Kvinnherad

Kvinnherad is a municipality in Hordaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland, along the Hardangerfjorden. The municipality is the 5th in size in Hordaland county.

The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rosendal. The largest village is Husnes, with about 6,000 people living in or near the village. Other villages include Ænes, Åkra, Dimmelsvik, Eidsvik, Hatlestrand, Herøysund, Høylandsbygd, Ølve, Sæbøvik, Sundal, Sunde, Uskedal, and Valen.

In the southern part of Kvinnherad you will find the typical fjord landscape of western Norway. The areas of Mauranger and Rosendal are said to have about the most beautiful fjord landscape of Hardanger as a whole: narrow fjords, wild water-falls, and the nearby Folgefonna, the third biggest glacier in Norway.

General information

The parish of Qvindherred was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). On 1 January 1907, a small area northwest of the villages of Ølve and Husa (population: 67) was transferred from neighboring Tysnes municipality to Kvinnherad. On 1 January 1965, there was a major municipal merger that took place as a result of the work of the Schei Committee. The following areas were merged into one large municipality of Kvinnherad: