Vestland is acounty inNorway.^[4][5] The county is located inWestern Norway, and itsadministrative centre isBergen, where the executive and political leadership is based. TheCounty Governor is based inHermansverk. Vestland is one of two counties in Norway that haveNynorsk as their official written language form.^[6]

Vestland County Vestland fylke
County
Coat of arms
Vestland within Norway
Coordinates:60°55′30″N6°26′42″E / 60.92500°N 6.44500°E /60.92500; 6.44500
Country	Norway
County	Vestland
District	Western Norway
Established	1 Jan 2020
• Preceded by	Hordaland andSogn og Fjordane counties
Administrative centre	Bergen
Government
• Body	Vestland County Municipality
• Governor(2023)	Liv Signe Navarsete (Sp)
• County mayor	Jon Askeland (Sp)
Area
• Total	33,871 km2 (13,078 sq mi)
• Land	31,969 km2 (12,343 sq mi)
• Water	1,902 km2 (734 sq mi)  5.6%
• Rank	#5 in Norway
Population  (2021)
• Total	638,821
• Rank	#3 in Norway
• Density	20/km2 (50/sq mi)
• Change(10 years)	+8.1%
Demonym	Vestlending[1]
Official language [2]
• Norwegian form	Nynorsk
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	NO-46[3]
Website	Official website
Data from Statistics Norway

Vestland was created on 1 January 2020, when the former counties ofHordaland andSogn og Fjordane were merged.^[a][7]

Vestland county is a newly created county, but it has been inhabited for millennia. The area was made up of manypetty kingdoms under theGulating during theMiddle Ages. The northern part was then known asFirdafylke (now the Fjordane region; Nordfjord-Sunnfjord), the central area was known asSygnafylke (now theSogn region), and the southern part was known asHordafylke.

In the early 16th century, Norway was divided into fourlen. TheBergenhus len was headquartered inBergen and encompassed much of western and northern Norway includingFirdafylke,Sygnafylke,Hordafylke, andSunnmørafylke (in the present dayMøre og Romsdal county). The new Bergenhus len was administered from theBergenhus Fortress in the city ofBergen.

In 1662, thelens were replaced byamts. On 19 February 1662, a royal decree changed the name toBergenhus amt. The newBergenhus amt originally consisted of the present-day areas of Vestland and theSunnmøre region ofMøre og Romsdal, plus the far northernNordlandene amt was subordinate to Bergenhus amt. TheSunnmøre region was transferred toRomsdalen amt in 1689 and the Nordlandene amt was separated around that time as well.

In 1763, theamt was divided into northern and southern parts:Nordre Bergenhus amt andSøndre Bergenhus amt. When the amt was split, the present day municipality ofGulen was split with the southern part ending up in Søndre Bergenhus amt. In 1773, the border was re-drawn so that all of Gulen was located in the northern part.

On 1 January 1919,Nordre Bergenhus amt was renamedSogn og Fjordane fylke andSøndre Bergenhus amt was renamedHordaland fylke during a period of time when many location names in Norway were changed.^[8]

The city ofBergen was removed from theBergenhus amt in 1831 and it was classified as a city-county(byamt) from 1831 to 1972. During that time in 1915, the municipality ofÅrstad was annexed into Bergen. In 1972, the neighbouring municipalities ofArna,Fana,Laksevåg andÅsane were annexed into the city of Bergen. Also at that same time, the city of Bergen lost its county status, and became a part of Hordaland county once again.

On 1 January 2020, Hordaland and Sogn og Fjordane counties were merged back together once again, forming Vestland county.

Vestland is located on thewestern coast of Norway. It is split up by several long, deepfjords including theNordfjorden,Sognefjorden, andHardangerfjorden, some ofNorway's most notablefjords and great tourist attractions. About half of theHardangervidda National Park is in the county. It also includes theJostedal,Folgefonna, andHardangerjøkulenglaciers. The county also includes many well-knownwaterfalls, such asVøringsfossen,Brudesløret^[9][10] andStykkjedalsfossen.Ramnefjellsfossen (previously called Utigardfossen) is the tallest in Norway and third tallest in the world andVettisfossen is one of Norway's highest waterfalls with a vertical drop of 275 m (902 ft). Both are located in theJotunheimen mountains.

Outside of theBergen metropolitan area, the county is mostly a rural area with a scattered population. Cruise ships visit Vestland all summer because of the unique vistas of high mountains and deep blue fjords. The famousNærøyfjord is located in the south of the county. This is a UNESCO listed fjord area. There are several archipelagos, includingØygarden,Austevoll,Bulandet,Bremangerlandet, andKinn. The westernmost point in Norway proper isHolmebåen in Solund municipality. The island ofUnst, part ofShetland Islands is around 300 km (190 mi) west of Holmebåen.

The terrain changes quite rapidly with mostly smaller mountains on the coastline, gradually increasing to mountains reaching more than 2,000 m (6,600 ft). Because of the steep rise in elevation andfjords cutting through the terrain, the amount ofprecipitation is very high. Low pressure systems come in from the west and meet the mountains (a phenomenon known asorographic lifting) and cause rain and snowfall.

TheVestland County Municipality is the elected administration of the county. It is led by thecounty council (Norwegian:fylkesting) of 65 members. Heading the county council is the county mayor (Norwegian:fylkesordførar). Since 2020, the county mayor ofVestland County Municipality has beenJon Askeland.^[11][12][13]

The county also has acounty governor (Norwegian:statsforvaltar) who is the representative of theKing andGovernment of Norway.Lars Sponheim is the currentCounty Governor of Vestland and this office is based inHermansverk.^[13]

The municipalities in Vestland are divided among severaldistrict courts (Norwegian:tingrett):Nordhordland District Court,Sunnhordland District Court,Bergen District Court,Hardanger District Court, andSogn og Fjordane District Court. All of these courts are subordinate to theGulating Court of Appeal district based in Bergen.^[13]

Vestland is not an electoral district for elections to theStorting, as Hordaland and Sogn og Fjordane remain as separate districts.

•  
  Myklebustdalen valley east ofByrkjelo
•  
  The village of Hoddevik on theStad peninsula inSelje
•  
  Some old houses inLærdalsøyri,Lærdal
•  
  View fromAurland
•  
  Finse is the highest point of the Norwegian Railway System, located at 1,222 m (4,009 ft)above sea level

Vestland County has a total of 43 municipalities:^[14]

• List of villages in Vestland
• List of churches in Bjørgvin
• Søråsen