By Åsmund Ohnstad
Long ago, there were only footpaths or bridle paths along the fjord. Boats were therefore very important when people wanted to get to other farms and hamlets.
The Viking Age
Gudvangen is one of the oldest market-places in Norway. The Nærøyfjord is named after the god of seafaring, Njord. He created the wind for the sails and made sure that it was not so strong that boats capsized. People have lived in the Nærøyfjord since time immemorial, and during the Viking Age there was a great deal of traffic both on land and by sea. The Nærøyfjord had already become important as a transport route between Western and Eastern Norway.
Rowing boats and sailing boats
Until 1859, people who lived in the Nærøydalen valley and beside the Nærøyfjord attended church in Undredal, and the only way to get there was by sea. Church services were usually held once a month. However, people also had other reasons to travel, such as attending assemblies (ting), auctions and dealings with the police or priest. Weddings, funerals and feasts were other important events and social gatherings.
Officials such as bailiffs, local judges and policemen used the fjord when travelling on official business within and between local communities. The farmers were often obliged to ferry officials, and there were rules governing the size of the boat to be used and how many rowers were required.
Trade also played an important role in former times. There was a market-place at Lærdalsøyri, and people from the different communities in Sogn went there to sell their wares and to buy goods. Many goods were transported to Bergen, and sailing boats (jekts) were often used for this purpose. They had large sails and good cargo capacity. The fjord was also the main means of getting from one farm or hamlet to another.
The fjord joined people together and was often the most important means of travel when bringing home firewood or fodder from outlying fields.
The Royal Post Road
The modern Norwegian postal service was established in 1647. The post road between Kristiania and Bergen went up through Valdres to Lærdal. The mail was taken by rowing boat from Lærdal to Gudvangen. The trip could take 10-12 hours, but this included stopping at a number of farms to deliver mail. The post road continued from Gudvangen to Voss and Bergen. The postal system was so organised that farmers along the route carried the mail from their farm to the next farm. These farmers were often called post farmers. This system was in operation up until the middle of the 19th century.
The first tourists
A new type of traffic emerged in the early 19th century. Wealthy people, both Norwegians and foreigners, travelled from village to village to see and explore the country. Many travel accounts have been written about the area between Lærdal and Gudvangen. The travellers observed the landscape, fauna, birdlife and the clothes and behaviour of the locals. The youths who were given the task of rowing from place to place earned money from this traffic.
Modern roads
In the 1840s, a good, modern bridle road was built between the Nærøydalen valley and Stalheim. Horses with carriages could now travel the whole way from Gudvangen to Voss. The road itself, known as Stalheimskleiva, was so impressive that people came just to see it. There was a great increase in traffic, both on the road and on the fjord.
Fylkesbaatane
In 1858, Fylkesbaatane i Sogn og Fjordane started a regular boat service to and from Bergen. This was an important development, since the district exported a great deal of agricultural produce. For the first few years, a steamboat sailed as far as Styvi, which meant that the farmers who lived further up the fjord and in the valley had to pick up and transport their goods there. In the 1860s, a steamboat sailed to Gudvangen during the summer months and, otherwise, out to Styvi. The boat then started calling at Gudvangen throughout the year. Potatoes, butter, cheese, meat, hides and tallow were the most important produce sold by the farmers. Salt, sugar, coffee and all manner of equipment were imported to the district. In 1875, a local service was started between Lærdal and Gudvangen. This service improved communication between the villages in the Voss district and Eastern Norway, and communication between Sogn and Hardanger also improved.
Cruise tourism
Around 1890, a new type of tourism arrived in Norway. Large English and German steam ships visited the fjords of Western Norway. The ships had pleasant cabins and offered good service, and the wealthy could enjoy life on board while admiring the Norwegian scenery. The Nærøyfjord and Sørfjord in Hardanger were very popular tourist destinations. The amount of traffic increased as the years passed, and it was very great by the time the first world war broke out in 1914. After the war, cruise traffic declined, but it picked up again in the 1930s.
Cars and ferries
At the end of the 1930s, the Stalheimskleiva road was extended to make it passable by cars and buses. This led to a new increase in traffic, both on the road and on the fjord. Fylkesbaatane started a car ferry service between Gudvangen and Lærdal using a small ferry with space for a few cars. Car ferries were a new type of boat, designed to carry many cars and passengers. Around 1950, the war long over, Fylkesbaatane introduced a large, modern ferry called ”Gudvangen”.
The tourist route Gudvangen-Flåm
The new road between Gudvangen and Voss made it possible to make a round trip by travelling from Flåm to Voss by train, continuing from Voss to Gudvangen by car and from Gudvangen to Flåm by boat. The round trip immediately became very popular and around 1950, Fylkesbaatane put a new, modern boat called ”Balholm” into service. This boat sailed the fjord every summer until the mid-1970s. In 1991 a new road opened between Gudvangen and Flåm, and in 2000 the tunnel between Aurland and Lærdal was opened. This meant that it was no longer necessary to transport people and cars on the fjord. Since then, tourists have constituted virtually the only traffic on the Nærøyfjord.
Mining and transport on the fjord
In the 1960s, the mining of stone, white anorthosite, started at Jordalsnuten in the Nærøydalen valley. Large quantities of stone were to be transported to buyers in Norway and abroad. The only good solution was to transport the stone by ship on the fjord and today, in 2006, large cargo boats come to Gudvangen to ship the stone to European ports.