Leikanger

Leikanger (Urban East Norwegian: [ˈlæ̂ɪkɑŋər] (listen)) is a former municipality in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It was located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center was the village of Hermansverk, which also was the administrative center of the old Sogn og Fjordane county.

This article is about the municipality in Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. For other uses, see Leikanger (disambiguation).
Leikanger kommune
Former municipality
View of Hermansverk
Coat of arms
Sogn og Fjordane within
Norway
Leikanger within Sogn og Fjordane
Coordinates: 61°13′51″N 06°47′23″E
CountryNorway
CountySogn og Fjordane
DistrictSogn
Established1 Jan 1838
Disestablished1 Jan 2020
Administrative centreHermansverk
Government
 • Mayor (2015-2019)Jon Håkon Odd (Ap)
Area
 • Total180.10 km2 (69.54 sq mi)
 • Land177.44 km2 (68.51 sq mi)
 • Water2.66 km2 (1.03 sq mi)  1.5%
Area rank342 in Norway
 *Area at municipal dissolution.
Population
 (2019)
 • Total2,331
 • Rank302 in Norway
 • Density13.1/km2 (34/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
8.1%
Demonym(s)Systrending[1]
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-1419
Official language formNynorsk[2]
Created asFormannskapsdistrikt in 1838
Succeeded bySogndal in 2020
Websiteleikanger.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

The Leikanger/Hermansverk urban area had 2,144 inhabitants (2019), about 90% of the municipal population.[3] This urban area is often called Systrond, which is why a person from Leikanger is often called Systrending.

The 180-square-kilometre (69 sq mi) municipality is the 342nd largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Leikanger is the 302nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,331. The municipality's population density is 13.1 inhabitants per square kilometre (34/sq mi) and its population has increased by 8.1% over the last decade.[4][5]

General information
View of Systrond
View of the Kvinnafossen in western Leikanger
View of a small mountain farm

Leikanger was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The original municipality was large and it was identical to the old Leikanger parish (prestegjeld) with the six sub-parishes (sokn) of Leikanger, Fresvik, Rinde, Vangsnes, Tjugum, and Mundal. In 1849, the sub-parishes of Vangsnes, Tjugum, and Mundal were transferred into the newly created Balestrand parish (prestegjeld). The new parish was separated from Leikanger municipality in 1850 to form the new Balestrand Municipality. This split left Leikanger with 2,368 residents.[6]

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the Hella-Eitorn area (population: 31) was transferred from Balestrand back to Leikanger. Also, the Tingstad area (population: 5) was transferred to neighboring Sogndal municipality. These changes left Leikanger with 2,680 residents. On 1 January 1992, the sub-parishes of Leikanger lying south of the Sognefjorden, including Feios and Fresvik (total population: 572) were transferred to the municipality of Vik. This move left Leikanger with only one sub-parish: Leikanger.[6][7]

On 1 January 2020, Leikanger was merged with the neighboring municipalities of Balestrand and Sogndal to form a much larger municipality called Sogndal.[8]

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old farm Leikanger (Old Norse: Leikvangir), since the first Leikanger Church was built there. The first element is leikr which means "sports" or "athletics" and the last element is the plural form of vangr which means "meadow". Prior to 1889, the name was written Lekanger.[9]

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 5 September 1963. The arms are green with a yellow-colored apple tree branch with two apples and three leaves attached. The apple tree branch is a symbol for the many orchards in the municipality and thus for the local economy. The three leaves symbolised the three parishes that used to make up the municipality (before two of them were transferred to Vik in 1992).[10]

Churches

The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Leikanger. It was part of the Sogn prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Churches in Leikanger
Parish (sokn)Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
LeikangerLeikanger ChurchLeikanger1166

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Leikanger, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), 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.[11] The municipality falls under the Sogn og Fjordane District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Leikanger was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

Leikanger Kommunestyre 2016–2019 [12]  
Party Name (in Nynorsk)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)7
 Conservative Party (Høgre)1
 Centre Party (Senterpartiet)5
 Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)1
 Liberal Party (Venstre)3
Total number of members:17
Leikanger Kommunestyre 2012–2015 [13]  
Party Name (in Nynorsk)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)7
 Conservative Party (Høgre)2
 Centre Party (Senterpartiet)3
 Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)2
 Liberal Party (Venstre)3
Total number of members:17
Leikanger Kommunestyre 2008–2011 [12]  
Party Name (in Nynorsk)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)7
 Conservative Party (Høgre)2
 Centre Party (Senterpartiet)3
 Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)2
 Liberal Party (Venstre)3
Total number of members:17
Leikanger Kommunestyre 2004–2007 [12]  
Party Name (in Nynorsk)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)7
 Conservative Party (Høgre)2
 Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti)1
 Centre Party (Senterpartiet)3
 Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)2
 Liberal Party (Venstre)2
Total number of members:17
Leikanger Kommunestyre 2000–2003 [12]  
Party Name (in Nynorsk)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)7
 Conservative Party (Høgre)3
 Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti)1
 Centre Party (Senterpartiet)1
 Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)2
 Liberal Party (Venstre)3
Total number of members:17
Leikanger Kommunestyre 1996–1999 [14]  
Party Name (in Nynorsk)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)7
 Conservative Party (Høgre)2
 Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti)1
 Centre Party (Senterpartiet)3
 Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)1
 Liberal Party (Venstre)3
Total number of members:17
Leikanger Kommunestyre 1992–1995 [15]  
Party Name (in Nynorsk)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)9
 Conservative Party (Høgre)3
 Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti)2
 Centre Party (Senterpartiet)3
 Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)2
 Liberal Party (Venstre)2
Total number of members:21
Leikanger Kommunestyre 1988–1991 [16]  
Party Name (in Nynorsk)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)9
 Conservative Party (Høgre)4
 Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti)2
 Centre Party (Senterpartiet)3
 Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)1
 Liberal Party (Venstre)2
Total number of members:21
Leikanger Kommunestyre 1984–1987 [17]  
Party Name (in Nynorsk)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)9
 Conservative Party (Høgre)4
 Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti)2
 Centre Party (Senterpartiet)2
 Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)1
 Liberal Party (Venstre)2
 Cross-party common list (Tverrpolitisk Samlingsliste)1
Total number of members:21
Leikanger Kommunestyre 1980–1983 [18]  
Party Name (in Nynorsk)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)8
 Conservative Party (Høgre)4
 Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti)2
 Liberal People's Party (Liberale Folkepartiet)1
 Centre Party (Senterpartiet)3
 Liberal Party (Venstre)2
 Cross-party common list (Tverrpolitisk Samlingsliste)1
Total number of members:21
Leikanger Kommunestyre 1976–1979 [19]  
Party Name (in Nynorsk)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)8
 Conservative Party (Høgre)3
 Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti)3
 New People's Party (Nye Folkepartiet)1
 Centre Party (Senterpartiet)3
 Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)1
 Liberal Party (Venstre)2
Total number of members:21
Leikanger Kommunestyre 1972–1975 [20]  
Party Name (in Nynorsk)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)9
 Conservative Party (Høgre)2
 Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti)3
 Centre Party (Senterpartiet)4
 Liberal Party (Venstre)3
Total number of members:21
Leikanger Kommunestyre 1968–1971 [21]  
Party Name (in Nynorsk)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)8
 Conservative Party (Høgre)2
 Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti)2
 Centre Party (Senterpartiet)4
 Liberal Party (Venstre)5
Total number of members:21
Leikanger Kommunestyre 1964–1967 [22]  
Party Name (in Nynorsk)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)8
 Conservative Party (Høgre)2
 Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti)1
 Centre Party (Senterpartiet)3
 Socialist People's Party (Sosialistisk Folkeparti)1
 Liberal Party (Venstre)6
Total number of members:21
Leikanger Heradsstyre 1960–1963 [23]  
Party Name (in Nynorsk)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)9
 Conservative Party (Høgre)1
 Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti)1
 Centre Party (Senterpartiet)3
 Liberal Party (Venstre)7
Total number of members:21
Leikanger Heradsstyre 1956–1959 [24]  
Party Name (in Nynorsk)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)9
 Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)2
 Liberal Party (Venstre)7
 Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgarlege Felleslister)3
Total number of members:21
Leikanger Heradsstyre 1952–1955 [25]  
Party Name (in Nynorsk)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)13
 Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)4
 Liberal Party (Venstre)10
 Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgarlege Felleslister)5
Total number of members:32
Leikanger Heradsstyre 1948–1951 [26]  
Party Name (in Nynorsk)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)15
 Liberal Party (Venstre)4
 Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgarlege Felleslister)13
Total number of members:32
Leikanger Heradsstyre 1945–1947 [27]  
Party Name (in Nynorsk)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)8
 List of workers, fishermen, and small farmholders
(Arbeidarar, fiskarar, småbrukarar liste)		8
 Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgarlege Felleslister)16
Total number of members:32
Leikanger Heradsstyre 1938–1941* [28]  
Party Name (in Nynorsk)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)11
 Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)2
 Liberal Party (Venstre)5
 Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgarlege Felleslister)11
 Local List(s) (Lokale lister)3
Total number of members:32

Mayor

The mayor (ordførar) of a municipality in Norway is a representative of the municipal council who is elected either by the majority of the council. Jon Håkon Odd of the Labour Party was elected mayor for the 2015-2019 term.

Geography

Leikanger is located on the north side of the Sognefjorden and to the east of the Fjærlandsfjorden. It is bordered on the north and east by the municipality of Sogndal, on the west by Balestrand, and on the south (across the Sognefjorden) by Vik.

View of the main village of Hermansverk/Leikanger in Leikanger municipality

Buildings and structures

East of Leikanger, there are the Sognefjord Spans, three powerline spans with length over 4 kilometres (2.5 mi), which are currently the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th longest spans in the world. In 1955, the first Sognefjord Span was built near Leikanger. It was the longest span in the world from 1955 until 1997.

Sister cities/Twin towns

Leikanger has sister city agreements with the following places:

See also

References
  1. "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
  2. "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
  3. Statistisk sentralbyrå (1 January 2016). "Urban settlements. Population and area, by municipality".
  4. Statistisk sentralbyrå (2018). "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2019-12-08.
  5. Statistisk sentralbyrå. "09280: Area of land and fresh water (km²) (M)" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2019-12-08.
  6. Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway.
  7. Natvik, Oddvar (9 February 2005). "Some historical data on the 26 Kommunes". Archived from the original on 13 June 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2008.
  8. "Nye Sogndal kommune" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2017-10-22.
  9. Rygh, Oluf (1919). Norske gaardnavne: Nordre Bergenhus amt (in Norwegian) (12 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 124.
  10. "Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 2017-10-22.
  11. Hansen, Tore, ed. (2016-05-12). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
  12. "Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway.
  13. "Tall for Norge: Kommunestyrevalg 2011 - Sogn og Fjordane". Valg Direktoratet. Retrieved 2019-10-29.
  14. "Kommunestyrevalget 1995" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1996. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
  15. "Kommunestyrevalget 1991" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1993. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
  16. "Kommunestyrevalget 1987" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1988. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
  17. "Kommunestyrevalget 1983" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1984. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  18. "Kommunestyrevalget 1979" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1979. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  19. "Kommunevalgene 1975" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1977. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  20. "Kommunevalgene 1972" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1973. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  21. "Kommunevalgene 1967" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1967. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  22. "Kommunevalgene 1963" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1964. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  23. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1959" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1960. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  24. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1955" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1957. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  25. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1951" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1952. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  26. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1947" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1948. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  27. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1945" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1947. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  28. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1937" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1938. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
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