"The churchyard by the sea"

"The Churchyard by the Sea”

The cholera churchyard in Leirvåg is known as the “the Churchyard by the Sea” due to it being the inspiration for one of Fartein Valen’s most famous compositions.

It was built due to the cholera epidemic in the nineteenth century, when the deceased had to be buried away from the rest of the population to contain the disease. These days cholera burial sites can be found almost exclusively in Sunnhordland and Sveio has two.

The cholera burial site in Leirvåg is one of them. It was restored in 2014.