Gudvangen | |
|---|---|
Village | |
 Looking towards Gudvangen from the fjord | |
  Gudvangen Location of the village Show map of Vestland Gudvangen Gudvangen (Norway) Show map of Norway | |
| Coordinates:60°52′40″N6°50′16″E / 60.8777°N 6.8379°E /60.8777; 6.8379 | |
| Country | Norway |
| Region | Western Norway |
| County | Vestland |
| District | Sogn |
| Municipality | Aurland Municipality |
| Elevation | 6 m (20 ft) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Post Code | 5747 Gudvangen |
Gudvangen is a village inAurland Municipality inVestland county,Norway. It is a popular tourist destination and is located at the end of theNærøyfjord where the Nærøydalselvi river empties into the fjord. TheEuropean route E16 highway passes by the village. Heading southwest on the highway leads toVoss municipality while heading northeast the E16 enters theGudvanga Tunnel on its way to the villages ofFlåm,Undredal, andAurlandsvangen. The nearby village ofBakka lies about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) to the north. TheKjelfossen waterfall is located just to the southeast of the village.[2]
The nameGudvangen (Old Norse:Guðvangir) comes from the old farm name. The first element isgud meaning "god". Thevang(en) refers to the open space in front of a place of worship likeAurlandsvangen andVossevangen. In Gudvangen, there have been several places of worship since pre-Christian times.[3][4]
