The name Vikøyri is belong only the area in the village center, but in this context the whole village Vik is included, including the valley’s, Seljadalen, Bøadalen and Ovrisdalen.
Here (below) is a bit about the historical background of Vikøyri. When it comes to farms, valleys and more, it all will be categorized after villages.
Vikøyri is the name of the area between the rivers Vikja and Hopra. Sometimes the name and utility of the whole village built Vik. In a daily speech in Vik, it’s often named just Øyri. On the eastside of Vikja is a smaller house cluster that is called Vetløyri or Seimsøyri.
The name Seimsøyri comes from the fact that the gardens on Seim own the area. The end of the name «-øyr» indicates the area where a river flows into the sea or the fjord.
Vikøyri has a saw that differs greatly from the rest of the village. Agriculture has been the most important trade route in Vik, and the majority of people lived on farms and where farmers. But those who lived at Vikøyri lived in a small village and did not have fields and meadows around their houses that they could use to make a living.
The village or the town of Vikøyri wher pretty big. It was not uncommon for urban settlements around mining, ironworks and other industries or on the coast because of shipping or fishing. But such a large urban area in an agricultural village is unusual, but you find it the same in Sogndal and Lærdal. All three villages were called beach sitt towns or beach towns. The first to settle on this flat along the coast was poor people. They got free land or very cheap land, often with a duty to pay the owner as payment. A typical beach sitter saved himself by working around the gardens in the countryside, rented a small field, had a few sheep in the cellar and fish a little for food. But many lived and by being craftsmen, carpenters, blacksmiths, shoemakers, ink-butchers and others.
In 1900, there were 464 people on Vikøyri. Houses stood close and the fire danger was great.
The beach town towns that they knew up to the 1960s are about to disappear or they are changing dramatically. There were many shops, craftsmen, workshops, warehouses and boathouses. Here, and usually there was a guest and a cloud station and a few towns, the sheriff, the foe, and the magistrate could stay here. Often it was a place of excursion too. This is how it was and in Vik. The first excursion site in Vik lay down on Vikøyri before moving to Moane, south of the church. One annual market was common, in Vik it was Mikkelsmessehelgi (September 29) which was the market time in Vik. There were many, many washes that flowed to the countryside, and the trade went lively, but there was also play, dance and fighting. It even with murder in 1891, and after that time the mickle mess theme dipped off.
In many cities a new center development has taken place. The downtown functions with shops and other offerings have in part been moved away from the beach stages. This has happened in Vik with the Coop shop and Vikjatunet. There are a number of shops, but the office, cafe and hairdressing salon have been those who have come after. The same has happened in Sogndal, where the Sogningen Citysenter is located on the south side of Gravensteinstreet.
Today, it is still quieter at Vikøyri compared to conditions for several decades ago. It was tailors, shoemakers, ink-makers, blacksmiths and others who carried their craft where they bid. There people came and went all the time, it could be customers or just people who stopped in for a chat. It was an active social life, people were soft-spoken and devoted to each other. It was also a vibrant life outside.
