Brekke (village)

View of Brekke

The village is located in the eastern part of the municipality on the southern shore of the Sognefjorden and the small Risnesfjorden inlet that branches off the main fjord. Brekke sits about a 35 kilometres (22 mi) drive from the village of Eivindvik, the municipal center of Gulen Municipality. The European route E39 highway is accessible 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) south of the village at the village of Instefjord. There is ferry service across the Sognefjorden available 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) away at the village of Ytre Oppedal.[3]

View of the local church

The old Brekke Municipality existed from 1850 until 1861 and then again from 1905 until 1964. The administrative center of the municipality of Brekke was the village of Brekke. The school, post office, Brekke Church, and municipal administration were all located in this village.[4]

The municipality is named after the old Brekke farm (Old Norse: Brekka) since Brekke Church was located there. The name is identical to the old Norwegian word meaning "slope", probably since the village is built on the slopes leading down to the fjord.[5][6]

Brekke and its surroundings are notable as one of the wettest parts of Norway. The nearby weather station in Verkland, about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) to the south, recorded a record amount of rainfall in one calendar year. In 1990, there were 5,546 millimetres (218.3 in) of rain that fell. In the summer of 1964, Brekke received 1,284 millimetres (50.6 in) of rain, making that the wettest summer on record.[3]