Hamre Municipality
Hamre is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now divided between Alver Municipality and Osterøy Municipality in the traditional district of Nordhordland in Vestland county. The administrative centre was the village of Hamre, where Hamre Church was located.
Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the municipality was the 545th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Hamre Municipality was the 354th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about. The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 7.2% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
The parish of Hammer was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. On 1 January 1885, the northwestern district of Hamre on the island of Holsnøy and the area around the village of Alversund on the mainland was separated to become the new Alversund Municipality. After this split, Hammer Municipality had 3,737 residents.On 1 January 1904, the western district of Hammer Municipality was separated to become the new Aasene Municipality. The split left Hammer Municipality with a population of 2,914. On 1 July 1914 a part of western Hammer Municipality with 622 inhabitants was transferred to Åsane Municipality. The spelling of the name was changed from "Hammer" to "Hamre" by a royal resolution in 1915.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Hamre Municipality was dissolved and its lands were split up as follows:
- the island of Flatøy was transferred to Meland Municipality.
- the area on the northern coast of the Osterfjorden was transferred to Lindås Municipality.
- the area on the island of Osterøy became part of the newly-created Osterøy Municipality.
Name
Churches
The Church of Norway had one parish within Hamre Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Hamre prestegjeld and the Nordhordland prosti in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.| Parish | Church name | Location of the church | Year built |
| Svelvik | Hamre Church | Hamre | 1622 |
Geography
Hamre Municipality was once a large municipality, but over time it was reduced in size until it covered an area of about by the time it was dissolved in 1964. At that time, it encompassed land on both sides of the Osterfjorden on the Lindås peninsula on the north side and on the island of Osterøy on the south side. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Gladihaug.Lindås Municipality was located to the north, Hosanger Municipality was located to the east, Haus Municipality was located to the southeast, Arna Municipality was located to the south, Åsane Municipality was located to the southwest, Meland Municipality was located to the west, and Alversund Municipality was located to the northwest.
Government
While it existed, Hamre 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 Gulating Court of Appeal.Municipal council
The municipal council of Hamre 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 Hamre Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people held this position:- 1838–1840: Rev. Johan Frøchen Dietrichson
- 1849–1851: Anbjørn Monsen Mælingen
- 1852–1856: Ole Erstad
- 1857–1859: Nils Olsen Ekanger
- 1860–1863: H. Faye
- 1864–1867: Rasmus Eriksen Espelid
- 1868–1870: Nils Olsen Ekanger
- 1878–1879: I.M. Espelid
- 1880–1883: Rasmus Eriksen Espelid
- 1884–1887: A. Sandvik
- 1888–1898: Anders O. Tepstad
- 1899–1907: Mons Iversen Espelid
- 1908–1910: Johannes Eikanger
- 1911–1913: Mons Iversen Espelid
- 1914–1916: Johannes Eikanger
- 1917–1919: Magnus Heggertveit
- 1920–1922: Karl O. Leknes
- 1923–1937: Mons A. Leknes
- 1937–1938: Olav Hordvik
- 1938–1941: Nils Østerbø
- 1942–1945: Ragnvald Isdal
- 1945–1955: Nils Østerbø
- 1955–1964: Eivind Rundhovde