Kvinnherad
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kvinnherad kommune | |||
| — Municipality — | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country | Norway | ||
| County | Hordaland | ||
| District | Sunnhordland | ||
| Municipality ID | NO-1224 | ||
| Administrative centre | Rosendal | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor (2007) | Synnøve Solbakken (Ap) | ||
| Area (Nr. 90 in Norway) | |||
| - Total | 1,135 km² (438.2 sq mi) | ||
| - Land | 1,080 km² (417 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2007) | |||
| - Total | 13,032 | ||
| - Density | 12/km² (31.1/sq mi) | ||
| - Change (10 years) | 0.3 % | ||
| - Rank in Norway | 80 | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Official language form | Nynorsk | ||
| Demonym | Kvinnhering[1] | ||
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| Website: www.kvinnherad.kommune.no | |||
Kvinnherad is a municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway.
Kvinnherad was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Fjelberg, most of Varaldsøy and parts of Skånevik, were merged with Kvinnherad January 1, 1965.
The municipality is the 5th in size in Hordaland. The largest village is Husnes, with about 6,000 people living in or near the village.
Kvinnherad is situated in Sunnhordland, southwest of the Hardangerfjord. In the southern part of Kvinnherad you will find the typical fjord landscape of western Norway. The areas of Mauranger and Rosendal are said to have about the most beautiful fjord landscape of Hardanger as a whole: narrow fjords, wild water-falls, and the Folgefonna - the third biggest glacier in Norway.
The industry of Kvinnherad is based on the rich water resources within its boundaries. Power production, aluminium production (Sør-Norge Aluminium), sea-farming and shipbuilding (Umoe Scat Harding) all have water as the main basis of production. One of the main shipbuilding sites in Kvinnherad is located on Halsnøy.
Rosendal is the main tourist village in the area, and here is also the administration centre of the municipality. The greatest tourist attraction in Kvinnherad is also found here - the Barony Rosendal - the only one of its kind in Norway. The Barony is a museum, which offers valuable information about an important period of Norwegian history - the time of the Union with Denmark.
[edit] The name
The Norse form of the name was Kvinnaherað. The first element is maybe derived from tvinnr 'double' (referring to the two rivers running through the municipality). The last element is herað n 'district, municipality'. (See also the names Krødsherad and Sauherad.)
Until 1889 the name was written "Kvindherred", in the period 1889-1917 "Kvinnherred", from 1918 on "Kvinnherad".
[edit] Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from 1982. The figure represents the meeting of the two rivers Hattebergelvi and Melselvi at Rosendal.
[edit] External links
- http://www.kvinnherad.kommune.no/
- http://www.baroniet.uio.no
- Kvinnheradguiden.no
- Kvinnheringen.no
- Grenda.no
- Innsida.no
- Husnes Ungdomsskule
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