.
The villages
Aurland community is divided into four parishes; Aurlands Vangen, Flåm, Undredal and Gudvangen. Aurlands Vangen is the community centre.
Aurlands Vangen
Vangen, the common name for the village among locals, is the community centre. Located on the fjord, there are good docking facilities and a protective small boat harbour. As a result of the water power project of the 1970’s, housing developments surround and enlarge the centre. Most service localities are
found here, such as the administration building, postal centre (in one of the local supermarkets) bank, police office, doctor’s office, elderly centre, library, cinema, church, nursery, school and shops.
The Aurland river is well known for sea trout.
Vassbygdi
Centre for the hydroelectric power project
Flåm
Situated furthest in on the fjord 10 km from Aurlands vangen, Flåm is the next largest village in the community.
Tourist facilities, the harbour and the rail station lie on the delta at the mouth of the Flåm river, which is well known for salmon and sea trout. Further up the valley there are homes and farms.
Undredal
Until 1989 this little village on the Aurland fjord was land locked. Goat farming is still the main livelihood and cheese
production plays a major role in the local economy. Eight farms are responsible for 10 to 12 tons of this popular
product each year. The little church, which seats 40, is well known as the smallest in Scandivavia still in use.
Gudvangen
A small farming village at the end of the Nærøy fjord. Tourism, which started already in the 19th century, plays a major role here with scores of cruise ships visiting each summer. At this point passenger go over to buses that drive to Voss by way of Stalheim or through the 11.4 tunnel eastward on the Oslo – Bergen highway.
Styvi
Two farms and small museum represent an area that has now become a natural preserve due to the untouched and dramatic nature found along the fjord. A portion of the old post trail goes in toward Gudvangen and there is still a post office in use.
Dyrdal
This was probably a very old place of settlement but as of 2003 there are no longer any inhabitants living here.
The old homes are now used as holiday cottages.
Bakka
A little settlement at the narrowest point on the Nærøy fjord, the area now has a modern tunnel connecting it to Gudvangen, 6 km. away. Four goat farms are productive and a small church still is in use.
Myrdal
Myrdal is a little train station in the high mountains (860 m.o.h.)on the Oslo – Bergen line, and at the head of the Flåm rail line.
A little settlement developed here due to the building of the rail lines around 1900. At one time there were 100 inhabitants living here with their own school, bakery, shop, and other organizations. A tiny indoor swimming pool was the first in the county.
Tourism and Attractions
Aurland, especially in the summer months, is a tourist community with many attractions. Both the Nærøy and Aurland fjords draw many cruise ships during the season. In addition there are many other local routings to accommodate the tourists’ desire to see the area from the sea. Each cruise ship can create a demand for up to 20 busses to drive passengers to various destinations in the area. Other popular tourist attractions worth mentioning are the Flåm rail line, and the hiking and biking possibilities in the famous Flåm and Aurland valleys.
Railways
Two of Norway’s most spectacular railways lie within the boundaries of Aurland community ; The Flåm line and a section of the Oslo – Bergen line.
Flåm line
The Flåm railway is unique in many ways and merits the international praise it receives year after year.
Facts; The line starts in Flåm at sea level and rises 865.6 meters to Myrdal which is situated in the mountains on the Oslo – Bergen line.
When the Bergen line was taken into use in 1909, it became obvious that a side railway was needed to connect train traffic to the fjords and the Sogn district. Work was started in 1923 and ready for traffic in 1940, using steam locomotives until the line was electrified in 1944. The whole project was an engineering feat due to the steepness of the 20 km. route. Tunnels were blasted out in ribbon fashion within the mountainside to make the climb.
Length: 20 km
Tunnels: 20
Tunnel length: A total of 6 km of the line is in tunnels and 18 of these tunnels were the result of handwork.
Each meter represents 150 hours of hard work. To avoid weak areas of bedrock, the line was forced to cross the valley and river three times. Instead of building bridges, the river was led underneath the rail line.
Elevation: Almost 80 percent of the rail line has a gradient of one in eighteen.
Brake system: For safety reasons, the train is equipped with five different braking systems, any one of them able to stop the entire train.
The train uses about an hour to make the trip from Flåm to Myrdal and underway the panoramic scenery is breathtaking.
During the summer months up to 4000 passengers make the trip daily. On a yearly basis there are 400 000 departures.
In August of 2000, passenger number 10 million climbed aboard the train to experience this world famous railway.
Inhabitants of Aurland community are entitled to purchase an Ambassador card, which cuts their cost by two thirds.
Flåm Development
In 1996 the Norwegian State Rail System (NSB) was looking to cut its costs and the Flåm line was threatened with cancellation of year round services. This threat was serious for Aurland and the surrounding region. As a result, Flåm Development Ltm. was established based on co-operation between NSB and Aurland community.
In 1998 a portion of the operation and all of the marketing responsibility, including product development were taken over by Flåm Development. The objective was to rescue year round services of the railway, and to strengthen and expand tourism in the area generally. NSB continues to have operation, maintenance and safety responsibility.
After this new arrangement, passenger interest increased and the rail line started making a profit. Ownership was divided with NSB controlling 49% and Aurland Resources 51%. In the year 2000 NSB sold its stocks to Aurland Resources,
which now entirely owns Flåm Development. Aurland Resources is owned by SIVA (Company for Industrial Development) (34%), Aurland Savings Bank (26%), and Aurland Community (40%).
Flåm Development has 7 year round employees.
For more information:
www.flaam-cruise.com
www.flaamsbana.no
Flåmsbanemuseet in Flåm
Bergen Rail Line
The rail line between Oslo and Bergen (via Drammen) is 485 km. long. The oldest section is the portion from Voss to Bergen, which opened in 1883 as a narrow rail line and was expanded to normal starndard in 1904. This stretch was electrified in 1954.
The entire line was officially opened by King Haakon VII in 1909. There are 200 tunnels, the longest being the Finse Tunnel which is 10.3 km. The highest point on the line is 1245 meters over sea level. Electrification was cleared in parliament in 1953 and realized in 1964. Modern express trains manage the route between Olso and Bergen in less than 7 hours.
For more information:
www.rallarmuseet.no
Aurland Valley
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