Lærdalsøyri

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title: "Lærdalsøyri" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["villages-in-vestland", "lærdal"] description: "Village in Vestland, Norway" topic_path: "general/villages-in-vestland" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lærdalsøyri" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Village in Vestland, Norway ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
official_name	Lærdalsøyri
settlement_type	Village
image_skyline	P1000425Laerdal.JPG
image_caption	View of Lærdalsøyri
mapframe	yes
mapframe-zoom	11
mapframe-marker	village
pushpin_map	Vestland#Norway
pushpin_label_position	bottom
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	Norway
subdivision_type1	Region
subdivision_name1	Western Norway
subdivision_type2	County
subdivision_name2	Vestland
subdivision_type3	District
subdivision_name3	Sogn
subdivision_type4	Municipality
subdivision_name4	Lærdal Municipality
area_footnotes
area_total_km2	1.01
population_as_of	2025
population_footnotes
population_total	1218
population_density_km2	1206
timezone1	CET
utc_offset1	+01:00
timezone1_DST	CEST
utc_offset1_DST	+02:00
postal_code_type	Post Code
postal_code	6887 Lærdal
coordinates
elevation_m	3
elevation_footnotes
::

|official_name = Lærdalsøyri |other_name = |native_name = |nickname = |settlement_type = Village |image_skyline = P1000425Laerdal.JPG |image_caption = View of Lærdalsøyri | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 11 | mapframe-marker = village |pushpin_map = Vestland#Norway |pushpin_label = |pushpin_label_position = bottom |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = Norway |subdivision_type1 = Region |subdivision_name1 = Western Norway |subdivision_type2 = County |subdivision_name2 = Vestland |subdivision_type3 = District |subdivision_name3 = Sogn |subdivision_type4 = Municipality |subdivision_name4 = Lærdal Municipality |area_footnotes = |area_total_km2 = 1.01 |population_as_of = 2025 |population_footnotes = |population_total = 1218 |population_density_km2 = 1206 |timezone1 = CET |utc_offset1 = +01:00 |timezone1_DST = CEST |utc_offset1_DST = +02:00 |postal_code_type = Post Code |postal_code = 6887 Lærdal |coordinates = |elevation_m = 3 |elevation_footnotes = }}

Lærdalsøyri is the administrative centre of Lærdal Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located along the Lærdalselvi river where it empties into the Lærdalsfjorden, a branch off of the main Sognefjorden. The village is located about 4 km north of the village of Tønjum at the east end of the Lærdal Tunnel which is part of the European route E16 highway. It sits about 25 km northwest of the village of Borgund and about 15 km across the fjord from the village of Kaupanger in Sogndal Municipality. Hauge Church is located in the village, and serves as the main church for the parish.

The 1.01 km2 village has a population (2025) of 1,218 and a population density of 1206 PD/km2.

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Laerdalsoyri01.jpg" caption="View of some of the old village"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Sogn_og_Fjordane_Laerdal_01.JPG" caption="Another view of the village"] ::

The village center is listed as a national "heritage village" and tourists come to see the old city center with its 161 wooden houses that date from 1700 to 1800. The old village of Lærdalsøyri used to be a major trading port between east and west in Norway. It is located near the head of Sognefjord, one of the longest fjords in Norway, which meant sea-going ships could carry goods deep inland before landing them at the village for the overland journey into eastern Norway.

Historically, several of the County Governors of Nordre Bergenhus lived in Lærdalsøyri while in office including Christian Ulrik Kastrup, Michael Conrad Sophus Emil Aubert, and Johan Collett Falsen.

2014 fire

At 22:56 (10:56 pm) on 18 January 2014, local fire departments were alerted to a fire in a residence on the Kyrkjegata road. Winds fanned the flames towards the town center, and the fire spread to a nearby forest, threatening the Old Lærdalsøyri heritage area. The town was evacuated at 00:30 (12:30 am), with residents evacuated to a hotel in the neighboring Aurland Municipality. By 04:00 in the morning, over thirty houses were in flames.

Name

The name Lærdalsøyri is derived from the local river which flows through the village. The first element is the genitive case of the old name of the river Lærr (now the river is called Lærdalselvi) and the last element is which means "valley" or "dale." The meaning of the old river name is unknown. The last element is which is the finite form of which means "sandbank"; it is similar to the word ayre which is used in Scotland and Orkney.

Media gallery

File:Laerdalsoyri03.jpg|Some old houses in Lærdalsøyri File:Laerdal.JPG|Street in Lærdalsøyri File:Themistokles von Eckenbrecher Utsikt over Lærdalsøren.jpeg|Painting of Lærdalsøyri in 1901 File:P1000416Norsk Villakssenter.JPG|Norsk Villakssenter File:Laerdal Oyragata 20.07.2008 1.jpg|View of a building on Oyragata File:Laerdalsoyri04.jpg|Another historic building

Notable people

References

References

1. "Lærdalsøyri, Lærdal (Vestland)". [[yr.no]].
2. "Informasjon om stadnamn". [[Norwegian Mapping Authority.
3. Statistisk sentralbyrå. (2025-10-27). "Urban settlements. Population and area, by municipality".
4. {{Cite SNL. Lærdalsøyri. Lærdalsøyri. 2025-11-18. Askheim. Svein. 2025-08-01
5. "Wind spreads embers considerable distance.".
6. Rygh, Oluf. (1919). "Norske gaardnavne: Nordre Bergenhus amt". W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::