Editing Kvam (section)

==General information==
[[File:Norheimsund 01.JPG|thumb|left|View of the village of Norheimsund]]
[[File:Vikøy kirke.jpg|thumb|left|View of [[Vikøy Church]]]]

===Name===
The municipality (originally the [[prestegjeld|parish]]) was first named ''Vikør'' after the old ''Vikøy'' farm ({{langx|non|Víkeyjar}}) since the first [[Vikøy Church]] was built there. The first element is {{wikt-lang|non|vík}} which means "small [[bay]]", "[[cove]]", or "[[inlet]]". The last element is the [[genitive case]] of {{wikt-lang|non|ey}} which means "[[island]]". This is likely referring to the small island in the little cove just east of the farm.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rygh |first=Oluf |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ud5LAQAAIAAJ |title=Norske gaardnavne: Søndre Bergenhus amt |date=1910 |publisher=W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri |edition=11 |location=Kristiania, Norge |pages=492–493 |language=no |authorlink=Oluf Rygh}}</ref>

On 1 December 1911, a [[royal decree|royal resolution]] changed the name of the municipality to ''Kvam'', bringing back an old name for the area ({{langx|non|Hvammr}}).<ref>{{Cite journal |year=1911 |title=Norsk Lovtidende. 2den Afdeling. 1911. Samling af Love, Resolutioner m.m |url=https://www.nb.no/items/URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2015102381017_001 |journal=[[Norsk Lovtidend]] |language=no |location=Oslo, Norway |publisher=Grøndahl og Søns Boktrykkeri |page=590}}</ref> The name is identical to the word {{wikt-lang|non|hvammr}} which means "small [[valley]]" or "grassy hollow", possibly referring the Steinsdalen valley west of Norheimsund.<ref name="snl2">{{Cite web |last=Store norske leksikon |author-link=Store norske leksikon |title=Kvam – kommune i Hordaland |url=http://snl.no/Kvam%2Fkommune_i_Hordaland |access-date=2014-07-04 |language=no}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rygh |first=Oluf |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ud5LAQAAIAAJ |title=Norske gaardnavne: Søndre Bergenhus amt |date=1910 |publisher=W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri |edition=11 |location=Kristiania, Norge |pages=501 and 506 |language=no |authorlink=Oluf Rygh}}</ref>

===Coat of arms===
The [[coat of arms]] was granted on 27 November 1981. The official [[blazon]] is ''"[[Azure (heraldry)|Azure]], a [[Pale (heraldry)|pale]] [[Cross pattée|pattee]] [[argent]]"'' ({{langx|no|I blått ein innsvinga sølv stolpe}}). This means the arms have a blue [[field (heraldry)|field]] (background) and the [[ordinary (heraldry)|ordinary]] is a [[Pale (heraldry)|pale]] that curves inwards on each side. The ordinary has a [[tincture (heraldry)|tincture]] of [[argent]] which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The arms were designed to look like the [[Fyksesund]], a narrow [[fjord]] in the municipality. The shape of the fjord is that it is narrower in the middle and this is symbolized in the design. The arms were designed by Magnus Hardeland. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 April 2023 |title=Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen |url=https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Kvam |access-date=2023-05-20 |publisher=Heraldry of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Kvam, Hordaland (Norway) |url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/no-12-38.html |access-date=2023-05-20 |website=Flags of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1982-01-23 |title=Godkjenning av våpen og flagg |url=https://lovdata.no/dokument/LF/forskrift/1981-11-27-3731 |access-date=2023-05-20 |website=Lovdata.no |publisher=Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet |language=no}}</ref>

===Churches===
The [[Church of Norway]] has four parishes ({{lang|no|sokn}}) within the municipality of Kvam. It is part of the [[Hardanger og Voss prosti]] ([[deanery]]) in the [[Diocese of Bjørgvin]].

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ style="font-size:medium"|'''''Churches in Kvam'''''
!Parish ({{lang|no|sokn}})!!Church name!!Location of the church!!Year built
|-
|Strandebarm||[[Strandebarm Church]]||[[Bru, Hordaland|Bru]]||1876
|-
|rowspan="2"|Vikøy||[[Norheimsund Church]]||[[Norheimsund]]||1992
|-
|[[Vikøy Church]]||[[Vikøy]]||1838
|-
|Øystese||[[Øystese Church]]||[[Øystese]]||1868
|-
|Ålvik||[[Ålvik Church]]||[[Ålvik]]||1962
|}