For another Viking Age site, see Kaupang

Kaupang

Kaupang was in Old-Norwegian a word that means a market-place. It is today used as a name of the first urban market-place in the area that today is Norway, also named Kaupang in Skiringssal...

Kaupanger is a village situated along the Sognefjord

Sognefjord

The Sognefjord is the largest fjord in Norway, and the second longest in the world. Located in Sogn og Fjordane county, it stretches inland to the small village of Skjolden...

 in the municipality of Sogndal

Sogndal

Sogndal is a municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sogn. The village of Sogndalsfjøra is the administrative center of Sogndal municipality. Other main villages include Kaupanger, Kjørnes, and Fjærland...

 in Sogn og Fjordane

Sogn og Fjordane

is a county in Norway, bordering Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland. The county administration is in the town of Hermansverk in Leikanger municipality while the largest town is Førde....

 county, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

.

Kaupanger originated as a settlement during the Viking age

Viking Age

Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...

. Earlier Kaupanger was known as Tingstad. Kaupang was an Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

 term for trading or market place. Town's name is composed of the Kaup-(buy) and angr (fjord, harbor) - "Buy harbor. "

The Kaupanger stave church

Kaupanger stave church

Kaupanger Stave Church is the largest stave church in Sogn og Fjordane, and is situated in the town of Kaupanger, Norway. The nave is supported by 22 staves, 8 on each of the longer sides and 3 on each of the shorter. The elevated chancel is carried by 4 free standing staves. The church has the...

 is believed too have been built in the 12th century and is still located here. The 1.1 square kilometres (271.8 acre) village of Kaupanger has a population (2009) of 854. The village is located about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) southeast of the municipal center of Sogndalsfjøra

Sogndalsfjøra

Sogndalsfjøra is the administrative centre of the municipality of Sogndal in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It is located where the river Sogndalselvi runs out in the Sogndalsfjord, a branch of the Sognefjord. The village has a population of 3,208...

 and about 8 kilometres (5 mi) northeast of the Sogndal Airport, Haukåsen

Sogndal Airport, Haukåsen

Sogndal Airport, Haukåsen opened in 1971 and is owned and operated by Avinor. The airport is located about southwest of Kaupanger in the municipality of Sogndal in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway...

. Kaupanger IL

Kaupanger IL

Kaupanger Idrettslag is a Norwegian sports club from Kaupanger in Sogndal. It has sections for association football, athletics, floorball and skiing.The men's football team currently plays in the Third Division, the fourth tier of Norwegian football...

is a sports club located in Kaupanger.