Ålvik

Ålvik is a village in the municipality of Kvam in Vestland county, Norway. The village "urban area" consists of the settlements of Ytre Ålvik og Indre Ålvik (outer and inner Ålvik) and Vikadal. The settlements are located on either side of a ridge with Vikadal in between. Indre Ålvik has been heavily industrialised since the early 1900s, when Bjølvefossen A/S was established. The village lies along the Ålvik bay on the northern shore of the Hardangerfjord. Ålvik Church is located in the village. The village has a population (2019) of 487 and a population density of . The name "Ålvik" is probably derived from Old Norse word ǫlr which means "alder" and the word vik which means "bay". The settlement here dates back at least to 600-700 BC, as documented by bronze artifacts found in the Vikedal area. In medieval times, Ålvik belonged to the estates of Norheim in Norheimsund. The foundations for Indre Ålvik as an industrial district were laid in 1905, when Bjølvefossen A/S was incorporated to exploit the Bjølvo waterfalls for hydroelectric energy. In 1907, the village still had only 74 inhabitants, as little activity took place until Bjølvefossen A/S was sold to Elektrokemisk A/S in 1913. After this, construction of the Bjølvefossen hydroelectric plant commenced. The construction was however stalled due to concession disputes, as it was claimed that the work on the plant had begun before Norwegian escheat laws had been put in force in 1907. The disputes were solved in 1916 and both the plant and factories were completed by 1919, producing calcium carbide for a brief time. The village's population briefly rose by 500 workers, but most left shortly thereafter, as financial problems and an accident destroying the pipelines that supplied water from the hydroelectric reservoir brought production to a halt. This forced Bjølvefossen A/S to default on large loans. Large-scale production was only resumed in 1928, when, after the pledgees had established contact with C. Tennant's Sons & Co.