Vossevangen is the centre of Voss municipality in Hordaland, Norway. The population is about 5500. It's located in the center of Voss at the north-east edge of Vangsvatnet. Vossevangen takes its name from the Old Norwegian word vang (Norse Vangr) that can mean field or meadow, and refers to a large grass field lying between the church and Vangsvatnet. Voss is situated on the main road and railway line from Oslo to Bergen, about 100 kilometres east of Bergen.
According to legend, the people of Voss were forcibly converted to Christianity by king Olav, who later became St. Olav. A stone cross situated in Vossevangen is said to have been erected at this time. The town contains a stone church from 1277, with a 16th century excentric, octagonal steeple. Just outside the town is Finnesloftet, a wooden guildhall believed to be the oldest profane wooden building in Northern Europe.
After the German invasion of Norway on April 9, 1940, Voss was the main point of mobilisation for the Norwegian Army in the west, as the city of Bergen had already fallen on the first day of the invasion. Although most of the troops mobilised here were transferred by railway to the fighting in the east of the country, the German forces, advancing towards Voss along the railway line from Bergen and from the Hardangerfjord, were met with stiff resistance. In Hardanger, some of the Germans climbed up the mountains from Ålvik while the rest went through Granvin. To break down this resistance the town of Voss was bombed by the Luftwaffe on 24 and April 25. About a dozen civilians lost their lives in the bombing which completely destroyed the old wood-built town centre. On April 27, the German forces entered the town, which remained occupied until May 8, 1945.