Story
The story of Nærøyfjord

The Nærøyfjord is one of the narrowest arms of the whole Sognefjord system. It is about 17 kilometres long, and at its narrowest it is only about 250 metres wide, while the mountains around it rise to about 1,761 metres. South of the village of Bakka, the distance between the summits on each side is only about 3 kilometres.
The fjord was carved by glaciers during the Quaternary ice ages; when the ice retreated, seawater flooded the deep valleys. Waterfalls and hanging valleys cut into its steep sides. In some cold winters the fjord has frozen over: in the 1920s and in 1962, scheduled boats could not get in and had to navigate along the ice edge.
In 2005 the area was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List together with the Geirangerfjord. And if this landscape looks familiar, it may be because it was one of the inspirations for Arendelle in Disney's Frozen.
This story is compiled from Wikipedia and other open sources; dates and numbers are checked against the source. The text is shared under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Source ↗
Hear this story on the spot, in a natural voice
On Sightlore, the story of Nærøyfjord is narrated in a natural voice in 5 languages. When you arrive, say "I'm here" and get your passport stamp.
13 more stories from Flåm in the app
More highlights in Flåm
- Lærdal TunnelThe Lærdal Tunnel is a 24.51-kilometre-long (15.23 mi) road tunnel connecting Lærdal Municipality and Aurland Municipality in Vestland county, Norway; the southwest end of the tunnel is approximately 117 kilometres (73 mi) northeast of Bergen.
- Borgund Stave ChurchBorgund Stave Church is a former parish church initially of the Catholic Church and later the Church of Norway in Lærdal Municipality in Vestland county, Norway.
- Flåm LineThe Flåm Line is a 20.2-kilometer (12.6 mi) long railway line between Myrdal and Flåm in Aurland Municipality, in Vestland county, Norway.
- Undredal Stave ChurchUndredal Stave Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Aurland Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Undredal, on the shore of the Aurlandsfjorden.
- StegasteinStegastein is a scenic overlook on Sogn og Fjordane County Road 243 in Norway. The 30-metre (98 ft) long and 4-metre (13 ft) wide platform of steel and laminated pine overlooks Aurlandsvangen and the Aurlandsfjord.
- Vangen ChurchVangen Church is the main parish church in Aurland Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Aurlandsvangen, at the end of the Aurlandsfjorden.