Aurland is a small village at the Aurlandsfjord. It's quieter than nearby Flåm, only about 10 minutes away by car, and has more of a local feel to it. The village centre has a square, a few shops, and a bakery. Behind it is a small harbour where the express boat to Bergen and the fjord cruise boats dock.
The area has been settled since the Viking Age. Burial mounds from that period can still be seen along the road. A powerful local family built Vangen Church here in 1202 - a white stone church in early Gothic style, sometimes called the "Sogn Cathedral" because it's the largest of seven medieval stone churches in the region. English merchants apparently helped with the construction, which explains the architectural influences. The church contains stained glass windows by Emanuel Vigeland and a pulpit from the 17th century.
Aurland is known throughout Norway for the Aurland shoe. In 1926, a local shoemaker named Nils Tveranger created what became the world's first penny loafer. He had trained in America and combined ideas from Native American moccasins with a traditional Norwegian hiking shoe called the Tese. The design had a small pocket across the top - originally to hold a 10-øre coin for emergency phone calls. The shoes became hugely popular in America, where they were nicknamed "Weejuns" - short for "Norwegians." Aurland Skofabrikk, the oldest shoe factory in Norway, still produces them by hand. The factory on the pier functions as an économusée where visitors can watch the shoemakers work and learn about the history. Tours take about 50 minutes.