Sogn | |
|---|---|
 Hafslovatnet with Sognefjord behind | |
 Districts of Vestland: Inner Sogn Outer Sogn | |
| Country | Norway |
| County | Vestland |
| Region | Vestlandet |
| Adm. Center | Hermansverk[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 10,675 km2 (4,122 sq mi) |
| Population (2006) | |
• Total | 38,858 |
| • Density | 3.6/km2 (9.4/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Sogning |
Sogn is atraditional district inWestern Norway (Vestlandet). It is located in thecounty ofVestland, surrounding theSognefjord, the largest/longestfjord inNorway. The district of Sogn consists of themunicipalities ofAurland,Balestrand,Hyllestad,Høyanger,Gulen,Leikanger,Luster,Lærdal,Sogndal,Solund,Vik, andÅrdal. The district covers 10,675 square kilometres (4,122 sq mi). The largest urban area in Sogn is the village ofSogndalsfjøra (in Sogndal municipality), with 3,455 residents. The second largest urban area is the villageØvre Årdal (in Årdal municipality), with 3,397 people (this village used to be the largest, but recently it was passed by Sogndalsfjøra).[2][3]
The district of Sogn comprises the southern part of the former countySogn og Fjordane. The districts ofSunnfjord andNordfjord are the other two districts in the county.
The nameSogn derived from the name ofSognefjord.The name of the fjord is from the root ofsúga "to suck", referring to the strong tidal streams at the mouth of the fjord. An old name for the district isSygnafylki. The first element in this name is thegenitive ofsygnir which means "people from Sogn" and the last element isfylki "county".[1][4]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1769 | 19,366 | — |
| 1951 | 41,846 | +116.1% |
| 1960 | 40,558 | −3.1% |
| 1970 | 40,254 | −0.7% |
| 1980 | 39,689 | −1.4% |
| 1990 | 38,996 | −1.7% |
| 2000 | 37,841 | −3.0% |
| 2010 | 36,511 | −3.5% |
| 2020 | 36,232 | −0.8% |
| 2030 | 36,773 | +1.5% |
| Source: Statistics Norway. | ||
Since early in theViking Age, Sogn was apetty kingdom calledSygnafylki. Some notable Kings of Sogn were Harald Gullskjegg ("Goldbeard", father of Ragnhild, first wife of Halfdan the Black),Halfdan the Black, andHarald Fairhair.
In 1662,Sogn fogderi was created as part of theNordre Bergenhus amt (county). Sogn was further divided intoIndre Sogn (Inner Sogn) andYtre Sogn (Outer Sogn).
In 1919,Nordre Bergenhus amt was renamedSogn og Fjordane fylke.[5]
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