Jostedal Municipality

Jostedal Municipality
Jostedal herad
Former municipality
Jostedalen herred  (historic name)
Short canyon near Jostedalsbreen glacier
Sogn og Fjordane within Norway
Jostedal within Sogn og Fjordane
Coordinates: 61°35′14″N 07°16′59″E / 61.58722°N 7.28306°E / 61.58722; 7.28306
CountryNorway
CountySogn og Fjordane
DistrictSogn
Established1 Jan 1838
 • Created asFormannskapsdistrikt
Disestablished1 Jan 1963
 • Succeeded byLuster Municipality
Administrative centreJostedal
Government
 • Mayor (1956–1963)Johannes Grov
Area
 (upon dissolution)
 • Total
529.2 km2 (204.3 sq mi)
 • Rank#190 in Norway
Highest elevation
[1]
2,083 m (6,834 ft)
Population
 (1962)
 • Total
810
 • Rank#655 in Norway
 • Density1.5/km2 (3.9/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
 −5.5%
DemonymJostedøl[2]
Official language
[4]
 • Norwegian formNynorsk[3]
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-1427[5]
Data from Statistics Norway

Jostedal is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The 529.2-square-kilometre (204.3 sq mi) municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1963. The area is now part of Luster Municipality in the traditional district of Sogn in Vestland county. The administrative centre was the village of Jostedal.[6]

Prior to its dissolution in 1963, the 529.2-square-kilometre (204.3 sq mi) municipality was the 190th largest by area out of the 705 municipalities in Norway. Jostedal Municipality was the 655th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 810. The municipality's population density was 1.5 inhabitants per square kilometre (3.9/sq mi) and its population had decreased by 5.5% over the previous 10-year period.[7][8]

General information

The parish of Jostedal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1963, Jostedal Municipality (population: 796) was merged with the neighboring Luster Municipality (population: 2,674) and Hafslo Municipality (population: 2,384) which created a new, larger Luster Municipality.[9]

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Jostedalen valley (Old Norse: Jǫstrudalr) since the first Jostedal Church was built there.

The first element is Jastra which is the old name for the river Jostedøla. The name comes from the genitive case of the word jǫstr which means "yeast". This name is likely due to the fact that the water in the river comes from glaciers and during the summer time the river gets "frothy" or "foamy" due to all of the melting ice and the many waterfalls. The last element is dalr which means "valley" or "dale".[6][10]

Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Jostedalen. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Jostedal, removing the definite form ending -en.[11]

Churches

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

Churches in Jostedal Municipality
Parish (sokn) Church name Location of the church Year built
Jostedal Jostedal Church Jostedal 1660

Geography

The former municipality consisted of Jostedalen valley which empties into the Gaupnefjord at the village of Gaupne. The Gaupnefjord is an arm of the Lustrafjorden, which is an arm of the famous Sognefjorden, the second largest fjord in the world. There are three major glacial lakes in the area: Tunsbergdalsvatnet, Nigardsbrevatnet, and Austdalsvatnet/Styggevatnet (the suffix vatn is Norwegian for lake).

The river Jostedøla runs through the valley up to its headwaters at the Jostedalsbreen glacier, a plateau glacier which is the European mainland's largest with an area of 480 square kilometres (190 sq mi). Jostedalsbreen National Park and Breheimen National Park are located on either side of the Jostedalen valley. The highest point in the municipality was the 2,083-metre (6,834 ft) tall mountain Lodalskåpa on the northern border with Stryn Municipality.[1]

Stryn Municipality was to the northwest, Skjåk Municipality (in Oppland county) was to the east, and Luster Municipality was to the south and west.

Government

While it existed, Jostedal 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 Jostedal Municipality was made up of 13 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.

Jostedal heradsstyre 1959–1962 [13]  
Party name (in Nynorsk) Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) 9
  Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgarlege Felleslister) 4
Total number of members:13
Note: On 1 January 1963, Jostedal Municipality became part of Luster Municipality.
Jostedal heradsstyre 1955–1959 [14]  
Party name (in Nynorsk) Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) 6
  Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgarlege Felleslister) 7
Total number of members:13
Jostedal heradsstyre 1951–1955 [15]  
Party name (in Nynorsk) Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) 5
  Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgarlege Felleslister) 7
Total number of members:12
Jostedal heradsstyre 1947–1951 [16]  
Party name (in Nynorsk) Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) 6
  Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgarlege Felleslister) 6
Total number of members:12
Jostedal heradsstyre 1945–1947 [17]  
Party name (in Nynorsk) Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) 6
  Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgarlege Felleslister) 6
Total number of members:12
Jostedal heradsstyre 1937–1941* [18]  
Party name (in Nynorsk) Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) 7
  Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgarlege Felleslister) 2
  Local List(s) (Lokale lister) 3
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 Jostedal Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people held this position:[19]

  • 1838–1839: K.A. Bugge
  • 1840–1841: Lars R. Faaberg
  • 1842–1845: M.S. Fasting
  • 1846–1846: Lars T. Kronen
  • 1847–1849: Christian B. Heltberg
  • 1850–1850: Anders A. Haugen
  • 1851–1852: Christian B. Heltberg
  • 1853–1855: I.H. Vamberg
  • 1856–1856: O. Christian Rasch
  • 1857–1858: Lars T. Kronen
  • 1859–1861: O. Christian Rasch
  • 1862–1862: Jon A. Haugen
  • 1868–1869: Lars T. Kronen
  • 1870–1874: Rasmus L. Faaberg
  • 1875–1875: Andreas E. Hansen
  • 1876–1876: Anders Christensen Ormbergstøl
  • 1877–1878: Tøger Kronen
  • 1879–1880: Anders Christensen Ormbergstøl
  • 1881–1882: Anton Hansen
  • 1883–1896: Anders Christensen Ormbergstøl
  • 1897–1904: Kristen Andersen Ormbergstøl
  • 1905–1907: Lars Rasmussen Faaberg
  • 1908–1910: Ole E. Myklemyr
  • 1911–1922: Lars Rasmussen Faaberg
  • 1923–1935: H.N. Bruheim
  • 1836–1836: Hans Moen
  • 1936–1937: H.N. Bruheim
  • 1938–1939: Ove W. Haug
  • 1940–1941: Hans Moen
  • 1941–1945: K.R. Vigdal
  • 1946–1947: Kristen Bakken
  • 1948–1951: Johannes Grov
  • 1952–1955: Hallvard Hesjevoll
  • 1956–1963: Johannes Grov

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Kart over Norge" (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. ^ a b Askheim, Svein, ed. (26 November 2024). "Jostedal". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  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. ^ Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. ISBN 9788253746845.
  10. ^ Rygh, Oluf (1919). Norske gaardnavne: Nordre Bergenhus amt (in Norwegian) (12 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 og Ordførervalgene 1959" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1960. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  14. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1955" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1957. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  15. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1951" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1952. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  16. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1947" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1948. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  17. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1945" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1947. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  18. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1937" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1938. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  19. ^ "Ordførarar i Luster". NRK Fylkesliksikon (in Norwegian). 7 January 2004. Retrieved 17 June 2023.

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