Kvinnheradsfjorden

Hardanger
District
Lofthus.
Hardanger
Country	Norway
County	Hordaland
Region	Vestlandet
Adm. Center	Odda (town)
Area
• Total	6,266 km2 (2,419 sq mi)
Population (2009)
• Total	22,810
• Density	3.6/km2 (9.4/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Harding

Hardanger is a traditional district in the western part of Norway, dominated by the Hardangerfjord and its inner branches of the Sørfjorden and Eidfjorden. It consists of the municipalities of Odda, Ullensvang, Eidfjord, Ulvik, Granvin, Kvam, and Jondal, and is located inside the county of Hordaland.

In the early Viking Age, before Harald Fairhair, Hardanger was a petty kingdom with its capital at Kinsarvik.

The area is dominated by the vast Hardangervidda plateau in the east and the large Folgefonna glacier on the central Folgefonna peninsula. The district was selected as the millennium site for Hordaland county.

The Old Norse form of the name was Harðangr. The first element could be harðr meaning "hard" (referring to wind and weather), or it could be referring to the Charudes, a Germanic tribe from Hardsyssel, Denmark. The last element is angr "tight fjord" (the name originally belonged to the fjord, now called Hardangerfjord).

The region is one of Norway's most important sources of fruit and constitutes approximately 40% of the national fruit production, including apple, plum, pear, cherry and redcurrant. Apples have been cultivated in Hardanger since the 14th century, the agricultural experience brought by English monks who first arrived at Lyse Abbey in 1146. The climate, soil and seasonal conditions of the region are believed to be particularly beneficial to the growth of apples. In 2005, juice produced from Hardanger apples became Norway's third product to be granted protection of origin name, with applications pending for other regional produce.

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Wikipedia