Kinsarvik
Encyclopedia
Kinsarvik is a village, and former municipality, in the county of Hordaland
, Norway.
Kinsarvik was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt
). Ullensvang
used to be an annex to Kinsarvik - but in 1869 Ullensvang became the main parish, and Kinsarvik became an annex to Ullensvang. (And the municipality then changed the name to Ullensvang.) Kinsarvik and Odda
were separated from Ullensvang as municipalities of their own July 1, 1913. Most of Kinsarvik was again merged with Ullensvang January 1, 1964.
The village is today the administrative center of Ullensvang - and it is located at the mouth of the Sørfjorden
and the Eidfjorden where it branches from the Hardangerfjord
.
through the Huse valley (Husedalen) to sea level in the fjord at Kinsarvik. Along the way there are 4 spectacular waterfalls. The waterfalls can be viewed in 4–6 hours by hiking. The trails are slippery when wet.
Kinsarvik is also a major access point for longer treks across the Hardangervidda
, Norway's largest national park.
Kinsarvik makes a good base camp for visiting the surrounding areas. Hardangertun is the large camping ground bordering directly on the Kinso river and the beaches of Hardangerfjord. Besides regular camping it also runs an extensive programme for school groups, offering instruction in rock climbing, canoeing and even archery; the large "Familieparken" has for years been a popular destination for families with small children, featuring water slides and a range of fun park installations. The other large camping ground, Kinsarvik Camping, offers modern cabins perched on a grassy expanse overlooking the fjord. The Bråvoll Camping caters to tents and RVs. The Kinsarvik Best Western hotel caters to those who arrive by car or ferry. There is a large supermarket, gasoline station, and souvenir shops including factory visits to Hardanger Sylvplett. The fjord offers many opportunities for fishing and boating. Kinsarvik Båthavn is hardly a full-feature marina, but for the lucky few guests it offers power, water and an idyllic park. In 2007 a web camera was installed overlooking the harbour, so that sailors may plan their arrival and view the weather conditions.
The shores of the fjords in this area are thick with fruit trees, primarily cherry and apple trees. There are spikes in tourism for the flowering and harvest of these trees.
The history of Kinsarvik tourism has been one of dramatic changes. Up until the 1970s the village was the busiest ferry port in Norway and a crucial junction on the only all-year road connecting Bergen and Oslo. Alternative routes then eroded its importance, but in 2006 the Norwegian Parliament approved Hardangerbrua, a monumental bridge project only 12 km from Kinsarvik. When completed, it will reestablish inner Hardanger as a dominant route and tourist stop for both east-west and north-south traffic.
Archaeological studies have shown that reindeer and the hunting of reindeer on the Hardangervidda was well established in the iron (Viking) age and Middle Ages.
http://bergenmuseum.uib.no/forskning/hardangervidda/index.html but this was done by other than the Sami people.
was reported to live in the Jutland region of Denmark. The people were reported to be involved in many battles and thereby had a tradition of warfare. About the time of the fall of Rome and the arrival of the Huns
there was a great movement of people
in Europe. The Charudes were squeezed between the Angles, Saxons, and the Jutes. It has been theorised that the clan, which was by now referred to as Horder or Harding left Denmark and settled in Scotland, Iceland and the area around what is now Kinsarvik, setting up an independent kingship. The county of Hordaland
and the region of Hardanger
are thought to be named for this people.
In 787AD a Viking
ship sailed from the Hardangerfjord and attacked Dorset England. It is likely that the Viking Age
began in the village of Kinsarvik when this ship sailed.
The shores of the Hardangerfjord are steep and rocky. The gradual earthen banks at the mouth of the Kinso River were an important place for the building and repair of the Longship
. Any attack on Kinsarvik would have to be made by ship. The area was backed by the glaciers of the Hardangervidda and on the east any land force would have to go around the long, narrow, and deep waters of the Sørfjord or Eidfjorden. It was an ideal defensive position for Vikings.
The Vikings of Kinsarvik would have been in close contact with the Sami of the Hardangervidda. The people of Hoordland rarely exhibit lactose intolerance
, a trait likely picked up by mating with the Sami. Perhaps the sagas which recount the meeting of the Vanir
and the Æsir
are mythical remnants of the actual meetings of sami and Horder. The peoples of Hardanger frequently raised dairy cows. Dairy cows were in turn brought to the islands and lands settled by the Norsemen
.
By 900AD the King of Hardanger was well established in Kinsarvik. This in spite of Harald Haarfager who united most of Norway under his rule. Legend has it that the king at this time was captured by the English while on a Viking raid and imprisoned in a tower. A special longship was prepared which was painted white on one side, and black on the other. The ship was sailed to the tower with the white side showing, the king was rescued, on the return trip the black side of the ship was visible which confused the English who were in pursuit. There is a variation to the Norse saga
which claims that the rowers on one side of the ship had aliegance to a leader who used white shields (which were displayed on the side of the ship), while the rowers on the other side had a different leader and black shields, but both groups cooperated for the rescue of the king.
The kingdoms of Norway entered into a series of wars with Sweden around 1000AD. At this time many Vikings fled to Iceland. In 1013 Olaf II of Norway
became king and converted to Christianity. The conversion was not uncontroversial, and Olaf II was replaced by Canute the Great
. Even so the wooden Stave church
s that were being built were easy to burn down by those who did not want to give up their Viking ways. The Vikings of Kinsarvik were also in alliance with their sami neighbors and fellow pagans
. After a series of Viking defeats the Christian forces established a presence in Kinsarvik, building a stone church in 1160. (The switch to stone was to prevent arson.)
Christianity also brought English settlers with Apple rootstock. The English also brought the art of grafting to the fruit industry of Hardanger about 1300AD. The area around Kinsarvik is well suited for growing fruit and its practice expanded.
By 1536 the Protestant Reformation
was underway. The first church in Norway to convert was in Ullensvang just a few miles from Kinsarvik. At this time the paintings and frescos of the Kinsarvik church were covered. In the 17th century the woodwork of the church was painted. In 1961 the original frescos were uncovered.
Hordaland
is a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark and Rogaland. Hordaland is the third largest county after Akershus and Oslo by population. The county administration is located in Bergen...
, Norway.
Kinsarvik was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt
Formannskapsdistrikt
Formannskapsdistrikt was the name for a Norwegian local self-government districts put into force in 1838. This system of municipality was created in a bill approved by the Storting and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January 1837...
). Ullensvang
Ullensvang
Ullensvang is a municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Hardanger. The administrative centre is the village of Kinsarvik....
used to be an annex to Kinsarvik - but in 1869 Ullensvang became the main parish, and Kinsarvik became an annex to Ullensvang. (And the municipality then changed the name to Ullensvang.) Kinsarvik and Odda
Odda
is a municipality and town in the county of Hordaland, Norway. Odda was separated from Ullensvang on 1 July 1913 and on 1 January 1964 Røldal was merged with Odda. The town of Odda is the centre of the landscape of Hardanger, located at the end of the Hardangerfjord.In 1927, Erling Johnson,...
were separated from Ullensvang as municipalities of their own July 1, 1913. Most of Kinsarvik was again merged with Ullensvang January 1, 1964.
The village is today the administrative center of Ullensvang - and it is located at the mouth of the Sørfjorden
Sørfjorden
-Finnmark county:*Sørfjorden , arm of the Mehamnfjorden in Gamvik*Sørfjorden , fjord on Stjernøya island in Hasvik*Sørfjorden , arm of the Mårøfjorden in Lebesby*Sørfjorden , arm of the Nuvsfjorden in Loppa-Hordaland county:...
and the Eidfjorden where it branches from the Hardangerfjord
Hardangerfjord
With a length of , the Hardangerfjord in the county of Hordaland in Norway is the third largest fjord in the world and the second largest in Norway. The surrounding district is called Hardanger....
.
Church
The Kinsarvik church was built in 1160 and is one of the oldest stone churches in Norway. In the Middle Ages the Kinsarvik Church was the site of a market, legal magistrates, as well as a religious center. In the winters the ship masts and sails of the area were stored in the church attic. In the reformation the church decorations were whitewashed but 1961 the church was restored to its Catholic appearance including a fresco of the Archangel Gabriel weighing souls.Huse Valley
It is the wild Kinso river that gives name to Kinsarvik. Its name stems from "kinn" which means "steep mountainside," so "Kinsarvik" is simply "The Bay of Kinso". The Kinso River drops 3600 feet from the HardangerviddaHardangervidda
The Hardangervidda is a mountain plateau in the Hardanger region of western Norway. It is the largest such plateau in Europe, with a cold year-round alpine climate and is the site of one of Norway's largest glaciers. Much of the plateau is protected as part of Hardangervidda National Park; it is a...
through the Huse valley (Husedalen) to sea level in the fjord at Kinsarvik. Along the way there are 4 spectacular waterfalls. The waterfalls can be viewed in 4–6 hours by hiking. The trails are slippery when wet.
Kinsarvik is also a major access point for longer treks across the Hardangervidda
Hardangervidda
The Hardangervidda is a mountain plateau in the Hardanger region of western Norway. It is the largest such plateau in Europe, with a cold year-round alpine climate and is the site of one of Norway's largest glaciers. Much of the plateau is protected as part of Hardangervidda National Park; it is a...
, Norway's largest national park.
Hardanger Bestikk
The Hardanger Bestikk factory has been producting flatware utensils in Kinsarvik since 1958. Their product line includes contemporary design as well as patterns copied from the Viking age.Tourism
The shores of the fjords in this area are thick with fruit trees, primarily cherry and apple trees. There are spikes in tourism for the flowering and harvest of these trees.
The history of Kinsarvik tourism has been one of dramatic changes. Up until the 1970s the village was the busiest ferry port in Norway and a crucial junction on the only all-year road connecting Bergen and Oslo. Alternative routes then eroded its importance, but in 2006 the Norwegian Parliament approved Hardangerbrua, a monumental bridge project only 12 km from Kinsarvik. When completed, it will reestablish inner Hardanger as a dominant route and tourist stop for both east-west and north-south traffic.
Sámi
The reindeer herds on the Hardangervidda plateau origins not from the old Reindeer population which occupied all the high plateaus in pre-historian times, but is merely a result from early 1900 initiatives with reindeer herding on the Hardangervidda. For this both reindeer and sami (herders) were brought to the area. The reindeer herdring on the Hardangervidda did not succeed and the reindeers either escaped or were let loose. Some of the Sami herders settled down in Kinsarvik, but more so in Eidfjord - one of the bordering counties.Archaeological studies have shown that reindeer and the hunting of reindeer on the Hardangervidda was well established in the iron (Viking) age and Middle Ages.
http://bergenmuseum.uib.no/forskning/hardangervidda/index.html but this was done by other than the Sami people.
Vikings
In the time of Julius Caesar a clan known as CharudesCharudes
Charudes is the scholarly Latinization of an Germanic tribe known in Ptolemy as the Charoudes. They are stated to have lived on the east side of the Cimbric Chersonese, Ptolemy's term for Jutland...
was reported to live in the Jutland region of Denmark. The people were reported to be involved in many battles and thereby had a tradition of warfare. About the time of the fall of Rome and the arrival of the Huns
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
there was a great movement of people
Migration Period
The Migration Period, also called the Barbarian Invasions , was a period of intensified human migration in Europe that occurred from c. 400 to 800 CE. This period marked the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages...
in Europe. The Charudes were squeezed between the Angles, Saxons, and the Jutes. It has been theorised that the clan, which was by now referred to as Horder or Harding left Denmark and settled in Scotland, Iceland and the area around what is now Kinsarvik, setting up an independent kingship. The county of Hordaland
Hordaland
is a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark and Rogaland. Hordaland is the third largest county after Akershus and Oslo by population. The county administration is located in Bergen...
and the region of Hardanger
Hardanger
Hardanger is a traditional district in the western part of Norway, dominated by the Hardangerfjord. It consists of the municipalities of Odda, Ullensvang, Eidfjord, Ulvik, Granvin, Kvam and Jondal, and is located inside the county of Hordaland....
are thought to be named for this people.
In 787AD a Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
ship sailed from the Hardangerfjord and attacked Dorset England. It is likely that 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,...
began in the village of Kinsarvik when this ship sailed.
The shores of the Hardangerfjord are steep and rocky. The gradual earthen banks at the mouth of the Kinso River were an important place for the building and repair of the Longship
Longship
Longships were sea vessels made and used by the Vikings from the Nordic countries for trade, commerce, exploration, and warfare during the Viking Age. The longship’s design evolved over many years, beginning in the Stone Age with the invention of the umiak and continuing up to the 9th century with...
. Any attack on Kinsarvik would have to be made by ship. The area was backed by the glaciers of the Hardangervidda and on the east any land force would have to go around the long, narrow, and deep waters of the Sørfjord or Eidfjorden. It was an ideal defensive position for Vikings.
The Vikings of Kinsarvik would have been in close contact with the Sami of the Hardangervidda. The people of Hoordland rarely exhibit lactose intolerance
Lactose intolerance
Lactose intolerance, also called lactase deficiency or hypolactasia, is the inability to digest and metabolize lactose, a sugar found in milk...
, a trait likely picked up by mating with the Sami. Perhaps the sagas which recount the meeting of the Vanir
Vanir
In Norse mythology, the Vanir are a group of gods associated with fertility, wisdom and the ability to see the future. The Vanir are one of two groups of gods and are the namesake of the location Vanaheimr . After the Æsir–Vanir War, the Vanir became a subgroup of the Æsir...
and the Æsir
Æsir
In Old Norse, áss is the term denoting a member of the principal pantheon in Norse paganism. This pantheon includes Odin, Frigg, Thor, Baldr and Tyr. The second pantheon comprises the Vanir...
are mythical remnants of the actual meetings of sami and Horder. The peoples of Hardanger frequently raised dairy cows. Dairy cows were in turn brought to the islands and lands settled by the Norsemen
Norsemen
Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...
.
By 900AD the King of Hardanger was well established in Kinsarvik. This in spite of Harald Haarfager who united most of Norway under his rule. Legend has it that the king at this time was captured by the English while on a Viking raid and imprisoned in a tower. A special longship was prepared which was painted white on one side, and black on the other. The ship was sailed to the tower with the white side showing, the king was rescued, on the return trip the black side of the ship was visible which confused the English who were in pursuit. There is a variation to the Norse saga
Norse saga
The sagas are stories about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, about early Viking voyages, the battles that took place during the voyages, about migration to Iceland and of feuds between Icelandic families...
which claims that the rowers on one side of the ship had aliegance to a leader who used white shields (which were displayed on the side of the ship), while the rowers on the other side had a different leader and black shields, but both groups cooperated for the rescue of the king.
Christianity
Olaf II of Norway
Olaf II Haraldsson was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. He was posthumously given the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae and canonised in Nidaros by Bishop Grimkell, one year after his death in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030. Enshrined in Nidaros Cathedral...
became king and converted to Christianity. The conversion was not uncontroversial, and Olaf II was replaced by Canute the Great
Canute the Great
Cnut the Great , also known as Canute, was a king of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden. Though after the death of his heirs within a decade of his own and the Norman conquest of England in 1066, his legacy was largely lost to history, historian Norman F...
. Even so the wooden Stave church
Stave church
A stave church is a medieval wooden church with a post and beam construction related to timber framing. The wall frames are filled with vertical planks. The load-bearing posts have lent their name to the building technique...
s that were being built were easy to burn down by those who did not want to give up their Viking ways. The Vikings of Kinsarvik were also in alliance with their sami neighbors and fellow pagans
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
. After a series of Viking defeats the Christian forces established a presence in Kinsarvik, building a stone church in 1160. (The switch to stone was to prevent arson.)
Christianity also brought English settlers with Apple rootstock. The English also brought the art of grafting to the fruit industry of Hardanger about 1300AD. The area around Kinsarvik is well suited for growing fruit and its practice expanded.
By 1536 the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
was underway. The first church in Norway to convert was in Ullensvang just a few miles from Kinsarvik. At this time the paintings and frescos of the Kinsarvik church were covered. In the 17th century the woodwork of the church was painted. In 1961 the original frescos were uncovered.
External links
- http://www.ullensvang.herad.no
- http://home.c2i.net/campingguiden/Hordaland/ullensvang/ullensvang.html
- http://84.205.39.225/view/index.shtml
- http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwestern/productInfo.do?iata=&promoCode=&corpID=&propertyCode=73013#null
- http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&ie=UTF8&om=1&qmo=ms&dq=kinsarvik&near=&oq=kinsarvik&z=11&ll=60.403341,6.731873&spn=0.150573,0.461426
- http://www.hardanger-bestikk.no/
- http://www.hardangertun.no/familieparken/fKrasjbatar.htm