The name originates from the Norwegian words "vadestad", which translates to "shallow river crossing" and "heim" which translates to "home". «Vaim» is often used as a local nickname.^[4]

Farming Community edit

Until around the year 1900 most people in Vadheim were farmers. The farmers often traveled to the city of Bergen to sell their goods. These goods often included wood, butter, animals and horses and were transported by the use of "jekter", a kind of small sailing ship.^[5]

Tourism edit

The road through Vadheim and up the Ytredalen valley towards Sunnfjord has been an important thoroughfare since time immemorial. The main road was completed in 1895. The central placement of Vadheim resulted in the village becoming a hub for tourism. In 1882, Vadheim Hotel was built and the transport of tourists through the village became an important source of income for the farmers.^[6]

Industrialization edit

The high mountains surrounding the village has been a source of hydropower for the village. As soon as 1895, a dynamo was installed in the local river. This was most likely the first power plant in Sogn and Fjordane.

In 1906 the Englishman Edgar Ashcroft bought the rights to the waterways and created "Vadheim Elektrochemiske Fabriker" in 1907. The plant produced many different kinds of chemical products until its closure in 2007. The plant helped make Vadheim an industry town.

World War I and World War II edit

Vadheim is the resting place for one of the most famous warships of World War I. During that conflict, Germany converted a number of merchant ships to armed surface raiders. These ships cruised the world's shipping lanes and captured/sank Allied shipping. The most famous and successful of these was SMS Möwe. One of the ships she sank was Mount Temple which carried dinosaur fossils destined for the British Museum in London, England.^[7] Möwe survived the war. During World War II, under the name Oldenburg, was used in support of the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany. On 7 April 1945 Bristol Beaufighter aircraft from No. 114 Squadron RAF, No. 455 Squadron RAAF, and No. 489 Squadron RNZAF sank Oldenburg at her moorings following an intense strafing and rocket attack.

Shortly after the end of World War II, the pre-war criminal and wartime resistance fighter Johannes S. Andersen broke into the German barracks in Vadheim and killed two German prisoners-of-war. The incident caused a controversy in Norway after the war when Andersen was charged in court with killing them. It was decided in 1947 that his indictment would be withdrawn.

During World War II, the Nazi occupants constructed different types of fortifications in Vadheim. The roads which run through the village was seen as strategically significant. In Vadheim, multiple fortifications and bunkers are still visible to this day^[8][9]

Vadheim has historically been logistically important in the Ytre Sogn region because of the Ytredalen valley which go northwards towards Førde and Jølster. The road between Vadheim and Sande is written about first in the 14th century. In 1785 the road through Ytredalen was classified as a horse path. Around the year 1800, a new gravel road for carts was constructed and the road eventually became part of the «Den trondhjemske postveg».

In 1910 the first cars drove through Vadheim. The thoroughfare of tourists and people increased in number after the ship "Alden" came on route in Sogn in 1888.^[10]

Near Vadheim is Ytredal Bridge, an 18th-century stone bridge. It is a popular tourist attraction.

Historically the Labour Party and Centrum Party has been popular among the voters in the village. The voter turnout for the Stortingsvalg election in 2021 and Kommunvalget election in 2019 was respectively 79.7% and 64%.^[11]

• Even Hovland (born 1989) — association footballer
• Vegar Gjermundstad (born 1990) — association footballer
• Karl Friedrich Kurz (1878–1962) — novelist