Bergenhus

Bergensbanen

Already at the beginning of the 1870s demands were made that there had to be a railway connection between Bergen and East Norway. The first section between Bergen and Voss was finished in 1883. The route alternatives further on were many: Lærdal-Valdres, Aurland-Geiteryggen, Raundalen-Finse and Ulvik-Finse. Following a long dispute, an agreement was finally reached that the middle route alternative, Raundalen- Myrdal- Finse, was the best alternative. In 1894 the government passed a resolution that the Bergen railway should be built, but only the section Voss-Taugevatn. This was a political gamble in order to make the rest of the country participate in the plans. In 1898 it was approved that the railway be continued eastwards from Taugevatn to Oslo. This high mountain project was one of the most challenging railway projects in Europe. The Bergen railway was to be built across a mountain plateau without roads.

Bergensbanen- snow measurements

Opponents of the Bergen Railway used the snow argument for all it was worth. During the debate in Parliament before the decision about the route was reached in 1894, fears of snowfalls of over 20 metres were presented.

Bergesfjellet

Bergsdalen

The mountains of western Norway are lovely to wander in. In Cambro-Silurian time it was the mountain itself that wandered. The mountain, or more correctly the bedrock, first moved eastward, then back a bit westward again. All this rocking back and forth in the mountains ended about 400 million years ago.

Bjellandsvatnet

Lake Bjellandsvatnet is one of the richest wetland areas in Sveio. But, everything has its limit, and the supply of nutrients can be too much. This is what was about to happen in Lake Bjellandsvatnet.

Bjoreidalen

Bjoreidalen is one of the classic bird localities on Hardangervidda. It is especially known for its wading birds, with as many as 17 of the 19 wader species that nest in Hordaland.

Bjørsvik

The industrial settlement Bjørsvik

Bleie

"What an adventure it was, that big ships came from foreign lands, to collect something so simple as ice. They came like a gust from the wider world, to a little, forgotten village society", wrote local historian Knut L.Måge.

Blomvågen

"One of the big scientific sensations", was the title in the Bergens Times newspaper on the 22nd of November, 1941. It was the geologist Isal Undås who had been interviewed by the newspaper. He thought that he had discovered a 120 000 year old whale bone, remains of life from before the last Ice Age.