Eid Municipality (Sogn og Fjordane)

Eid is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The Template:Convert municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020. The area is now part of Stad Municipality in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The administrative centre was the village of Nordfjordeid. Other villages in the municipality included Mogrenda, Stårheim, Haugen, Kjølsdalen, Heggjabygda, and Lote.

Prior to its dissolution in 2020, the Template:Convert municipality is the 215th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Eid Municipality is the 168th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 6,151. The municipality's population density is Template:Convert and its population has increased by 4.9% over the previous 10-year period.<ref name="ssb pop">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="ssb area">Template:Cite web</ref>

Eid was known for its opera, fjord horses, shopping, and hiking opportunities. As in the rest of the region, agriculture was very important here, but trade and industry were also important. Frislid Konfeksjon (textiles) and the Hellesøy Nordfjord shipyard among others are located in Eid.

Nordfjordeid's schools included the folk high school, which offers courses linked to Fjord horses and provides the only circus education in Norway. There is also the Norwegian Fjord Horse Centre (Norsk Fjordhestsenter) in Eid. Its focus was in boosting the breed's standing in Norway and elsewhere.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

General information

Stårheim Church

View of the fjord from Storehornet

Nordfjord

The parish of Eid was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The original municipality was identical to the Eid parish (prestegjeld) with the sub-parishes (Template:Lang) of Hornindal, Eid, and Stårheim.<ref name="Em">Template:Cite web</ref> On 1 January 1867, the eastern district of Eid (population: 1,612) was separated to become the new Hornindal Municipality. This split left the two remaining sub-parishes of the municipality of Eid with a population of 2,918.<ref name="Dag">Template:Cite web</ref>

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the neighboring Davik Municipality and Hornindal Municipality were dissolved and split up among the neighboring municipalities. The following areas were merged to form a new, larger Eid Municipality:<ref name="Dag" />

• all of Davik Municipality that was located north of the Nordfjorden and east of and including the village of Lefdal (population: 654)
• all of Hornindal Municipality located west of and including the villages of Navelsaker and Holmøyvik (population: 310)
• all of Eid Municipality (population: 3,568)

After the merger, Eid Municipality had 4,532 residents and the new municipality gained a third sub-parish from the former municipality of Davik: Kjølsdalen.

Then on 1 January 1992, the village of Lote and its surrounding area (population: 152) was transferred from Gloppen Municipality to Eid Municipality.<ref name="Dag" />

On 1 January 2020, Eid Municipality ceased to exist when it was merged with the neighboring Selje Municipality and the Bryggja-Totland area of Vågsøy Municipality to form the new Stad Municipality.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Eidsfjorden (Template:Langx) since it is a central geographical feature of the area. The fjord is a branch off the main Nordfjorden. The fjord name likely comes from an old river name (now called Eidselva). The name of the river was probably derived from the word Template:Lang or Template:Wikt-lang which both mean "turned the wrong way" or "backwards". This is likely because the river Eidselva meanders back and forth and from certain points it can seem to run backwards. Over the centuries, the name was corrupted so that it became more like the word Template:Lang which is a Norwegian word that is derived from Template:Wikt-lang which means "isthmus".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 26 April 1986 and they were in use until 1 January 2020 when the municipality ceased to exist. The official blazon is "Gules, a horse head couped Or" (Template:Langx). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is the head of a fjord horse (Fjording), cut cleanly at the neck. The charge has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The region is well known for its own breed of horses, called the Fjording, that are very common and popular in the area. The Fjording is characterised by its white and black mane. The arms were designed by Inge Rotevatn. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:See also2

Churches

The Church of Norway had three parishes (Template:Lang) within Eid Municipality. It is part of the Nordfjord prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.<ref name="Em" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Churches in Eid Municipality

Parish (Template:Lang)	Church name	Location of the church	Year built
Eid	Eid Church	Nordfjordeid	1849
	Heggjabygda Church	Heggjabygda	1936
Kjølsdalen	Kjølsdalen Church	Kjølsdalen	1940
Stårheim	Stårheim Church	Stårheim	1864

Government

While it existed, Eid 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.<ref name="ks">Template:Cite SNL</ref> The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Sogn og Fjordane District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council Template:Lang of Eid 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. Template:Div col Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Div col end

Mayors

The mayor (Template:Langx) of Eid Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Div col

• 1838–1841: Johan Herman Lie
• 1842–1843: Tollef Rød
• 1844–1851: Johan Herman Lie
• 1851–1852: Martinus Bjørlo
• 1852–1857: Jens J. Finckenhagen
• 1858–1864: Eirik Løken
• 1864–1867: Anders Os
• 1868–1869: Hans Sandboe Schølberg
• 1870–1871: Wirik Løken
• 1871–1879: S. Kvale
• 1880–1881: Kristian Blom
• 1882–1897: Rasmus Møklebust (V)
• 1898–1916: John Myklebust (V)
• 1917–1934: Anders Hjelle (V)
• 1935–1935: John Myklebust (V)
• 1935–1940: Olav Os (Bp)
• 1941–1943: Arnt Hjelle (NS)
• 1943–1945: Peder Sporsem (NS)
• 1947–1947: Olav Os (Bp)
• 1948–1963: Berge Smørdal (Bp)
• 1963–1971: Per Roti (Sp)
• 1972–1983: Lars Myrold (Sp)
• 1984–1991: Knut Hildenes (Sp)
• 1992–1993: Kjell Nøstdal (V)
• 1994–2003: Kristen Hundeide (H)
• 2003–2005: Gunvald Ludvigsen (V)
• 2005–2011: Sonja Edvardsen (Ap)
• 2011–2019: Alfred Bjørlo (V)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Geography

Eid Municipality was located in the northernmost part of Sogn og Fjordane county. It was located along the northern shores of the Nordfjorden and it surrounded the Eidsfjorden branch off of the main Nordfjorden. Eid Municipality was bordered to the west by Vågsøy Municipality, to the south by Bremanger Municipality and Gloppen Municipality, to the east by Stryn Municipality and Hornindal Municipality, and to the north by Volda Municipality and Vanylven Municipality (both in Møre og Romsdal county).

The lake Hornindalsvatnet, the deepest lake in Europe, was partially located in Eid Municipality. The highest point in the municipality was the Template:Convert tall mountain Glitregga, located on the southeastern border with Stryn Municipality.<ref name="elev" />

• 
  Hundvikfjord seen from Anda
• 
  Isefjorden, between Eid Municipality and Bremanger Municipality
• 
  View of the Eidsfjorden

Notable people

• Sophus Lie (1842–1899), a mathematician
• Azar Karadaş, a football player
• Harald Aabrekk, a soccer coach

See also

• List of former municipalities of Norway