Sogn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sogn is a traditional district in the western part of Norway, in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, surrounding Sognefjorden. It consists of the municipalities Aurland, Balestrand, Hyllestad, Høyanger, Gulen, Leikanger, Luster, Lærdal, Sogndal, Solund, Vik and Årdal.

In the early Viking Age, before Harald Fairhair, Sogn was a petty kingdom. Notable kings of Sogn were:

• Harald Gullskjegg (Goldbeard), father of Ragnhild, first wife of Halfdan the Black
• Halfdan the Black
• Harald Fairhair

[edit] The name

The name is very old, and it originally belonged to the fjord (now Sognefjorden). The name is derived from the verb súga 'suck', referring to strong tidal streams at the mouth of the fjord.

Sogn is also the name of an area in the northern part of Oslo.