Fjaler
| Fjaler kommune | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Municipality | |||
 View of Fjaler to the left of the fjord | |||
| |||
 Fjaler within Sogn og Fjordane | |||
| Coordinates: 61°18′22″N 05°27′48″E / 61.30611°N 5.46333°ECoordinates: 61°18′22″N 05°27′48″E / 61.30611°N 5.46333°E | |||
| Country | Norway | ||
| County | Sogn og Fjordane | ||
| District | Sunnfjord | ||
| Administrative centre | Dale i Sunnfjord | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor (2015) | Gunhild Berge Stang (V) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 416.51 km2 (160.82 sq mi) | ||
| • Land | 390.01 km2 (150.58 sq mi) | ||
| • Water | 26.50 km2 (10.23 sq mi) | ||
| Area rank | #235 in Norway | ||
| Population (2017) | |||
| • Total | 2,862 | ||
| • Rank | #275 in Norway | ||
| • Density | 7.3/km2 (19/sq mi) | ||
| • Change (10 years) | -0.3% | ||
| Demonym(s) |
Dalsfjording Fjalerbu[1] | ||
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) | ||
| ISO 3166 code | NO-1429 | ||
| Official language form | Nynorsk | ||
| Website |
www | ||
Fjaler is a municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative centre is the village of Dale. Other places in Fjaler include Espedal, Flekke, Folkestad, Guddal, and Hellevika.
Fjaler was the birthplace of famous Norwegian poet Jakob Sande. The Red Cross Nordic United World College at Haugland, one of the seventeen United World Colleges of the world is also located here, as well as the Nordic Art Centre at Dalsåsen. There is a bridge connecting Dale to Eikenes in Askvoll municipality, and buses depart from Dale to Førde, Rysjedalsvika, Hyllestad, and the western part of Fjaler. Førde Airport, Bringeland is located about 28 kilometres (17 mi) to the east, with flights to Oslo and Bergen.
The 417-square-kilometre (161 sq mi) municipality is the 235th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Fjaler is the 275th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,862. The municipality's population density is 7.3 inhabitants per square kilometre (19/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 0.3% over the last decade.[2]
General information
Ytre Holmedal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The original municipality was identical to the Ytre Holmedal parish (prestegjeld) with the sub-parishes (sokn) of Holmedal, Dale, and Fjaler. In 1912, the name Ytre Holmedal was changed to Fjaler.[3]
On 1 January 1990, some changes were made to the boundaries between the municipalities of Fjaler, Gaular, and Askvoll. The areas surrounding the villages of Fure, Folkestad, and Våge (population: 482) in Askvoll were transferred to Fjaler municipality. The areas surrounding the villages of Vårdal, Holmedal, Rivedal, and a part of Hestad (population: 731) in Fjaler were transferred to Askvoll municipality. The parts of Hestad that did not go to Askvoll (population: 90) were transferred to Gaular municipality.[4]
Name
The name (Old Norse: Fjalir) originally belonged to the fjord (now called the Dalsfjorden). The name is probably the plural form of Old Norse fjǫl (fjalir, earlier fjalar[5]), which means "board". The old name was revived in 1913; before then the name of the municipality was Ytre Holmedal.[6]
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times; they were granted on 8 February 1991. The arms show two grey bridges on a red background. The two bridges represent the old, historic bridges in the municipality that are part of the old post road that goes through Fjaler on its way to Trondheim.[7]
Churches
The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Fjaler. It is part of the Sunnfjord deanery in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.
| Parish (Sokn) | Church Name | Location of the Church | Year Built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fjaler | Dale Church | Dale | 1864 |
| Folkestad Chapel | Våge | 1913 | |
| Guddal Church | Guddal | 1870 | |
| Hellevik Chapel | Hellevika | 1978 |
Government
All municipalities in Norway, including Fjaler, are responsible for primary education (up to and including 10th year), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor.
Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Fjaler is made up of 23 representatives that are elected to four year terms. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows:[8]
| Party Name | Name in Norwegian | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Party | Arbeiderpartiet | 7 | |
| Conservative Party | Høgre | 2 | |
| Christian Democratic Party | Kristelig Folkeparti | 1 | |
| Green Party | Miljøpartiet Dei Grøne | 1 | |
| Centre Party | Senterpartiet | 8 | |
| Socialist Left Party | Sosialistisk Venstreparti | 1 | |
| Liberal Party | Venstre | 3 | |
| Total number of members: | 23 | ||
Mayor
The mayor (ordførar) of a municipality in Norway is a representative of the majority party or a majority coalition of the municipal council who is elected to lead the council. Gunhild Berge Stang of the Liberal Party was elected mayor in the 2015 elections. Nina Yndestad of the Labour Party holds the post of vice mayor.[9]
Geography
Fjaler municipality lies to the south of the Dalsfjord in the Sunnfjord region. The municipality of Askvoll lies to the north (across the fjord), the municipality of Gaular lies to the northeast, the municipality of Høyanger lies to the southeast, and the municipalities of Hyllestad and Solund lie to the southwest.
References
- ↑ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
- ↑ Statistisk sentralbyrå (2017). "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2017-10-21.
- ↑ Natvik, Oddvar (9 February 2005). "Some historical data on the 26 Kommunes". Archived from the original on 24 July 2011.
- ↑ Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway.
- ↑ http://norroen.info/dct/zoega/f.html
- ↑ Rygh, Oluf (1919). Norske gaardnavne: Nordre Bergenhus amt (in Norwegian) (12 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 263.
- ↑ "Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 2013-12-10.
- ↑ "Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway. 2015.
- ↑ "Gunhild blir ny ordførar i Fjaler" (in Norwegian). NRK Sogn og Fjordane. Retrieved 2015-09-17.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fjaler. |
External links
- Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway (in Norwegian)
- Map of Fjaler
