Country Norway County Sogn og Fjordane Time zone CET (UTC+01:00) Area 107 ha | Region Western Norway District Sogn Elevation 8 m | |
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Municipality Balestrand Municipality | ||
Balestrand (locally called Holmen) is the administrative centre of Balestrand Municipality in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The village is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden, at the mouth of the small Esefjorden. It sits about 20 kilometres (12 mi) west of the village area of Leikanger-Hermansverk and about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) northwest of the village of Vangsnes (on the southern shore of the Sognefjorden). The small village of Tjugum lies less than 700 metres (2,300 ft) north of Balestrand, across the Esefjorden. The local Tjugum Church is located there, serving the people of the village of Balestrand.
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Map of 6899 Balestrand, Norway
The 1.07-square-kilometre (260-acre) village has a population (2013) of 819, giving the village a population density of 765 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,980/sq mi).
The village is home to the municipal government, but it is also a major tourist stop since the 1800s with several hotels including the Kviknes Hotel. The Sognefjord Aquarium and the Norwegian Tourism Museum are located in the village. There are ferry routes each summer from Balestrand to the Fjærlandsfjorden and to the village of Flåm. There is also fast boat service from Balestrand to the city of Bergen. Balholm AS, a fruit juice processing company is based in Balestrand.
Name
The compounded name Balestrand was created by the Norwegian writer Henrik Wergeland as he traveled in Sogn in 1832 and wrote the poem "Framnæs-Balestrand". The first element is the name of the old farm Bale (Old Norse: Bali) and the last element is (Old Norse: strönd) or "strand" which means "beach". The name of the farm is identical with the word bali which means "hillside along a beach". Historically, the village area was also known as Balholm or simply Holmen.