Balestrand Municipality

Balestrand is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1850 until its dissolution in 2020. The area is now part of Sogndal Municipality in the traditional district of Sogn in Vestland county. The administrative centre was the village of Balestrand. Other villages in the municipality included Ese, Kvamme, Låne, Sæle, Dragsviki, and Vetlefjorden.
The municipality was situated at the confluence of the Fjærlandsfjorden/Esefjorden and the main Sognefjorden. The major industries in the municipality were tourism and farming. Balestrand Municipality became popular early due to the interest of artists, such as Hans Gude, Kjartan Lauritzen, Alfred Heaton Cooper, Hans Dahl, and Johannes Flintoe. Their paintings of the scenery around Balestrand inspired visitors, and Balestrand maintains its connection with art. Other industries include made-to-order kitchen interiors, local apple juice, and Nesseplast which produces industrial plastic. The Norwegian National Road 13 ran through the municipality.
At the time of its dissolution in 2020, the municipality was the 231st largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Balestrand Municipality was the 370th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of. The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 5.1% over the previous decade.
In 2016, the chief of police for Vestlandet formally suggested a reconfiguration of police districts and stations. He proposed that the police station in Balestrand be closed.

General information

The prestegjeld of Balestrand was established as a municipality in 1850 when the large Leikanger Municipality was divided as follows:

the parishes of Vangsnes, Tjugum, and Mundal became the new Balestrand Municipality
the parishes of Leikanger, Fresvik, and Rinde continued on as a smaller Leikanger Municipality

In 1861, the Mundal parish was renamed Fjærland.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964 several municipalities changed their boundaries in a land trade. of Vik, Leikanger, and Balestrand changed their boundaries in a land trade. After the land trade, Balestrand Municipality had a population of 1,606.

the parish of Vangsnes was transferred from Balestrand Municipality to Vik Municipality
the parish of Kvamsøy was transferred from Vik Municipality to Balestrand Municipality
the Hella-Eitorn area was transferred from Balestrand Municipality to Leikanger Municipality

The Fjærland area of Balestrand Municipality had always been isolated from the rest of the municipality, and only accessible by boat. In 1995, the Frudal Tunnel was completed connecting Fjærland to neighboring Sogndal Municipality. This caused discussions about Fjærland's municipal future. On 1 January 2000, the entire parish of Fjærland in northern Balestrand Municipality was transferred to Sogndal Municipality.
On 1 January 2020, Balestrand Municipality ceased to exist. The far western Nesse area of Balestrand Municipality was transferred to the neighboring Høyanger Municipality and the rest of Balestrand Municipality was merged with the neighboring Leikanger Municipality and Sogndal Municipality to form a much larger Sogndal Municipality.

Name

The municipality is named Balestrand, a compound name for the area that was created in 1832 by the Norwegian writer Henrik Wergeland. The first element is the name of the old Bale farm. The farm name is identical to the word which means "grassy hillside". The last element is derived from the word which means "beach" or "shore". Thus the "shore along the grassy hillside."

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 23 October 1989. The official blazon is "Azure, a down-pointing sword argent issuant from the base". This means the arms have a blue field and the charge is the hilt of a Viking sword. 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 design symbolizes an old Viking sword found in the burial mound in Balestrand. The sword is believed to belong to King Bele from Frithiof's Saga. The arms were designed by Inge Rotevatn. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway had one parish within Balestrand Municipality. It was part of the Sogn prosti in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Parish	Church name	Location of the church	Year built
Balestrand	Kvamsøy Church	Kvamsøy	1290
Balestrand	Sæle Church	Sæle	1903
Balestrand	Tjugum Church	Dragsviki	1863

There is also one Anglican church in Balestrand:

St. Olaf's Church is located in the village of Balestrand.
Government

While it existed, Balestrand Municipality was responsible for primary education, 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. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Sogn og Fjordane District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Balestrand Municipality was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors

The mayor of Balestrand Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people held this position:

1850–1879: Harald Ulrik Sverdrup
1880–1883: Sjur Bjaastad
1884–1885: Anders L. Ese Gjerde
1886–1887: Sjur Bjaastad
1888–1895: Anders L. Ese Gjerde
1896–1901: Sjur Bjaastad
1902–1922: Ole Tjugum
1923–1925: Per Hovland
1926–1934: Hermund J. Bale
1934–1935: Sigurd Kvikne, Sr.
1936–1941: Anders Johanneson Bøyum
1941–1942: Anders Gjerde
1945–1947: Anders Johanneson Bøyum
1948–1959: Per P. Hovland
1960–1961: Sverre Aardal
1961–1971: Per Horpedal
1972–1974: Karl Munkerud
1975–1975: Haakon Steine
1976–1981: Tor Tjugum
1982–1983: Jens K. Ese
1984–1995: Olav J. Ulvestad
1995–2003: Åse Kari Einevoll
2003–2007: Erland A. Fagermoen
2007–2011: Einar Målsnes
2011–2019: Harald Offerdal
Geography

Balestrand Municipality was located between the high snow-covered Gaularfjellet mountains in the center of the beautiful, lush Sognefjorden. Three fjord arms stretched inland, winding through the mountains which was dotted with charming hamlets: Lånefjorden, Esefjorden, and Vetlefjorden. The Fjærlandsfjorden ran along the eastern border of the municipality. The Jostefonni glacier sits at the very northernmost part of the municipality. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Sunnfjordbjørnen on the Jostefonni glacier on the border with Gaular Municipality.
Balestrand Municipality was bordered to the west by Høyanger Municipality and Gaular Municipality, to the north by Førde Municipality, and to the east by Sogndal Municipality and Leikanger Municipality. Across the Sognefjorden to the south was Vik Municipality.

Attractions

Kvikne's Hotel

Built in the 19th century, the Kvikne's Hotel is one of the most famous buildings in Balestrand. The Kvikne family, who own the place, took it over in 1877. Since then the establishment has undergone constant development which continues to this day. There are many new buildings and remodeling and expansion projects have been carried out.
Today, the hotel is a highly modern facility resounding with tradition and culture. With 200 rooms, it is also one of Norway's largest fine hotels catering to tourists. An impressive collection of art and historical pieces is a central feature of the hotel's interior, and one of the elements of its distinct personality.
Kviknes Hotel was made popular for European visitors in the early part of the 20th century by Kaiser Wilhelm II, who often visited there during his summer vacations prior to World War I. The hotel still possesses the chair he used in their restaurant. The Kaiser is accompanied on the list by a number of emperors, kings, presidents, Prime ministers, film stars, and artists from many countries.

St. Olaf's Church

St. Olaf's Church, also known as the English Church, is an Anglican church built in the style of a Stave church. The church was completed in 1897 as a memorial to Margaret Green. Margaret, an English lady, came to the fjords as a tourist to hike the mountains. She met, fell in love with and married Knut Kvikne who was an avid mountain man. Being a very pious woman, she wished for an Anglican church in Balestrand. She started the church with her husband, but died before its completion. Sunday services are held during the summer months, being conducted by rotating vicars from England.
St. Olaf's Church is notable as the inspiration for the chapel in Elsa's coronation scene in the 2013 Disney film Frozen.

Other attractions

Songnefjord Aquarium
Balejazz summer jazz festival
Balestrand Art Village
The Norwegian Museum of Travel and Tourism
Notable people
Christian Garup Meidell, a military officer and politician; first Mayor of Leikanger in 1838-1839
Jakob Sverdrup, a Norwegian bishop and politician, raised in Balestrand
Georg Sverdrup, a Norwegian-American Lutheran theologian and teacher
Edvard Sverdrup, an educator, author, church leader, and a key theologian in the Church of Norway in early 20thC.
Anders Johanneson Bøyum, a politician who was mayor of Balestrand before and after WWII
Trygve Heltveit, a philologist.