Fj�rland was originally part of the municipality of Leikanger, but in
1849 it was transferred to the newly created Balestrand municipality.
Historically, the only transportation to Fj�rland had been by ferry. In
1986 a highway tunnel was opened to the village of Skei to the northwest
which connected Fj�rland to J�lster. In 1994 another highway tunnel was
opened to the southeast which connected Fj�rland to Sogndalsfj�ra.
These tunnels now constitute the best road from a large district of
Norway's west coast toward the capital,Oslo. These tunnels were part of
the reason that the area Fj�rland left Balestrand and merged into the
municipality of Sogndal on 1 January 2000.
The glacier arms B�yabreen
and Supelabreen (a part of the Jostedalsbreen glacier) and the
Norwegian Glacier Museum are located nearby. Fj�rland is also the
Norwegian book town, with book shops situated in old cow sheds and
pigpens, there are also book shops on the ferry quay and in the Hotel
Mundal. The Hotel Mundal is an old wooden building in 19th century style
still in business as a hotel. The hotel was owned by the Orheim family
for over a hundred years, until August 2008 when it was sold
