Nordfjordeid is the administrative centre of Stad municipality, a small town of about 3,100 people at the end of Eidsfjorden. The name tells you what it is: an eid, a narrow strip of land between the fjord and Hornindalsvatnet, the deepest lake in Europe. People have used this land bridge for thousands of years.
The heart of town is Eidsgata, a street of white wooden buildings with shops, cafes, and small museums. Next to it stands Eid Church, built in 1849 by architect Hans Linstow, the same man who designed the Royal Palace in Oslo. The church seats 750 and has beautiful rose paintings in the national-romantic style. But the church history here goes back to around 1000 AD, when the first church was built on the Myklebust farm, on the same ground where the Vikings had their place of worship. That first church was a stave church dedicated to Mary Magdalene.
For a town this size, Nordfjordeid punches above its weight. It has its own opera house, Operahuset Nordfjord, which opened in 2009 with concerts, theatre, and film. The old military exercise ground above town is the oldest in Norway, dating to the first half of the 1600s and now protected as a historical monument.
Since 2019, Nordfjordeid has also become a cruise port with a 220-metre SeaWalk. It grew from 19 ship calls in its first year to 70 in both 2023 and 2024, one of the fastest growth rates for any port in Europe. On busy days, ships with 3,000 passengers dock here, temporarily doubling the population of the town.
The heart of town is Eidsgata, a street of white wooden buildings with shops, cafes, and small museums. Next to it stands Eid Church, built in 1849 by architect Hans Linstow, the same man who designed the Royal Palace in Oslo. The church seats 750 and has beautiful rose paintings in the national-romantic style. But the church history here goes back to around 1000 AD, when the first church was built on the Myklebust farm, on the same ground where the Vikings had their place of worship. That first church was a stave church dedicated to Mary Magdalene.
For a town this size, Nordfjordeid punches above its weight. It has its own opera house, Operahuset Nordfjord, which opened in 2009 with concerts, theatre, and film. The old military exercise ground above town is the oldest in Norway, dating to the first half of the 1600s and now protected as a historical monument.
Since 2019, Nordfjordeid has also become a cruise port with a 220-metre SeaWalk. It grew from 19 ship calls in its first year to 70 in both 2023 and 2024, one of the fastest growth rates for any port in Europe. On busy days, ships with 3,000 passengers dock here, temporarily doubling the population of the town.