Flåm
Flåm is a village in the Flåmsdalen valley which is located at the inner end of the Aurlandsfjorden, a branch of Sognefjorden. The village is located in Aurland Municipality in Vestland county, Norway.
The village has a population of 293 and a population density of.
History
In 1670, Flåm Church was built in the village, replacing an older stave church.In 1908, the Norwegian Parliament approved the construction of the Flåm Line railway, though the funds to construct the railway were not allocated until 1923. In 1942, regular operation of trains started on the Flåm Line.
By the 1960s, cruise ships had begun anchoring in the fjord.
The original Fretheim Hotel, established in the late 1800s, expanded to welcome more international guests, offering a comfortable stay amid the wild nature. The Norway in a Nutshell tour – a popular packaged day-trip including the Flåm Railway and fjord ferry – started bringing many visitors to Flåm starting in the 1980s and onward. In 2000, Flåm built a new pier that allowed large cruise ships to dock directly which led to a great increase in tourism. Today, nearly half a million people visit annually, far outnumbering the roughly 300 residents of Flåm.
Name
The name Flåm is documented as early as 1340 as Flaam. It is derived from the plural dative form of the Old Norse word meaning "plain, flat piece of land", and it refers to the flat plains surrounding the Flåm river valley which sits between steep mountains.Transportation
Air
The closest airport is Sogndal Airport, Haukåsen, approximately from Flåm.Road
The European route E16 highway between Oslo and Bergen runs through Flåm. The village sits about southwest of the municipal centre of Aurlandsvangen, south of the village of Undredal, and east of the village of Gudvangen.The Navvy road, Rallarvegen stretches from Myrdal down to Flåm. At Myrdal, it connects with the navvy road for the previously built Bergen Line.
Rail
Flåm is also connected by rail through the Flåm Line, a branch line of the Bergen Line, the line itself travels though picturesque views so is popular with tourists.Sea
The port can take up to three cruise-ships a day although there is a limit of 5000 passengers leaving the ship at a time. In 2020, in was announced that a large power connection was going to be built, allowing ships to turn off their engines while docked and in May 2025 a contractor was announced.Tourism
The village of Flåm has since the late 19th century been a tourist destination. It currently receives almost 450,000 visitors a year. Most ride the Flåm Line between Flåm and Myrdal Station, one of the steepest railway tracks at 1 in 18 in the world. There are also a few spirals. A former rail station building in Flåm now houses a museum dedicated to the Flåm railway.The harbour of Flåm receives some 160 cruise ships per year.
Issues due to tourism
Air pollution in Flåm and nearby Geiranger during the cruise season is similar to that of a big city. Cruise traffic in Norway, which is one of the largest exporters of oil in the world, emits more NOx than all road traffic in Norway combined. In a 2005 Bergens Tidende article, Kjetil Smørås cruise tourists trod down the pristine Norwegian nature, and destroy the foundation for Vestlandet's four entries on Unesco's World Heritage lists".In 2009, Jens Riisnæs said "We have the world's most beautiful nation, we don't need to follow the cruise operators' premises. They can go other places with their polluting ships. It is unwanted noise."
In 2009, Dagens Næringsliv said that a report by Vestlandsforskning says that both "Flåm and Geiranger are nearing a limit in capacity. It might be an alternative and rather stand forth as a «relaxed», exclusive and somewhat less of a mass tourism, cruise destination."
In a 2014 Dagens Næringsliv article, a farmer said that "Previously the smell of summer was that of grass that had been cut. Now the smell is of heavy oil". Furthermore, "They talk about fish that has disappeared from the fjord. In Norway, cruise ships are permitted to dump overboard their greywater in the postcard-narrow fjord-arms. Furthermore, the news article says that defecation in public by tourists, is already a problem; the village's train station has the only public toilets, and 200,000 tourists are expected in the summer season.
In 2014, tourism professor Arvid Viken said that "it is about time this tourism is evaluated somewhat more soberly than how it has been done in many municipalities for some years". Furthermore, this tourism "has low profit per tourist, but is often associated with considerable costs for" the municipal administrations.
Notable people
- Per Sivle, the notable poet was born in Flåm