This post is inspired by all the tourists "pining for the fjords" in here, asking questions about "going to the fjords" as if it were a museum with opening hours, a specific single location in Norway that they can just visit in one go and be done with it.

Norway has 1732 named fjords spread out along the world's second longest coastline, but I suspect the touristy ones are just a couple of handfuls. We've all seen thousands of pictures of those spectacular locations, enough to make the pictures boring and forgettable.

What we're not seeing enough of is the bland, everyday, undramatic and downright boring scenery of the approximately 1720 fjords the tourists don't bother with. So my question is: which is the most bland and boring fjord? Which one deserves an honorable mention for being forgettable? Any boring pics to share?

Note: since most of Norway just loves hating Oslo, the Oslo fjord is exempt from this contest. Surely it's just below mediocre, not even close to boring enough.

by Smart_Perspective535

21 comments

  1. It’s not that we love hating Oslo. It’s just that Oslo sucks and we’re very honest people.

  2. Sorry exemption not accepted.. even though i don’t hate Oslo, from a fjord perspective it is the Oslofjord. Even though there are some quite interesting villages and attractions along the fjord, the fjord itself stays boring

  3. Man, I can’t even think of one that sucks. My gut answer was Drammensfjorden but even then maybe my hatred of Drammen just makes it look ugly to me.

  4. Unable to edit my post, I’ll add Trondheimsfjorden as a candidate. It’s exquisitely boring!

  7. I’m living close to Kvæfjorden and I’d definitely place it on the list as a very boring one

  8. Bunnefjorden. It’s still beautiful but not exactly heart stopping.

  10. This is almost too easy, but It’s called a fjord so I guess it qualifies: Gunneklevfjorden in Porsgrunn. Right next to Herøya Industripark, one of Norway’s biggest industrial areas. But last couple of years, Hydro has been investing hundreds of millions in trying to clean up the mess, prevent toxins spreading and reestablish wildlife. Will always remain almost comically ugly tho.

  11. Ha crazy. It’s surprising to me that you guys have the second largest coastline.

  12. Maybe Grenlandsfjordene. Not too bad in itself. The negative difference is all the heavy industry with factories and smokestacks around the coastal area, and the fact that the industry has polluted the seabed for generations.

    Where there’s less industry, they managed to ruin it anyway. At Stathelle, a small, historic place next to a bridge, the local authorities OK’d building a shopping centre with a ca 500 meter long «Berlin wall» facade – mentioned by architects as one of the worst placed shopping centres in Norway, creating a permanent shadow for the remaining old houses. Still, the local authorities and the architect responsible actually claim that the locals are happy with their new _indirect_ view to the fjord – via reflections in the glass of the shopping centre.

    https://www.aftenposten.no/meninger/kronikk/i/707O8/en-villet-ulykke

    «And not least: Were architectural qualities required? Or to put it another way: decency and professionalism. The architect behind the project told the trade magazine Byggeindustrien that they have divided the glare in the 500-metre-long eastern facade into five fields with different types of brick to ‘soften the format and divide the impression against the wooden buildings’.

    She’s obviously pleased with the quality, because she ends the interview with the following statement: ‘In retrospect, several neighbours now think that the result has been good, and some have gained extra value in indirect sea views and better sun conditions because the fjord is reflected in the glass facades.’ She has probably considered that architectural quality in this case is about indirect sea views and indirect sea views in the former idyll of Stathelle.»

    (Translated with DeepL.com)

    https://www.arkitekturnytt.no/2013/02/kjpesenterarkitektur-en-villet-ulykke.html?m=1

    https://www.bygg.no/arkitekter-arkitekter/radgivere-radgivere/kjopesentra-en-arkitektonisk-katastrofe/480734

    This fjords are not mentioned at the website for Visit Telemark – just try their search function and see the result.

    https://naturvernforbundet.no/et-av-verdens-mest-forurensede-steder/

    (Still, people in Norway should consider and appreciate that the industry in Grenland has created economic values and jobs for Norway, for generations.)

  13. Hafrsfjord. I cannot understand how it is even classified as a fjord.

  14. Frøyfjorden, the strait between the Islands Hitra and Frøya. 
    As a body of water it’s not bad, some nice places and small islands, but as a fjord…? Disappointing 

  15. Randsfjorden, then Tyrifjorden. Interlopers.

    Of the proper fjords, Drammensfjorden because it is brackish and devoid of life.

  19. When you think of fjords, usually you think of Hardangerfjorden, Sognefjorden or Geirangerfjorden. They’re definitely the top 3 by a mile.

    As for other large fjords, I’d say Oslo and Trondheims fjorden can seem a bit boring. Trondheims fjorden have some nice places along the coast, but they don’t have the appeal of the top 3. As for Oslofjorden, it really doesn’t have much going for it.

Comments are closed.