Geiranger
- The history of Geiranger
- How to get to Geiranger
- What to do in Geiranger
- Accommodation in Geiranger
- Geiranger is live right now from these webcams
The name “Geiranger” is a combined name of the words geirr (spear) og angr (fjord).
Geiranger has a long history when it comes to tourism. Already back in 1869, the visitors came by ship into the fjords. And it was not tourism, but more exploring. It was the family of Backhouse and the crew of the ship «Nereid» that one day anchored up outside the town of Geiranger.
Today, the tourist season is mainly from May to September each year, but you can still come during the winter. But the town of Geiranger is very quiet and calm. Canping places are shut down for the winter, and only the hotels are open. Around 150 to 200 cruise ships come to Geiranger every year.
The Geirangerfjord is a fantastic voyage back and forth with the waterfalls and the mountain farms along the steep hill sides in the fjord.
A short timeline of Geiranger.
- 1742: Geiranger Church was torn down
- 1744: Geiranger Church rebuilt.
- 1841: Geiranger Church was set on fire and burned down to the ground.
- 1842: Geiranger Church is built.
- 1869: The family of Backhouse and the crew of the ship «Nereid» arrived.
- The owner, with his wife, 2 nephews, and a niece, was on the ship.
- 1889: The Geiranger road opens for travellers and tourists.
- 1896: Kong Leopold of Belgium came on a visit to Geiranger
- 1898: Kong Oskar II of Noreg-Sverige.
- 1899. In the winter of 1899, several huge snowdrifts came down
and forced the family living at the inner Åkernes farm to relocate later. - 1899: Kaiser Wilhelm II visits Geiranger on his annual trip until 1914.
- 1904: Queen Alexandra of England came on a visit to Geiranger
- 1906: King Haakon VII, with kronprins Olav, came on a visit to Geiranger
- 1906: King Christian X of Denmark came on a visit to Geiranger
- 1907: The King of Siam came on a visit to Geiranger
- 1907: 2 different snow avalanches in Geiranger at Holebakk and Vesterås, 14 people killed.
- 1907: In February of 1907, a huge snowdrift came down and destroyed 3 farmhouses and a house for a local farmer.
- 1921–1955: Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands.
- 1934: 7 April 1934, a rock slide in a neighboring fjord was also noticeable in Geiranger. 40 people killed.
- 1934: A local wrote a song about Geiranger.
- 1935: King Haakon VII, with kronprins Olav, came on a visit to Geiranger
- 1936/1950: The emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia came on a visit to Geiranger
- 1993: The silver wedding anniversary of King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway.
- The celebration was held in Geiranger that year.
- 2005: Geiranger was granted World Heritage status by UNESCO.
- 2011: 11 December 2011: The Grande snowdrift and 2 snowdrifts across the fjord at Homlong came down.
- 2017: 8. May 2017, a rock slide came down a hillside and into the Geirangerfjord.
- 2019: 17 January 2019, a snow avalanche almost hit 2 people working in a cabin in Geiranger.
- 2019: 30 January 2019, a snow avalanche almost hit a bus driving in Geiranger.
- 2024: 1. December 2024, a mud slide came down a hillside between the center of Geiranger and Grande, a bit further out.
Geiranger is live right now from these webcams
The Geiranger is under constant threat from landslides from the mountain Åkerneset into the fjord. A collapse would cause a megatsunami that could destroy the village of Geiranger. For this reason, sirens have been installed to warn residents if a landslide should occur.