{"id":369,"date":"2010-05-27T03:56:40","date_gmt":"2010-05-27T03:56:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/?p=369"},"modified":"2010-05-27T10:48:26","modified_gmt":"2010-05-27T10:48:26","slug":"norwegian-counties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/norwegian-counties\/","title":{"rendered":"Norwegian counties"},"content":{"rendered":"

Similar to the 50 states of the United States, Norway as et land<\/strong> (a country)\u00a0is divided into\u00a019 fylker<\/strong> (counties), or \u00a0politiske administrative regioner<\/strong> (take a guess-political administrative regions), which are further subdivided into\u00a0a total\u00a0of 431 kommuner<\/strong> (municipalities).\u00a0 Prior to 1919 when these regioner<\/strong> were renamed fylker<\/strong>, they were called\u00a0(singular) amt, ting, len<\/strong>, and\u00a0syssel, <\/strong>all names for these politcal, administrative, and geographical entities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The map and list of fylker<\/strong> below was taken from Wikipedia and is quite a nice, simple overview of these areas and their names.<\/p>\n

\"Norway<\/a><\/p>\n

Besides Oslo<\/em>, which is a by<\/strong> (city), kommune<\/strong>, and fylke<\/strong>, Vestfold<\/em> fylke<\/strong> is the smallest in area, conatining about 5% of the befolkning <\/strong>(population) of Norway.\u00a0 Vestfold<\/em> <\/strong>is to the west of the Oslofjord and is among the best agricultural land in the country.\u00a0 T\u00f8nsberg, Sandefjord<\/em>, and Larvik<\/em> are among the well-known byer in Vestfold<\/em> fylke<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u00d8stfold<\/em> fylke<\/strong> is the southeasterly fylke<\/strong> that, similar to Vestfold<\/strong><\/em>, is not extremely dense with about 5% of the country’s befolkning<\/strong> residing there.\u00a0 \u00d8stfold <\/em>fylke<\/strong> is known for granite mines, from which Gustav Vigeland<\/em> used granite stone to produce his skulpturer<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Akershus<\/em> fylke<\/strong>\u00a0is the second densest fylke<\/strong> in Norway after Oslo.\u00a0 It is named after the Akershus<\/strong> Fortress.<\/p>\n

With about 250,000 inhabitants, Buskerud<\/em> fylke<\/strong> is ranked 7th densest by befolkning<\/strong>.\u00a0 Buskerud<\/strong><\/em> is known for hydroelectric power, agriculture and an abundance of trees which supply wood pulp mills and lumberyards.<\/p>\n

Heading north, Oppland<\/em><\/strong> is a central Norwegian fylke<\/strong>.\u00a0 The county seat is Lillehammer<\/em>.\u00a0 Besides Hedmark fylke<\/strong><\/em>, Oppland<\/em><\/strong> is the only other\u00a0fylke<\/strong> that is landlocked.\u00a0 Oppland<\/strong><\/em> is the 5th largest fylke<\/strong> by area.<\/p>\n

Hedmark<\/strong><\/em> is the 3rd largest fylke<\/strong> by area and shares\u00a0a long\u00a0border with Sweden.\u00a0 This fylke<\/strong> is also known for agriculture and timber.<\/p>\n

Heading south and west into many hills and valleys, there’s Telemark<\/em> fylke<\/strong>,\u00a0which certainly is one of the least dense fylker <\/strong>in Norway.\u00a0 Telemark skiing\u00a0received it’s name from this fylke<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Aust-Agder<\/em><\/strong> and Vest-Agder<\/strong><\/em> are in the deep south of Norway on the coast.\u00a0 Maritime and commerce, as well as recreation dominate the industry in these fylker<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Just to the west of Vest-Agder<\/em><\/strong> is Rogaland<\/em> fylke<\/strong>, home to one of Norway’s largest cities, Stavanger.\u00a0 Rogaland <\/em><\/strong>is fourth largest by befolkning,<\/strong> but 13th by area.<\/p>\n

Hordaland <\/em>fylke<\/strong> is 3rd largest by befolkning<\/strong> with the county seat in Bergen.\u00a0 This fylke<\/strong>\u00a0is split from the southwest to northeast by Hardangerfjorden, one of Norway’s most visited tourist attractions.<\/p>\n

A bit north is Sogn\u00a0og Fjordane<\/em> fylke<\/strong>, where you will find many, many fjords.<\/p>\n

In the northernmost part of western Norway is\u00a0M\u00f8re og Romsdal<\/em> fylke<\/strong>, which is served by 9 flyplasser<\/strong> (airports) and also relies heavily on b\u00e5ttrafikk<\/strong> (boat traffic) for transportation due to all of the fjords and islands.<\/p>\n

S\u00f8r-Tr\u00f8ndelag<\/em> fylke<\/strong> has double the befolkning<\/strong> that Nord-Tr\u00f8ndelag<\/em> fylke<\/strong>\u00a0has, and is slighlty smaller in area.\u00a0 Nord-Tr\u00f8ndelag<\/em><\/strong> has the second largest lake in Europe, Salsvatnet<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nordland <\/em>fylke<\/strong> is the long fylke<\/strong> that connects the big wide part of Norway (I’ve always thought\u00a0it looks like a spoon)\u00a0with the top (handle of the spoon).\u00a0 Nordland<\/em><\/strong> is the second largest fylke<\/strong> by area and the 9th highest in befolkning<\/strong> numbers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Troms <\/em>fylke<\/strong>, where the city of Troms\u00f8<\/em> lies, is one of the least populated fylker<\/strong> in Norway and the fourth largest.\u00a0 The entire fylke<\/strong> is located north of polarsirkelen<\/strong> (the polar circle).<\/p>\n

And finally, the northernmost fylke<\/strong> in Norway is Finnmark<\/em><\/strong>,\u00a0the largest and least populated.\u00a0 Makes sense, right?\u00a0 It is the northernmost part of continental Europe, and is an area where eastern and western culture meet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now you know your norske fylker<\/strong>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Similar to the 50 states of the United States, Norway as et land (a country)\u00a0is divided into\u00a019 fylker (counties), or \u00a0politiske administrative regioner (take a guess-political administrative regions), which are further subdivided into\u00a0a total\u00a0of 431 kommuner (municipalities).\u00a0 Prior to 1919 when these regioner were renamed fylker, they were called\u00a0(singular) amt, ting, len, and\u00a0syssel, all names…<\/p>\n

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