Fjaler Municipality

Template:Short description Template:Infobox kommune

Fjaler is a municipality in the county of Vestland, 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.

The Template:Convert municipality is the 233rd largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Fjaler Municipality is the 233rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,924. The municipality's population density is Template:Convert and its population has increased by 0.6% over the previous 10-year period.<ref name="ssb pop">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="ssb area">Template:Cite web</ref>

Fjaler was the birthplace of famous Norwegian poet Jakob Sande. The UWC Red Cross Nordic at Haugland, one of the eighteen United World Colleges of the world is also located here, as well as the Nordic Art Centre at Dalsåsen. The Dalsfjord Bridge crosses the Dalsfjorden connecting Dale to Eikenes in the neighboring Askvoll Municipality. Buses depart from Dale to Førde, Rysjedalsvika, Hyllestad, and the western part of the municipality. Førde Airport, Bringeland is located about Template:Convert to the east, with flights to Oslo and Bergen.

General information

Ytre Holmedal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The original municipality was identical to the Ytre Holmedal parish (prestegjeld) with the sub-parishes (Template:Lang) of Holmedal, Dale, and Fjaler. In 1912, the name Ytre Holmedal Municipality was changed to Fjaler Municipality.<ref name="em">Template:Cite web</ref>

On 1 January 1990, some changes were made to the boundaries between Fjaler Municipality, Gaular Municipality, and Askvoll Municipality as follows:<ref name="Dag">Template:Cite web</ref>

the areas surrounding the villages of Fure, Folkestad, and Våge (population: 482) in Askvoll Municipality were transferred to Fjaler Municipality
he areas surrounding the villages of Vårdal, Holmedal, Rivedal, and a part of Hestad (population: 731) in Fjaler Municipality were transferred to Askvoll Municipality
the parts of Hestad that did not go to Askvoll Municipality (population: 90) were transferred to Gaular Municipality

Historically, this municipality was part of the old Sogn og Fjordane county. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became a part of the newly-formed Vestland county (after Hordaland and Sogn og Fjordane counties were merged).<ref>Template:Cite SNL</ref>

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) was named Ytre Holmedal, after the old Holmedal farm (Template:Langx) since the first Holmedal Church was built there. The meaning of the first element of Holmedal is uncertain, but it may have been an old name for a local river, Template:Lang. It is unknown what the river name meant. The last element is Template:Wikt-lang which means "valley" or "dale". The prefix Template:Wikt-lang (which means "outer") was added to distinguish the area from its neighbor, Indre Holmedal.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

On 6 December 1912, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Fjaler.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> This new name brought back a very old name for the area (Template:Langx). The name was the ancient name for the fjord (now called the Dalsfjorden). The name comes from the plural form of the word Template:Wikt-lang which means "board" or "table". Older forms of the name were Template:Lang or Template:Lang.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 8 February 1991. The official blazon is "Gules, two arched bridges argent" (Template:Langx). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is two arched stone bridges. The charge has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The two bridges symbolize the old, historic bridges in the municipality that are part of the old post road that goes through Fjaler on its way to Trondheim. The arms were designed by Inge Rotevatn from Nordfjord. 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>

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish (Template:Lang) within Fjaler Municipality. It is part of the Sunnfjord prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

**Churches in Fjaler Municipality**
Parish (Template:Lang)	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

Fjaler Municipality is 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 is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.<ref name="ks">Template:Cite SNL</ref> The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Sogn og Fjordane District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

Mayors

The mayor (Template:Langx) of Fjaler Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Div col

1838–1847: Johan Widing Heiberg Landmark
1847–1847: Bertel Vonen
1847–1855: Peder J. Fossedal
1855–1860: P. J. Smith
1860–1862: Ola Mathiasson Bakke
1863–1868: Peder C. Mork
1868–1868: J. Vonen
1868–1872: J. Kalstad
1872–1876: Mons Davidson Huustvedt
1876–1880: P. J. Smith
1880–1892: L. Larsen
1892–1896: Mons Davidson Huustvedt
1896–1898: David Olsen Bakke
1899–1904: Ole A. Skarstein
1904–1910: David Olsen Bakke
1911–1913: Øystein Sørebø
1914–1916: Andreas Sande
1917–1919: Ola J. Espedal
1920–1928: Andreas Sande
1929–1934: Knut Bakkelid
1935–1940: Ragnvald Fagerheim
1941–1942: Søren K. Hauge
1945–1945: David M. Hustveit
1945–1947: Ragnvald Fagerheim
1948–1959: Søren K. Hauge
1960–1961: Jonas Mork
1961–1963: Aksel Hovland (V)
1964–1965: Gustav Stavøstrand (V)
1966–1967: Ola Sørebø (V)
1968–1971: Andreas Sande (Sp)
1972–1975: Arne Barnsnes (Ap)
1976–1981: Trygve Bjånes (Ap)
1982–1987: Kåre Kleppe (Sp)
1988–1989: Magnar Vagstad (Ap)
1990–1995: Rasmus Felde (Sp)
1995–2002: Arne Kyrkjebø (Ap)
2002–2003: Jan Ulltang (Sp)
2003–2015: Arve Helle (Ap)
2015–2019: Gunhild Berge Stang (V)
2019–2023: Kjetil Høgseth Felde (Sp)
2023–present: Leif Jarle Espedal (Ap)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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Geography

Fjaler Municipality lies to the south of the Dalsfjord in the Sunnfjord region. Askvoll Municipality lies to the north (across the fjord), Sunnfjord Municipality lies to the northeast, Høyanger Municipality lies to the southeast, and both Hyllestad Municipality and Solund Municipality lie to the southwest. The highest point in the municipality is the Template:Convert tall mountain Skredfjellet, located along the border with Sunnfjord Municipality.<ref name="elev" />

Notable people

Nikka Vonen (1836 in Dale – 1933), an educator, folklorist, and author
Haldis Halvorsen (1889 in Dale – 1936), a mezzo-soprano opera singer
Erik Grant Lea (1892–1979), a mythical tycoon and Norwegian ship-owner, banker, insurer, and mill owner who settled in Gjølanger in Fjaler in 1922
Jakob Sande (1906 in Dale – 1967), a writer, poet, and folk singer who wrote in Nynorsk
Herbjørn Sørebø (1933 in Fjaler – 2003), a journalist and broadcasting personality

Gallery

Gjølanger
A building at Larsbakk in Fjaler
Tyssedalsvatnet lake in Fjaler
Fure ferry quay

References

Template:Reflist

External links

Template:Use dmy dates Template:Sister bar Template:Adjacent communities Template:Vestland Template:Authority control

Fjaler Municipality

Contents

General information