Hordaland was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Municipality, which is located in Bergen. Before 1972, the city of Bergen was its own separate county, apart from Hordaland. On 1 January 2020, the county was merged with neighbouring Sogn og Fjordane county, to form the new Vestland county.
Etne is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland, although it is also sometimes considered to be part of the district of Haugaland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Etnesjøen. Other villages in the municipality include Skånevik and Fjæra. The two largest villages in the municipality are Etnesjøen with 1,159 residents and Skånevik with 594 residents.
Sveio is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. Sveio is a border district that is sometimes considered to be located in the traditional district of Haugalandet since it is located on the Haugalandet peninsula, but it is also considered to be in the traditional district of Sunnhordland since it is located in southern Hordaland county. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sveio. Other villages in the municipality include Auklandshamn, Førde, Våga, and Valevåg.
Bømlo is a municipality in the southwestern part of Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Svortland. Other villages in Bømlo include Mosterhamn, Rubbestadneset, Lykling, and Langevåg. Most of the municipal residents live on the island of Bømlo, which makes up the majority of the land in the municipality.
Stord is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. Stord is sometimes called "Norway in miniature" since it has such a variety of landscapes: coastline, fjords, forests, agricultural land, and mountain areas. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Leirvik, which is also the largest town in the municipality and the whole region of Sunnhordland. Leirvik was declared a town in 1997. Other population centres in the municipality include the large village of Sagvåg and the smaller villages of Litlabø and Grov.
Fitjar is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The municipality is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. Fitjar municipality includes the northern part of the island of Stord and the hundreds of surrounding islands, mostly to the northwest of the main island. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Fitjar.
Tysnes is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. The administrative centre is the village of Uggdal. Other population centres in Tysnes include the villages of Våge and Onarheim. The island municipality is located in a group of islands near the mouth of the Hardangerfjorden. The majority of the municipal population lives on the island of Tysnesøya, the largest island in the municipality.
Kvinnherad is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland, along the Hardangerfjorden. The municipality was the 5th in size in former Hordaland county.
Austevoll is a municipality and an archipelago in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Midthordland in Western Norway. The administrative centre is the village of Storebø on the island of Huftarøy. Other villages include Årland, Austevollshella, Bakkasund, Bekkjarvik, Birkeland, Haukanes, Husavik, Kolbeinsvik, Otterå, Våge, and Vinnes.
Fedje is an island municipality in the Nordhordland region of Vestland county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Fedje. The traditional economic activity of the inhabitants is fishing.
Leirvik is a town and the administrative centre of Stord municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The town lies along the southern coast of the large island of Stord, along the Hardangerfjorden. The town gained "town status" in 1997. The town includes the Eldøyane peninsula where the large Kværner Stord industrial area is located.
The Bømlafjord Tunnel is a subsea road tunnel under Bømlafjorden which connects the island of Føyno in Stord Municipality to the mainland at Dalshovda in Sveio Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The tunnel is 7.82 kilometers (4.86 mi) long and reaches 260.4 m (854 ft) below mean sea level. It carries three lanes of European Road E39 and is part of the Triangle Link, a fixed link which connects Sunnhordland to Haugaland. Plans for the tunnel arose in the 1980s; construction started in 1997 and the tunnel opened on 27 December 2000. The tunnel was built using the drilling and blasting method, with two teams building from each end. The tunnel runs through an area composed mostly of gneiss, phyllite and greenstone. The tunnel was the longest subsea tunnel in Norway until the opening of Karmøytunnelen. It is still (2013) the deepest point on the E-road network. The tunnel was a toll road from the opening until 30 April 2013. In 2012 the tunnel had an average 4,084 vehicles per day.
Valestrand is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The 59-square-kilometre (23 sq mi) municipality existed from 1868 until its dissolution in 1964. It was located on a peninsula on the southern shore of the Bømlafjorden inside the present-day municipality of Sveio. The administrative centre of Valestrand was the village of Valevåg. The two churches in Valestrand were Valen Chapel and Valestrand Church.
Storebø is the administrative centre and largest village in Austevoll municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the northern part of the island of Huftarøy, just south of the village of Birkeland and northwest of the village of Haukanes. The 1.67-square-kilometre (410-acre) village has a population (2019) of 1,588 and a population density of 951 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,460/sq mi).
Fjelberg is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until 1965 when it was dissolved. In 1965, the municipality covered 79.8 square kilometres (30.8 sq mi), mostly islands and a small area on the mainland. It encompassed part of what is now Kvinnherad Municipality and Vindafjord Municipality, primarily the islands of Fjelbergøya, Borgundøya, and Halsnøya, as well as some surrounding areas on the mainland. The administrative centre of the municipality was the small village located on the island of Fjelbergøya where Fjelberg Church is located.
Sagvåg is a village in Stord municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the southwest coast of the island of Stord, about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) west of the town of Leirvik. The Stord Airport, Sørstokken lies about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) northwest of Sagvåg. Nysæter Church was built here in 1991 to serve the population of the village. The small mining village of Litlabø lies just northeast of Sagvåg.
Husnes is the largest village in Kvinnherad municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the southern shore of the Hardangerfjorden on the Folgefonna peninsula, about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south of the village of Herøysund and immediately north of the villages of Sunde and Valen. The lake Onarheimsvatnet lies along the southwestern part of the village between Husnes and Sunde.
Stord is an island in Vestland county, Norway. Located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland, the island is part of the municipalities of Stord and Fitjar. The largest settlements on the island are the town of Leirvik and the villages of Sagvåg and Fitjar.
Føyno is an island in Stord municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The 1-square-kilometre (0.39 sq mi) island lies southwest of the island of Stord at the southern end of the Stokksundet sound. The Digernessundet strait runs between Stord and this island. Føyno had a central place in the district of Sunnhordland during the Middle Ages, and gave its name to the skipreide of Føyen.
Fitjar (help·info) is the administrative centre of Fitjar municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the northwestern shore of the island of Stord. It sits at the southern end of the Fitjarvika bay, a small arm off the main Selbjørnsfjorden. A large group of small islands lie just off the coast to the west. Fitjar Church is located in this central part of this village. The historic Battle of Fitjar took place in this area in the year 961.
