| Vik | |
| Idnumber: | 4639 |
| County: | Vestland |
| District: | Sogn |
| Capital: | Vikøyri |
| Established: | 1 Jan 1838 |
| Preceded: | none |
| Demonyms: | Vikje (male) Vikja (female) |
| Language: | Nynorsk |
| Coatofarms: | Vik komm.svg |
| Webpage: | www.vik.kommune.no |
| Mayor: | Roy Egil Stadheim |
| Mayor Party: | Ap |
| Mayor As Of: | 2019 |
| Area Rank: | 137 |
| Area Total Km2: | 833.22 |
| Area Land Km2: | 794.92 |
| Area Water Km2: | 38.30 |
| Area Water Percent: | 4.6 |
| Population As Of: | 2023 |
| Population Rank: | 249 |
| Population Total: | 2561 |
| Population Density Km2: | 3.2 |
| Population Increase: | -6.2 |
| Coordinates: | 61.0569°N 6.5781°W |
| Utm Zone: | 32V |
| Utm Northing: | 6771574 |
| Utm Easting: | 0369271 |
| Geo Cat: | adm2nd |
Vik is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the southern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center of Vik is the village of Vikøyri. Other villages in the municipality include Feios, Fresvik, Nese, and Vangsnes.
The 833km2 municipality is the 137th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Vik is the 249th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,561. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 6.2% over the previous 10-year period.[1] [2]
Vik was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The original municipality was identical to the Vik parish (prestegjeld) with the sub-parishes (Norwegian: sokn) of Hopperstad, Hove, and Arnafjord (on the south side of the fjord) and Kvamsøy (on the north side of the fjord).[3] [4]
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964 the sub-parish of Kvamsøy (population: 363) was transferred from Vik to Balestrand Municipality and the sub-parish of Vangsnes (population: 189) was transferred from Balestrand to Vik. Also on this date, the Nybø and Nygjerdet farms were transferred from Vik to Høyanger Municipality. All these changes gave Vik a total population of 2,623.
On 1 January 1992, the sub-parishes of Feios and Fresvik were transferred from Leikanger Municipality to Vik Municipality. This added 572 residents to the population of Vik.
On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly created Vestland county after Sogn og Fjordane and Hordaland counties were merged.
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old village of Vik (Norse, Old: Vík) since the first Vik Church was built there. The name is identical with the word which means "small bay", "cove", or "inlet", possibly referring to the small bay off the main Sognefjorden at the present-day village of Vikøyri.[5] [6]
The coat of arms was granted on 15 March 1991. The official blazon is "Vert, three leaf-knives Or bendwise in pale" (Norwegian: På grøn grunn tre skråstilte gull lauvknivar). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is a set of three knives for the cutting of leaves that are laying diagonally in a vertical column. The charge has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. These types of blunt point knives were commonly used in the area to cut fodder for animals. The arms were designed by Rune Tangstad. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[7] [8] [9]
The Church of Norway has five parishes (Norwegian: sokn) within the municipality of Vik. It is part of the Sogn prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.
| Arnafjord | Arnafjord Church | Nese | 1880 |
| Feios | Feios Church | Feios | 1866 |
| Fresvik | Fresvik Church | Fresvik | 1881 |
| Vangsnes | Vangsnes Church | Vangsnes | 1877 |
| Vik | Vik Church | Vikøyri | 1877 |
| Hove Church | Vikøyri | c. 1170 | |
| Hopperstad Stave Church | Vikøyri | c. 1140 |
Vik Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.[10] The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Sogn og Fjordane District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.
The municipal council Norwegian: (Kommunestyre) of Vik is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
The mayors (Norwegian Nynorsk; Nynorsk, Norwegian: ordførar) of Vik:[11]
The wide and fertile village of Vikøyri was established in ancient times. The area must have stood out early as a good place to settle. Distinct parts of Norway stand out with many large burial mounds. These are areas that have been powerful and rich and must have been political centers in prehistoric times. Vik is such an area.
Vik was a center in Sogn through a great deal of the Bronze and Iron Ages (1800 BC-1050 AD). This is due to the importance of agriculture in Vik.[12]
The farms in Vik lie on old marine terraces, and many of the burial mounds lie on the edges of these. Several of the mounds carried rich finds that show how the people of Vik traded and travelled both domestically and abroad. Especially the burial fields at Stadheim and Hove have given rich finds. The Hove mounds were built about 400-500 AD. At Hopperstad, finds have been made that prove Viking raids from Vik. These finds are bronze bowls and bronze dishes, things that probably found their way to Norway with the Viking raids.
In addition to these churches there was also a stave church at Tenål. This church was destroyed in a landslide, probably in the 16th century. This church might also have been built in the 12th century.
Until the 18th century life passed on for centuries without major changes, in Vik as in other parts of Norway. The Black Death swept over the country and lay farms waste. People lived from what the earth, the mountains, and the fjord gave them. Agriculture kept people alive, forestry has never had a central place in the Vik economy. Few people lived far from the fjord.
In 1726, a military parade ground was established in Vik. This represents an important happening in the history of Vik. With the parade ground soldiers and officers found their way to Vik. When Vik became the drill ground for Sogns Bataljon in 1874, Vik's military days of glory began. The officers who came to Vik meant a lot for the development of the town. They were pioneers in agriculture and they were principal characters in politics. Other important happenings in the 18th century was the school building that was built already in 1741. The vicar Anders Daae built this house by his private means. This was one of the first school buildings in rural Norway. The house was torn down in the 1890s.
On 2 December 1811, disaster struck Vik. The village of Nese, on the shore of the Arnafjorden, was devastated by a landslide and 45 people died. The farms at Nese were gathered in one house cluster where the landslide came down from the mountain. The situation worsened by the bad crops in 1812. Surviving cost a lot of hard work, and many people were in need of help. But eventually a way out was offered. In 1839. the first people from Vik emigrated to America. Per Ivarson Undi with his wife and children became the first emigrants from Sogn og Fjordane county. Over the years, many would follow. Over 4,000 people left from the area of present-day Vik municipality. In the year 2000 there are less than 3000 inhabitants left in Vik. Tens of thousands of Americans can trace their roots to Vik municipality.
The latter part of the 19th century saw villagers gathering in common organizations and clubs, and official organizations were established. A post office was established in 1844, Vik Sparebank in 1846 and an agricultural organization in 1858. Then followed a rifle club, a temperance society, a morality society, a choral society, a consumer union, a youth society and many others. People created new social meeting places. The extensive shifting of agricultural land resulted in better working and living conditions. In 1865, Vik Prison was built in Vikøyri (the only prison in Sogn og Fjordane county). The dairy plant was established in 1897. The dairy is the only one that produces gammelost (old cheese), and every year there is a Gammelost festival in Vik.
Vik is located on the southern shores of the Sognefjorden and west of the Aurlandsfjorden. The municipality is bordered on the west by the municipalities of Høyanger and Modalen, to the south by Voss and Vaksdal, and to the east by Aurland. Across the Sognefjorden to the north and east lie the municipalities of Sogndal and Lærdal.
The lake Holskardvatnet is located in the southwest part of the municipality. The Fresvikbreen glacier is located between the villages of Fresvik and Vikøyri.
The Stave churches are constructions of high quality, richly decorated with carvings. In virtually all of them the door frames are decorated from top to bottom with carvings. This tradition of rich ornamentation appears to go back to the animal carvings of the Viking Age. The dragons are lovingly executed and transformed into long-limbed creatures of fantasy, here and there entwined with tendrils of vine, with winding stems and serrated leaves. The elaborate designs are executed with supreme artistic skill. The stave church doorways are, therefore, among the most distinctive works of art to be found in Norway. However, it is difficult to connect them with the Christian gospel.
. Norske gaardnavne: Nordre Bergenhus amt . 1919 . W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri . 12 . Kristiania, Norge . 150 . no . Oluf Rygh.