Høyanger Municipality


Høyanger is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center is the village of Høyanger. Other villages in Høyanger Municipality include Austreim, Bjordal, Kyrkjebø, Lavik, Ortnevik, and Vadheim.
Høyanger Municipality is known for having one of the first industrial villages in Norway to use its steep mountains surrounding the village giving excellent conditions for producing hydroelectricity needed for electrolysis. The main product being produced in the village of Høyanger was aluminium.
The municipality is the 115th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Høyanger Municipality is the 208th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 3,894. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 7.3% over the previous 10-year period.
WWW hoyanger.kommune.no𝕏 Hoyanger

General information

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. Høyanger Municipality was created on 1 January 1964 when the following areas were merged:
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. Also on 1 January 2020, the Nessane area of neighboring Balestrand Municipality was merged into Høyanger Municipality.

Name

The municipality is named Høyanger after the old name of an arm of the Sognefjorden that is now called the Høyangsfjorden. The first element is derived from the word which means "hay". The last element is which means "bay" or "inlet". Thus the name is probably referring to the green hillsides along the fjord.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 15 May 1987. The official blazon is "Azure, three flames in bend argent". This means the arms have a blue field and the charge is a set of three flames lined up diagonally. 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 flames were chosen as a symbol for the local aluminium industry. Aluminium is melted and purified in the village of Høyanger, due to the cheap hydroelectric energy that is locally available. The colors represent waterpower and aluminium. The arms were designed by Inge Rotevatn. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway has four parishes within Høyanger Municipality. It is part of the Sunnfjord prosti in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
Bjordal og OrtnevikBjordal ChurchBjordal1906
Bjordal og OrtnevikOrtnevik ChurchOrtnevik1925
HøyangerHøyanger ChurchHøyanger1960
KyrkjebøKyrkjebø ChurchKyrkjebø1869
KyrkjebøVadheim ChapelVadheim1916
LavikLavik ChurchLavik1865

Government

Høyanger 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 Sogn og Fjordane District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Høyanger Municipality is made up of 21 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 Høyanger 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:
  • 1964–1967: Albert Hellem
  • 1968–1975: Einar Lavik
  • 1976–1991: Arvid Lillehauge
  • 1991–1992: Bodil Bye Stavang
  • 1992–1995: Liv Lønne
  • 1996–2011: Kjartan Longva
  • 2011–present: Petter Sortland

Geography

The Sognefjorden runs through the center of the municipality. Høyanger Municipality is bordered to the north by Fjaler Municipality and Sunnfjord Municipality, to the east by Sogndal Municipality and Vik Municipality, to the south by Modalen Municipality and Masfjorden Municipality, and to the west by Gulen Municipality and Hyllestad Municipality.
Høyanger Municipality covers an area of about. Stølsheimen Nature Reserve was created in 1990 in Høyanger Municipality. Its area stretches from high mountaintops through fertile valleys and sweeps over steep meadows down to the fjord. Høyanger Municipality is perhaps best known for its mountain farms and lakes. From the village of Ortnevik there are marked footpaths up to Stølsheimen Park and from the village of Bjordal you may drive up the Stordal road to the summit at above sea level. The highest point in the municipality is the tall unnamed mountain on the border with Sogndal Municipality.

Economy

Høyanger is a modern industrial community which has grown in pace with the principal employers being Hydro Aluminium and Høyanger Metallverk. Hydroelectricity has played a major role in the development of the area. In addition to manufacturing aluminium, Høyanger supports a varied range of light industry that is backed by retail and service trades. In the rural areas bordering the fjord, farming is the main source of livelihood. There are currently 115 traditional farms gårds in the municipality. Each traditional farms originally had one owner, but most of them have been divided up and sold off over the years, and so there are more than 115 farms in use today.

Transportation

There are good connections with Oslo and Bergen by bus, as well as air and fast boat services. The nearest airport is just outside the town of Førde, about away. The village of Lavik is an important junction for traffic to and from Bergen as it is a ferry port that is part of the European route E39 highway. Høyanger is reached from the neighboring Sogndal Municipality to the east by the Høyangertunnelen which is in length. It is part of the Norwegian County Road 55. It is one of the longest tunnels in Europe. Good ferry services across the Sognefjorden link the northern and southern sides of the municipality.

Attractions

In 1986, in Høyanger, Norsk Hydro Aluminium/Høyanger Metallverk opened a museum designed to show what water power has meant both locally and to Norway as a whole. Visitors will get to learn about how the aluminium industry has grown and prospered in the area thanks to the vast energy produced by water.
Near Vadheim is an 18th-century stone bridge called the Ytredal Bridge. It is a popular tourist attraction.
There is also a narrow-gauge funicular railway in the area, first opened in 1953.

Notable people