Sogn og Fjordane (Urban East Norwegian: [ˈsɔŋn ɔ ˈfjûːrɑnə] ⓘ; English: "Sogn and Fjordane") was a county in western Norway, up to 1 January 2020 when it was merged to become part of Vestland county.
Sogn og Fjordane is also home to the Urnes Stave Church and the Nærøyfjord, which are both listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites.
The arms show the geographical layout of the county: three large blue fjords protruding into the white colored land.
[4] Sogn og Fjordane is the only county in Norway in which all municipalities have declared Nynorsk to be their official written form of the Norwegian language.
They were merged with Hordafylke (now Hordaland) and Sunnmørafylke (now Sunnmøre) to form the Bergenhus len in the late Middle Ages.
Later, on 1 January 1919, Nordre Bergenhus amt was renamed Sogn og Fjordane fylke during a period of time when many location names in Norway were changed.
Anne Karin Hamre was the last County Governor of Sogn og Fjordane.
Sogn og Fjordane was also part of the Gulating Court of Appeal district based in Bergen.
Sogn og Fjordane includes the largest glacier in mainland Norway, Jostedalsbreen, in the Breheimen mountain range, and the deepest lake, Hornindalsvatnet.
Cruise ships visit Sogn og Fjordane all summer because of the unique vistas of high mountains and deep blue fjords.
Because of the steep rise in elevation and fjords cutting through the terrain, the amount of precipitation is very high.
Low pressure systems come in from the west and meet the mountains (a phenomenon known as orographic lifting) and cause rain and snowfall.
Sogn surrounds Sognefjorden from Solund on the offshore island of Sula in the North Sea to the village of Skjolden in Luster along Lustrafjorden, a branch of the Sognefjord.