Etne Municipality


Etne is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland, although it is also sometimes considered to be part of the district of Haugaland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Etnesjøen. Other villages in the municipality include Skånevik and Fjæra. Etne Municipality is situated south of the city of Bergen, along the border with Rogaland county.
The municipality is the 154th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Etne Municipality is the 201st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 0.4% over the previous 10-year period.
A Norwegian motion picture called United was shot in Etne Municipality with local people as actors.

General information

Etne was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. Originally, Etne Municipality encompassed the area around the Etnefjorden and the surrounding valleys. For over 120 years, the borders of the municipality did not change.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the neighboring Skånevik Municipality was dissolved and merged into its neighboring municipalities as follows:
Historically, this municipality was part of the old Hordaland county. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became a part of the newly-formed Vestland county.

Name

The municipality is named after the Etnefjorden. The name is likely derived from the old name for the river "Etneelvi", Atn or Etn. The meaning of the old river name may come from which means "to drive forward" or "to goad" or it might come from which means "to eat".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 16 December 1983. The official blazon is "Per pale dovetailed azure and argent". This means the arms have are divided with a vertical line that is dovetailed. The field to the left of the line has a tincture of blue. To the right of the line, the field 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 was chosen to represent the strong unity between the two former municipalities of Skånevik and Etne that were joined to form one municipality in 1965. The arms were designed by Magnus Hardeland and John Digernes. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway has two parishes within Etne Municipality. It is part of the Sunnhordland prosti in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
EtneEtne ChurchEtnesjøen2013
EtneGjerde ChurchEtnesjøen1676
EtneGrindheim ChurchEtnesjøen1728
EtneStødle ChurchEtnesjøen1160
SkånevikSkånevik ChurchSkånevik1900
SkånevikFjæra ChapelFjæra1913

Geography

Etne Municipality is situated south of the city of Bergen and it borders Kvinnherad Municipality and Ullensvang Municipality to the north in Vestland county and Sauda Municipality, Suldal Municipality, and Vindafjord Municipality to the south in Rogaland county.
Etne Municipality has a varied landscape, extending from the Etnefjorden, Skånevikfjorden, and Åkrafjorden at sea level, through the villages up to the high mountains. In the far north, there is a barren and heavily eroded mountain glacier, Folgefonna, where the municipality's highest point rises above sea level. Folgefonna National Park is partially located in Etne. In addition to that national park, Etne has three nature reserves: Brattholmen, Skåno, and Langebudalen. Lakes in the area include Lykilsvatnet. The famous waterfall Langfossen is located in northern Etne.

Climate

History

Recent archeological findings indicate that the area was already inhabited around 500 BC.

Population

Government

Etne Municipality is 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 is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Haugaland og [Sunnhordland District Court] and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Etne Municipality is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors

The mayor of Etne Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
  • 1838–1838: Rev. Nicolai Friis Aabel
  • 1840–1840: L.M. Weltzin
  • 1849–1851: Rev. Peder Mandrup Tuxen Abel
  • 1852–1855: Baard L. Flaaden
  • 1858–1858: J.K. Dahl
  • 1859–1859: Lars B. Hardeland
  • 1860–1863: Amund Moe
  • 1864–1867: L.M. Weltzin
  • 1878–1879: A. Søholt
  • 1880–1883: Halvor Fosse
  • 1884–1895: Thorbjørn Øien
  • 1896–1898: A.H. Fosse
  • 1899–1901: Hammersland
  • 1902–1910: Edvard Børretzen
  • 1911–1913: H. Grindheim
  • 1914–1916: Ola Winje
  • 1917–1922: Øystein A. Grønstad
  • 1923–1925: Torkel H. Hamre
  • 1926–1931: Øystein A. Grønstad
  • 1932–1934: T.O. Hardeland
  • 1934–1941: Øystein Grønstad
  • 1941–1941: Edvard Hjelmeland
  • 1945–1952: Trygve Vinje
  • 1952–1959: Sjur Moe
  • 1959–1964: Anders Grønstad
  • 1965–1966: Trygve Vinje
  • 1967–1975: Ingvald Gravelsæter
  • 1975–1983: Olav Fjæra
  • 1983–1987: Einride Aakra
  • 1987–1991: Lars J. Øyre
  • 1991–1995: Erling Steine
  • 1995–1999: Lars Lundal
  • 1999–2007: Amund Enge
  • 2007–2015: Sigve Sørheim
  • 2015–2019: Siri Klokkerstuen
  • 2019–present: Mette Heidi Bergsvåg Ekrheim

    Transportation

The European route E134 highway runs the length of the municipality connecting it to the city of Haugesund in the southwest and to Oslo in the east. The highway runs through Etnesjøen and then northeastwards along the Åkrafjorden before crossing into the neighboring Ullensvang Municipality. There are many tunnels along the route, some quite long, including the Åkrafjord Tunnel, Fjæra Tunnel, Markhus Tunnel, and Rullestad Tunnel.
The Eintveitbrua is a bridge in rural Etne that is not connected to the road network. It is considered to be a bridge to nowhere.

Notable people