Varaldsøy Municipality

Varaldsøy Municipality
Varaldsøy herad
Former municipality
Varaldsø herred  (historic name)
View of the Varaldsøy Church on Varaldsøy
View of the Varaldsøy Church on Varaldsøy
Hordaland within Norway
Hordaland within Norway
Varaldsøy within Hordaland
Varaldsøy within Hordaland
Coordinates: 60°07′43″N 05°59′21″E / 60.12861°N 5.98917°E / 60.12861; 5.98917
CountryNorway
CountyHordaland
DistrictHardanger
Established1 Jan 1902
 • Preceded byStrandebarm Municipality
Disestablished1 Jan 1965
 • Succeeded byKvinnherad Municipality and Kvam Municipality
Administrative centreVåge
Government
 • Mayor (1964–1965)Haktor Djuvsland
Area
 (upon dissolution)
 • Total
83.1 km2 (32.1 sq mi)
 • Rank#438 in Norway
Highest elevation
[1]
767 m (2,516 ft)
Population
 (1964)
 • Total
809
 • Rank#502 in Norway
 • Density9.7/km2 (25/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
Decrease −0.9%
DemonymVaraldsøying[2]
Official language
[4]
 • Norwegian formNynorsk[3]
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-1225[5]
Data from Statistics Norway

Varaldsøy is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The 83.1-square-kilometre (32.1 sq mi) municipality existed from 1902 until its dissolution in 1965. The area is now divided between Kvinnherad Municipality and Kvam Municipality in the traditional district of Hardanger in Vestland county. The administrative centre was the village of Våge on the south part of the island of Varaldsøy. Other villages in the municipality included Mundheim and Gjermundshamn.[6]

Prior to its dissolution in 1965, the 83.1-square-kilometre (32.1 sq mi) municipality was the 438th largest by area out of the 525 municipalities in Norway. Varaldsøy Municipality was the 502nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 809. The municipality's population density was 9.7 inhabitants per square kilometre (25/sq mi) and its population had decreased by 0.9% over the previous 10-year period.[7][8]

General information

View of Varaldsøy
View of Gjermundshamn

On 1 January 1902, Strandebarm Municipality was divided into two municipalities: the southern part (population: 848) became the new Varaldsøy Municipality and the northern part (population: 1,661) remained as a smaller Strandebarm Municipality.[9]

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, Varaldsøy Municipality was dissolved and its lands were split between two neighboring municipalities. The Mundheim area northwest of the island on the mainland (population: 300) was incorporated into Kvam Municipality. The island of Varaldsøy and the rest of the mainland area southwest of the island (population: 511) became a part of Kvinnherad Municipality.[9]

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the island of Varaldsøy (Old Norse: Varaldsey). The first element comes from the old male name Varaldr. The last element is ey which means "island".[10] Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Varaldsø. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Varaldsøy. The letter y was added to the end of the word to "Norwegianize" the name (ø is the Danish word for "island" and øy is the Norwegian word).[11]

Churches

The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within Varaldsøy Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Strandebarm prestegjeld and the Hardanger og Voss prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.[8]

Churches in Varaldsøy Municipality
Parish (sokn) Church name Location of the church Year built
Varaldsøy Varaldsøy Church Varaldsøy 1885

Geography

View of the southern part of the island

The municipality encompassed the whole island of Varaldsøy and a 2-to-3-kilometre (1.2 to 1.9 mi) wide strip of the mainland located west of the island. The highest point in the municipality was the 767-metre (2,516 ft) tall mountain Lukefjellet, a tripoint on the border with Strandebarm Municipality, Strandvik Municipality, and Hålandsdal Municipality.[1] Strandebarm Municipality was located to the north, Kvinnherad Municipality was located to the east and south, Strandvik Municipality was located to the west, and Hålandsdal Municipality was located to the northwest.

Government

While it existed, Varaldsøy Municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.[12] The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Heradsstyre) of Varaldsøy Municipality was made up of representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.

Varaldsøy heradsstyre 1963–1965 [13]  
Party name (in Nynorsk) Number of
representatives
  Local List(s) (Lokale lister) 13
Total number of members:13
Note: On 1 January 1965, Varaldsøy Municipality was divided between Kvinnherad Municipality and Kvam Municipality.
Varaldsøy heradsstyre 1959–1963 [14]  
Party name (in Nynorsk) Number of
representatives
  Local List(s) (Lokale lister) 13
Total number of members:13
Varaldsøy heradsstyre 1955–1959 [15]  
Party name (in Nynorsk) Number of
representatives
  Local List(s) (Lokale lister) 13
Total number of members:13
Varaldsøy heradsstyre 1951–1955 [16]  
Party name (in Nynorsk) Number of
representatives
  Local List(s) (Lokale lister) 12
Total number of members:12
Varaldsøy heradsstyre 1947–1951 [17]  
Party name (in Nynorsk) Number of
representatives
  Local List(s) (Lokale lister) 12
Total number of members:12
Varaldsøy heradsstyre 1945–1947 [18]  
Party name (in Nynorsk) Number of
representatives
  Local List(s) (Lokale lister) 12
Total number of members:12
Varaldsøy heradsstyre 1937–1941* [19]  
Party name (in Nynorsk) Number of
representatives
  Local List(s) (Lokale lister) 12
Total number of members:12
Note: Due to the German occupation of Norway during World War II, no elections were held for new municipal councils until after the war ended in 1945.

Mayors

The mayor (Nynorsk: ordførar) of Varaldsøy Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:[20]

  • 1902–1919: Nils Dybsland
  • 1920–1922: Nils Kårstad
  • 1923–1925: Torbjørn Galtung
  • 1926–1928: Erik Skjelnæs
  • 1929–1931: Nils Dybsland
  • 1932–1940: Kristoffer Mundheim
  • 1941–1942: Lars Nedrevåge
  • 1942–1945: Sverre Mundheim
  • 1945–1945: Kristoffer Mundheim
  • 1946–1961: Lars Gerhard Sandvik
  • 1961–1963: Arnt Johan Pettersen
  • 1964–1965: Haktor Djuvsland

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Kart over Noreg" (in Norwegian). Kartverket.
  2. ^ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
  3. ^ "Norsk Lovtidende. 2den Afdeling. 1932. Samling af Love, Resolutioner m.m". Norsk Lovtidend (in Norwegian). Oslo, Norway: Grøndahl og Søns Boktrykkeri: 453–471. 1932.
  4. ^ "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
  5. ^ Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (9 January 2024). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon.
  6. ^ Thorsnæs, Geir, ed. (25 November 2024). "Varaldsøy (tidligere kommune)". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  7. ^ Statistisk sentralbyrå. "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian).
  8. ^ a b Statistisk sentralbyrå (1 January 1951). Norges Sivile, Geistlige, Rettslige og Militære Inndeling 1. Januar 1951 (PDF). Norges Offisielle Statistikk (in Norwegian). Oslo, Norge: H. Aschehoug & Co.
  9. ^ a b Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. ISBN 9788253746845.
  10. ^ Rygh, Oluf (1910). Norske gaardnavne: Søndre Bergenhus amt (in Norwegian) (11 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 1.
  11. ^ "Norsk Lovtidende. 2den Afdeling. 1917. Samling af Love, Resolutioner m.m". Norsk Lovtidend (in Norwegian). Kristiania, Norge: Grøndahl og Søns Boktrykkeri: 1057–1065. 1917.
  12. ^ Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (25 November 2024). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  13. ^ "Kommunevalgene 1963" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1964. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  14. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1959" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1960. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  15. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1955" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1957. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  16. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1951" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1952. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  17. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1947" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1948. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  18. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1945" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1947. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  19. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1937" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1938. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  20. ^ "Ordførere på Varaldsøy". family.brudvik.org (in Norwegian). Retrieved 29 June 2023.

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