Voss
:
See Voss (surname) for people named Voss. See Voss (novel) for the book by Patrick White. |
Picture of Voss taken from Bordalen |
Voss is a municipality in the county of Hordaland,
Norway. The main centre of population is the town
Voss or
Vossevangen. Voss is situated on the main road and railway line from
Oslo to
Bergen, about 100 kilometres east of Bergen. The people of Voss make their living mainly from
agriculture and
tourism, both in summer and winter.
In the early
Viking Age, before
Harald Fairhair, Voss was a
petty kingdom. According to legend, the people of Voss were forcibly converted to Christianity by king
Olav, who later became St. Olav. A stone cross situated in the town of Vossevangen is said to have been erected at this time. The town contains a stone church from
1277, with a 16th century excentric, octagonal steeple. Just outside the town is
Finnesloftet, a wooden guildhall believed to be the oldest profane wooden building in Northern Europe.
After the
German invasion of Norway on 9 April
1940, Voss was the main point of mobilisation for the Norwegian army in the west, as the city of
Bergen had already fallen on the first day of the invasion. Although most of the troops mobilised here were transferred by railway to the fighting in the east of the country, the German forces, advancing towards Voss along the railway line from Bergen and from the
Hardangerfjord. In Hardanger, some of the Germans climbed up the mountains from
Ålvik while the rest went through
Granvin. They were met with stiff resistance. To break down this resistance the town of Voss was bombed by the
Luftwaffe on 24 and 25 April, and the surrounding countryside on 26 April. About a dozen civilians lost their lives in the bombing which completely destroyed the old wood-built town centre. On 27 April, the German forces entered the town, which remained occupied until 8 May
1945.
In
1964 the municipality was enlarged with the incorporation of neighbouring
Vossestrand and
Evanger, which had up until then been separate municipalities within the
traditional district also known as Voss.
Voss sits in a spectacular location being surrounded by snow-capped mountains, forests, lakes and fast flowing white water rivers. This has lead to it developing as a notable center of ,
water sports,
skydiving,
paragliding and other adventure sports. The area hosts the
Ekstremsportveko (ExtremeSportsWeek) every year in the last week of June, which is regarded as the world's premier
extreme sports festival. Bømoen, the local airstrip, is home to
SkydiveVoss, one of the largest dropzones in Norway, as well as a gliding club. The rivers provide various levels of white water, attracting kayaking, rafting and river boarding. Kite surfing and
Para-bungee may been seen on lake Vangsvatnet. The ski area, to the north of the town, is accessible via a
cable car from the town. There is also
chair lift access from
Bavallen, a short distance to the northeast of Voss. The town´s proximity to the beautiful
Sognefjord, and its position between Bergen and Flåm on the scenic railway, has made it popular with tourists.
Like the rest of western Norway, Voss saw large-scale emigration, particularly to the
United States, in the 19th and early 20th century. Famous Voss-Americans include the
US Senator Knute Nelson, and
American football player and coach
Knute Rockne, who is commemorated by a memorial in Vossevangen.
Voss is a winter sports center, and has in recent times been the home of many world-class athletes in several winter sports, most prominently
biathlon, but also
alpine skiing,
nordic skiing and
freestyle skiing. Athletes from Voss have been present, representing Norway, at every winter olympic games except one since
1948, the exception being
1972. Olympic champions from Voss include:
*
Eirik Kvalfoss -
1984 (
biathlon, sprint)
*
Kristen Skjeldal -
1992 (
cross-country skiing, relay)
*
Kari Traa -
2002 (
freestyle skiing, moguls)
*
Egil Gjelland -
2002 (
biathlon, relay)
*
Kristen Skjeldal -
2002 (
cross-country skiing, relay)
*
Lars Bystøl -
2006 (
ski jumping, K90)In all, athletes from Voss have won 6 gold medals, 5 silver medals and 7 bronze medals at winter olympic games.
The controversial
football agent Rune Hauge is also from Voss.
Voss is also the brand name of expensive mineral water. It is bottled in a distinctive cylindrical bottles. The water comes from the same region as Voss, but not from within the town itself.
*
VossNow! *
Vossestrand*
Skydivevoss*
Ekstreme Voss*
Ekstremsportveko
