Sotra

Sotra is the name of the largest island in Øygarden Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located just west of the city of Bergen. It is part of a pair of islands called 'Sotra' and 'Litlesotra' (lit. 'small Sotra') that are part of a large archipelago stretching from Fedje southwards along the coast of Norway. The larger of the two islands is Sotra which is sometimes called Store Sotra (lit. 'Big Sotra'), while Litlesotra is smaller and less populated of the two. Roughly 28,700 (2017) people live on the two islands of Sotra, with the larger island having a population of about 19,100 (2017) and 9,589 (2017) living on the smaller island. The main population centres on Sotra include (from north to south) Vindenes, Ågotnes, Knappskog, Møvik, Tælavåg, Hammarsland, Skogsvåg, and Klokkarvik. Historically, part of the island was located in Fjell Municipality, and the large disused Fjell Fortress, built by German forces in World War II, is on the island. The island of Sotra is part of an archipelago, so it is surrounded by islands and waterways. To the east of Sotra lies the island of Litlesotra. The small islands of Bildøyna and Geitanger lie near Litlesotra.