Kyrkjebø Municipality

Kyrkjebø Municipality
Kyrkjebø herad
Former municipality
Kirkebø herred  (historic name)
Klævold herred  (historic name)
View of Kyrkjebø Church
Sogn og Fjordane within Norway
Kyrkjebø within Sogn og Fjordane
Coordinates: 61°09′49″N 05°53′59″E / 61.16361°N 5.89972°E / 61.16361; 5.89972
CountryNorway
CountySogn og Fjordane
DistrictSogn
Established1 Jan 1858
 • Preceded byLavik Municipality
Disestablished1 Jan 1964
 • Succeeded byHøyanger Municipality
Administrative centreKyrkjebø
Government
 • Mayor (1956–1963)Albert Hellem
Area
 (upon dissolution)[1]
 • Total
667 km2 (258 sq mi)
 • Rank#146 in Norway
Highest elevation
[2]
1,455.53 m (4,775.4 ft)
Population
 (1963)
 • Total
4,653
 • Rank#190 in Norway
 • Density7/km2 (18/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
 +0.1%
Official language
[4]
 • Norwegian formNynorsk[3]
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-1416[5]
Data from Statistics Norway

Kyrkjebø is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The 667-square-kilometre (258 sq mi) municipality existed from 1858 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Høyanger Municipality in the traditional district of Sogn in Vestland county. The administrative centre was the village of Kyrkjebø. Other villages in the municipality included Vadheim, Ortnevik, Høyanger, and Bjordal.[1]

Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the 667-square-kilometre (258 sq mi) municipality was the 146th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Kyrkjebø Municipality was the 190th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 4,653. The municipality's population density was 7 inhabitants per square kilometre (18/sq mi) and its population had increased by 0.1% over the previous 10-year period.[6][7]

General information

The parish of Klævold was established as a municipality in 1858 when it was separated from the large Lavik Municipality. Initially, it had a population of 1,645. On 1 January 1875, a border adjustment took place, moving part of Klævold Municipality with 90 inhabitants to the neighboring Lavik og Brekke Municipality. On 1 July 1890, the name was changed from Klævold Municipality to Kirkebø Municipality, and then in 1917 it was changed again to Kyrkjebø Municipality.[8]

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the following areas were merged to form the new Høyanger Municipality:[8]

Name

The municipality was originally named after the old Klævold farm (Old Norse: Kleppavǫllr). The first element is uncertain. One possibility is that it comes from the word kleppr which means "hill" or "rock". Another possibility is that it comes from the word kleif which means "steep area on a mountainside". The last element is vǫllr which means "field", "flat ground", or "meadow". This is likely referring to a steep hill or rock located in the middle of an area of level ground.[9]

Historically, the name of the municipality was Klævold. On 1 July 1890, a royal resolution changed the name of the municipality to Kirkebø[10] since this was the historic location of the Kyrkjebø Church was built there. The first element is kirke which means "church". The last element is identical to the word bø which means "farmland" or "farm".[1][11]

From 1890 until 1917, the name of the municipality was spelled Kirkebø (using the Bokmål spelling). On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Kyrkjebø (using the Nynorsk spelling).[12]

Churches

The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within Kyrkjebø Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Lavik prestegjeld and the Ytre Sogn prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.[7]

Churches in Kyrkjebø Municipality
Parish (sokn) Church name Location of the church Year built
Kyrkjebø Bjordal Church Bjordal 1906
Høyanger Church Høyanger 1960
Kyrkjebø Church Kyrkjebø 1869
Ortnevik Church Ortnevik 1925
Vadheim Chapel Vadheim 1916

Geography

The municipality of Kyrkjebø included land on the north and south side of the Sognefjorden. The highest point in the municipality was the 1,455.53-metre (4,775.4 ft) tall unnamed mountain on the eastern border with Balestrand Municipality.[2] Gaular Municipality was located to the north, Balestrand Municipality was located to the northeast, Vik Municipality was located to the east, Modalen Municipality was located to the south, Masfjorden Municipality was located to the southwest, Lavik Municipality was located to the west, and Fjaler Municipality was located to the northwest.

Government

While it existed, Kyrkjebø 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.[13] The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Heradsstyre) of Kyrkjebø Municipality was made up of 29 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.

Kyrkjebø heradsstyre 1959–1963 [14]  
Party name (in Nynorsk) Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) 15
  Communist Party (Kommunistiske Parti) 4
  Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) 2
  Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgarlege Felleslister) 8
Total number of members:29
Kyrkjebø heradsstyre 1955–1959 [15]  
Party name (in Nynorsk) Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) 15
  Communist Party (Kommunistiske Parti) 4
  Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) 2
  Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgarlege Felleslister) 8
Total number of members:29
Kyrkjebø heradsstyre 1951–1955 [16]  
Party name (in Nynorsk) Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) 15
  Conservative Party (Høgre) 2
  Communist Party (Kommunistiske Parti) 4
  Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) 2
  Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) 3
  Liberal Party (Venstre) 2
Total number of members:28
Kyrkjebø heradsstyre 1947–1951 [17]  
Party name (in Nynorsk) Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) 13
  Conservative Party (Høgre) 2
  Communist Party (Kommunistiske Parti) 5
  Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) 3
  Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) 3
  Liberal Party (Venstre) 2
Total number of members:28
Kyrkjebø heradsstyre 1945–1947 [18]  
Party name (in Nynorsk) Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) 16
  Conservative Party (Høgre) 1
  Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) 3
  Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) 2
  Liberal Party (Venstre) 2
Total number of members:24
Kyrkjebø heradsstyre 1937–1941* [19]  
Party name (in Nynorsk) Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) 16
  Conservative Party (Høgre) 1
  Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) 3
  Liberal Party (Venstre) 2
  Local List(s) (Lokale lister) 2
Total number of members:24
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 Kyrkjebø Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people held this position:[20]

  • 1858–1859: Gullak A. Haaland
  • 1860–1863: Arne G. Afsnes
  • 1864–1865: Knud H. Hovland
  • 1866–1875: Arne G. Afsnes
  • 1876–1887: Lars Ramsli
  • 1888–1891: Edvard Liljedahl
  • 1892–1898: Lars H. Dahle
  • 1899–1904: Andreas B. Vamraak
  • 1905–1913: Gunnar O. Mjølsvik
  • 1914–1925: Anders H. Berge
  • 1826–1931: August Gunnarskog
  • 1932–1940: Knut Opdahl
  • 1940–1945: Johan Arntzen
  • 1945–1945: Anders Sterri
  • 1945–1955: Magnus L. Osland
  • 1956–1963: Albert Hellem

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Thorsnæs, Geir; Askheim, Svein, eds. (1 August 2025). "Kyrkjebø". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Høgaste fjelltopp i kvar kommune" (in Norwegian). Kartverket. 16 January 2024.
  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. ^ Statistisk sentralbyrå. "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian).
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ a b Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. ISBN 9788253746845.
  9. ^ Rygh, Oluf (1919). Norske gaardnavne: Nordre Bergenhus amt (in Norwegian) (12 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. pp. 177–178.
  10. ^ "Norsk Lovtidende. 2den Afdeling. Samling af Love, Resolutioner m.m. 1890". Norsk Lovtidend (in Norwegian). Kristiania, Norge: Grøndahl og Søns Boktrykkeri: 141–142. 1890.
  11. ^ Rygh, Oluf (1919). Norske gaardnavne: Nordre Bergenhus amt (in Norwegian) (12 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. pp. 172 and 178.
  12. ^ "Norsk Lovtidende. 2den Afdeling. 1917. Samling af Love, Resolutioner m.m". Norsk Lovtidend (in Norwegian). Kristiania, Norge: Grøndahl og Søns Boktrykkeri: 1057–1065. 1917.
  13. ^ Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (25 November 2024). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  14. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1959" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1960. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  15. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1955" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1957. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  16. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1951" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1952. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  17. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1947" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1948. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  18. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1945" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1947. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  19. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1937" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1938. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  20. ^ "Ordførarar i Høyanger kommune". NRK Fylkesliksikon (in Norwegian). 7 November 2003. Retrieved 20 June 2023.

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