Os Church (Vestland)

Osøren Station was a railway station located in Osøyro in Hordaland, Norway. The station was the terminus of Nesttun–Osbanen from its opening on 1 June 1884 to its closure on 2 September 1935. After the railway closed, the station environment has been kept as a heritage railway centre.

The Nesttun–Os Line (Norwegian: Nesttun–Osbanen) was a narrow gauge railway between Nesttun, now part of Bergen, and the community of Osøyro in Os municipality, Norway. As the first private railway in Norway, it opened 1 June 1894, designed to connect Os to the Voss Line, allowing for passenger and freight transport to Bergen and Voss. Despite a boom caused by World War I, the railway was eventually driven out of business by competition from road transport, which provided faster service. On 2 September 1935, it became the first Norwegian railway to close, and most of the railway was dismantled the following year. Today, only short stretches of the railway and a few stations survive. Much of the former railway line is used as a bicycle path (rail trail), which makes revival of the Nesttun–Os Railway as a heritage railway very difficult. However, a 40-metre-long (130 ft) railway stretch remains at Stend Station, the only unaltered remaining station, upon which a diesel locomotive and a passenger car are placed. The station building itself has been restored and is used as a museum.

Osøyro (or Osøyri) is the administrative centre of Bjørnafjorden municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village lies on the southwestern part of the Bergen Peninsula, along the western shore of the Fusafjorden, about 25 kilometres (16 mi) south of the city centre of Bergen. The European route E39 highway runs through the village on its way to Bergen. There is a car ferry from the east side of Osøyro to the village of Fusa, across the Fusafjorden. Os Church is located in the village. Osøyro has several smaller suburban villages surrounding it: Søfteland to the north, Søvik to the northwest, Hagavik to the west, Søre Øyane to the southwest, and Halhjem to the south. The 9.24-square-kilometre (2,280-acre) village has a population (2022) of 14,232 and a population density of 1,540 inhabitants per square kilometre (4,000/sq mi).

Os is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. It was located in the Midhordland region, just south of Norway's second-largest city, Bergen. Due to its proximity to Bergen, Os experienced strong population growth. The administrative centre (and commercial centre) of Os was the village of Osøyro. It is the largest settlement in the municipality, with over 60% of the municipal residents living here. Other large villages in Os included Hagavik, Halhjem, Søfteland, Søre Øyane, and Søvik. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of Bjørnafjorden Municipality in Vestland county. Prior to its dissolution in 2020, the 140-square-kilometre (54 sq mi) municipality is the 360th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Os is the 57th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 20,152. The municipality's population density is 151 inhabitants per square kilometre (390/sq mi) and its population has increased by 29.2% over the last decade.

Ulven detention camp (German: Polizeihäftlingslager Ulven, Norwegian: Ulven fangeleir ("Ulven" means "the wolf")) was a concentration camp in Norway that was located in what was Os Municipality in Hordaland county (now part of Bjørnafjorden Municipality in Vestland county). It was located just outside the village of Osøyro, 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of the city of Bergen. Originally a military training camp built by the Norwegian Army in 1876, it was converted into a prison camp in June 1940 during the German occupation of Norway, and it was the first Nazi prison camp in the country. It was designated a Polizeihäftlingslager (police detention camp), under the administration of the Nazi "security police" (Sicherheitspolizei, SIPO). Initially, prisoners were Jews and communists, but a broader array of members from prosecuted groups began arriving at the camp. Conditions were relatively benign until 1942, when Untersturmführer Otmar Holenia, nicknamed "the Storm", took command and imposed harsher conditions. Ulven was used for purposes of executing individuals for various reasons. It is not known how many were murdered in the camp. In the course of the summer of 1943, the prisoners at Ulven were used as slave labor to build the Espeland concentration camp in Bergen, to which the prisoners were transferred. The camp is now a training ground for the Bergenhus home guard.

Søfteland or Syfteland is a village in Bjørnafjorden municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It lies on the Bergen Peninsula, along the European route E39 highway, about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) north of the municipal centre of Osøyro and about 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of the city of Bergen. The mountain Møsnuken lies about 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) east of the village and the mountain Lyshornet lies about 2.3 kilometres (1.4 mi) west of the village. The 1-square-kilometre (250-acre) village has a population (2019) of 1,889 and a population density of 1,889 inhabitants per square kilometre (4,890/sq mi).

Halhjem is a village in Bjørnafjorden municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is a suburb of the municipal centre of Osøyro, located immediately to the north. The village is the site of an important ferry quay along the European route E39 highway which runs between the major cities of Bergen (to the north) and Stavanger (to the south). The population of Halhjem in 1999 was 991, but since 2001 it is considered a part of the urban area of Osøyro. The ferry quay has two different ferry routes that stop here to cross the Bjørnafjorden. There is a ferry from Halhjem to Våge on the island of Tysnesøya in Tysnes municipality, to the southeast. There is also a ferry (that is part of the E39 highway) from Halhjem to Sandvika, just north of the village of Fitjar in Fitjar municipality, to the south.

Nore Neset Church (Norwegian: Nore Neset kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Bjørnafjorden Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Hagavik, just west of the municipal centre of Osøyro. It is one of the two churches for the Os parish which is part of the Fana prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The brown, brick church was built in a fan-shaped design in 2000 using plans drawn up by the architects Mette and Morten Molden. The church seats about 200 people.

Møsnuken is a mountain in Bjørnafjorden Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The 639-metre (2,096 ft) mountain lies about 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) east of the village of Søfteland.

Hagavik is a village in Bjørnafjorden municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village lies immediately to the west of the municipal centre of Osøyro on the shore of the Skeisosen, an arm off the main Bjørnafjorden. Hagavik's population is about 1,650. The actual size of the village is no longer tracked and it is considered part of the urban area of Osøyro. Nore Neset Church is located in the village, as well as the Kysthospitalet, an orthopedic hospital that is part of the Helse Bergen network.

Lyse Abbey or Saint Mary's Abbey, Lyse (Norwegian: Lyse kloster, Lyse Mariakloster) is a now-ruined Cistercian monastery in Bjørnafjorden Municipality in Vestland county in south-western Norway. The name "Lyse" is derived from Lysefjorden near which the building stood. The abbey lies at the southern base of the Lyshornet mountain.

Fusafjorden (Urban East Norwegian: [ˈfʉ̂ːsɑˌfjuːɳ]) is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. It lies in between Bjørnafjorden Municipality and Tysnes Municipality. The 13-kilometre (8.1 mi) long fjord branches off northwards from the Bjørnafjorden at the village of Osøyro. The Fusafjorden is a wide fjord that branches into three arms at Bogøya. The three arms are Samnangerfjorden, Ådlandsfjorden, and Eikelandsfjorden.