Ulvik church

Langavassmyrane

The Ruff lek on Langvassmyrane is the only known phenomenon of its kind on Hardangervidda. Every year it attracts hens from the whole plateau. The marsh is also the richest wetland in the county. This green oasis is located in a rocky moraine landscape a few hours walking distance south of Dyranut.

Ulvikapollen

When the lush beach area innermost in Ulvikapollen was protected, the bird life was instrumental to the decision. The plant diversity is just as impressive. In Hordaland sea meadows such as this are rare small in size - they are more common in coastal environments.

Eidfjord church

The old stone church at Eidfjord has an open position on the terrace at Lægreid. In a diploma from 1310 it transpires that Torgeir on Sponheim donated a gift for the erection of the church in Eidfjord. Thus we can assume that the church was under construction at the time. The elements in the style confirm such a dating.

Røldal

The stave church in Røldal was one of the key pilgrimage churches in West Norway. The church was probably built between 1250 and 1350, and in the high Middle Ages Røldal was the most important destination for pilgrims in the country beside the Nidaros cathedral. It was the crucifix that attracted people to midnight mass on midsummer night. That was when it excreted its miraculous sweat.

Ullensvang church

Ullensvang church, situated beside the vicarage, in idyllic surroundings on the headland just inside Lofthus municipality, is mentioned for the first time in written sources in 1309. At that time the present Gothic stone church must have been new. Judging by the style in the western portal and the eastern chancel windows, the church must have been built around 1300 or just before, probably by builders from Bergen influenced by the English Gothic style.

Kinsarvik church

By all accounts the church in Kinsarvik must have been one of the four main churches in the old Horda County. The stone church standing today was restored by cathedral architect Chr. Christie in 1880, and again by Peter Helland-Hansen in 1960-61. At that time an archaeological investigation was undertaken, which has unearthed new knowledge about the church.

Vikøy

Through Adolph Tidemand’s detailed close-ups of smokehouses in Kvam, the vicarage in Vikøy, where he lived during his painting trips through Hardanger, has obtained a central position in the Norwegian national romanticism.

Storegraven

The first mention of Granvin church in written sources is in 1306, but the church location must be far older than this. The farm Storegraven is centrally situated at Granvinsvatnet, by the important traffic artery between Hardanger and Voss, where the road takes off to Ulvik.

Granvinsvassdraget

After the ice age, Granvin Fjord reached all the way up under Skjervsfjossen waterfall. Just a thousand years later, as a result of the rising of the land after the ice melted, this whole inner part of the fjord freed itself of the sea and became Granvinsvatnet lake. In spite of this rise in elevation, this waterway is still navigable for fish: Sea trout have wandered into Granvinsvatnet in more recent times and evolved to become freshwater trout. And salmon and sea trout made the journey 13 kilometres up the Storelvi river.