Ullensvang

Ullensvang is a municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway. which is a decrease of some 500 inhabitants since 1980. This development can be seen in light of the general depopulation of rural Norway. The major part of Ullensvang's 538 square miles (1393 km²) is located at the national park Hardangervidda, Europe's biggest mountain plateau (highest point, Haarteigen, 1690 meters above sea level). The general population, however, is confined to the narrow mountain sides and valleys along the Hardangerfjord, especially in the rural centers of Kinsarvik (administrative center) and Lofthus. Ullensvang is Norway's biggest supplier of fruit, esp. sweet cherries and apples. Every summer a cherry festival is held at Lofthus, where the Norwegian championship of cherry stone spitting is held (record: 14,24 meters, S. Kleivkaas). Each May a musical festival is held at Ullensvang Hotel (built 1846), when musicians from all of Norway come to the village. The famous composer Edvard Grieg spent many summers at Lofthus, and the festival is held in his honor. During the summer population is doubled due to tourism. Attractions in addition to the previous mentioned, are the medieval churches at Lofthus (built 1300) and Kinsarvik (built 1160), several water falls, the flowering season in May, and museums at Aga, Utne and Skredhaugen.