Berle

Berle is a village on the west coast of Norway, in the municipality of Bremanger in the county of Sogn og Fjordane.

Berle has a rich history, which goes back to the year 750. Berle was then populated by Vikings. The best known Viking who lived there was "Berle Kåre". Snorri Sturluson, the Icelandic historian, writes about the "King in Berle", and his sons were a central subject in the histories of Harald Fairhair.

During World War II, in the 1940s, German soldiers built a defense station there, to prevent the allies from entering Frøysjøen, as part of Festung Norwegen.

The name Berle, is connected to the trade with Bergen, but not borrowed from Germany or the Netherlands. "Berle" is Norwegian; its origin is from the village Berle, earlier "Berdlu" (with a mute d), later "Berdle". The village's name is mentioned as early as in the Egils saga, and "berd-" denotes an edge ("bord" in Norwegian) in the forms of the landscape.