Svelgen is a village in the municipality of Bremanger

Bremanger

Bremanger is a municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. Bremanger is the only municipality in Sogn og Fjordane, which is located in two districts. The north-eastern parts comprising Oldeide, Berle, Rugsund, Davik, Isane and Ålfoten is located in Nordfjord, while Bremanger, Kalvåg,...

 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...

. Svelgen, the municipal center of the municipality, has a population (2009) of 1,189. It is located at the end of the Nordgulen fjord

Fjord

Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...

, about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) northeast of Midtgulen Church

Midtgulen Church

Midtgulen church is a wooden "long church" in Midtgulen village in the municipality of Bremanger, Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The church is a part of the Davik prestegjeld in the Nordfjord deanery of the Diocese of Bjørgvin....

. The village of Ålfoten

Ålfoten

Ålfoten is a village that lies on the south side of the Nordfjord in the municipality of Bremanger in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The population of the village is 181. The village has an elementary school and the Ålfoten Church which was built in 1678...

 is located about 23 kilometres (14.3 mi) to the east, and the village of Kalvåg

Kalvåg

Kalvåg is a village located on the southeast side of the island of Frøya in the municipality of Bremanger in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. Kalvåg is on the coast along the Frøysjøen, the southern entrance to the Nordfjord. Kalvåg has a population of 351...

 lies about the same distance to the west (across the Frøysjøen strait).

Prior to 1912, the area had no name, other than calling it the end of the Nordgulen fjord or by some of the local farm names. In 1912, the village area was named Svelgen, after the nearby river Svelgselva. Since 1917, a large smelting plant in Svelgen has been a cornerstone business for the village. The plant is currently owned by Elkem

Elkem

Elkem is one of Norway's largest industrial companies, and one of the world's leading suppliers of metals and materials. The company's main products are aluminium, energy and silicon as well as specialised products such as ferrosilicon to foundries, microsilica and carbon...

A/S.