Kvam

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 municipality is the 188th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Kvam is the 126th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 8,497. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 0.3% over the previous 10-year period. The municipality (originally the parish) was first named Vikør after the old Vikøy farm (Víkeyjar) since the first Vikøy Church was built there. The first element is vík which means "small bay", "cove", or "inlet". The last element is the genitive case of ey which means "island". This is likely referring to the small island in the little cove just east of the farm. In 1911, the municipality was renamed Kvam, bringing back an old name for the area (Hvammr). The name is identical to the word hvammr which means "small valley" or "grassy hollow", possibly referring the Steinsdalen valley west of Norheimsund. The coat of arms was granted on 27 November 1981. The official blazon is "Azure, a pale pattee argent" (I blått ein innsvinga sølv stolpe). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the ordinary is a pale that curves inwards on each side. The ordinary has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The arms were designed to look like the Fyksesund, a narrow fjord in the municipality. The shape of the fjord is that it is narrower in the middle and this is symbolized in the design. The arms were designed by Magnus Hardeland. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms. The Church of Norway has four parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Kvam.