Kvam, Hardanger, Hordaland, Norway
Kvam is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The municipality is located along the Hardangerfjorden in the traditional district of Hardanger. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Norheimsund. Other larger settlements in the municipality include Øystese, Bru, Ålvik, Tørvikbygd, Omastranda, and Mundheim. Historically, the municipality was named Vikør.
The Old Norse form of the name was Hvammr, identical with the word hvammr which means "(small) valley", possibly referring the Steinsdalen valley west of Norheimsund. Before 1911, the municipality was named Vikør, which comes from the Old Norse word Vikøyar. It was the name of the farm on which the old Vikøy Church was located. The old parish of Vikør was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). According to the 1835 census, the parish had a population of 2,321. On 1 January 1882, a small area of Ullensvang municipality (population: 22) was transferred to Vikør. In 1912, the municipality changed its name from "Vikør" to "Kvam". |