Country Norway County Hordaland Municipality Osterøy Area 93 ha | Region Western Norway District Nordhordland Elevation 17 m (56 ft) Population 1,154 (2013) | |
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Valestrandfossen or Valestrandsfossen is a village in Osterøy municipality, Hordaland county, Norway. The village sits along the Sørfjorden on the western coast of the island of Osterøy, about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) west of the municipal centre of Lonevåg and about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) south of the village of Hamre where Hamre Church is located. Valestrandfossen has shops, a gas station, primary school, hairdressers, pubs, and Lerøy Fossen AS, the world's largest trout smokehouse.
Map of 5281 Valestrandfossen, Norway
Valestrandfossen is the largest settlement on the whole island of Osterøy. The 0.93-square-kilometre (230-acre) village has a population (2013) of 1,154; giving the village a population density of 1,241 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,210/sq mi). Located by the Sørfjorden, it has a regular ferry (the MF Ole Bull) that crosses the fjord to Åsane in Bergen.
The famous Norwegian violinist and composer Ole Bull had his summer house here. In 1858, he bought a farm in Valestrand. The house was designed during 1865 by his youngest brother, architect Georg Andreas Bull. Ole Bull lived there for a time principally between tours. In 1872, he bought property on the island of Lysøen in the municipality of Os, south of Bergen which became the primary residence of his family.