Jostedal Municipality


Jostedal is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1963. The area is now part of Luster Municipality in the traditional district of Sogn in Vestland county. The administrative centre was the village of Jostedal.
Prior to its dissolution in 1963, the municipality was the 190th largest by area out of the 705 municipalities in Norway. Jostedal Municipality was the 655th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about. The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 5.5% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The parish of Jostedal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1963, Jostedal Municipality was merged with the neighboring Luster Municipality and Hafslo Municipality which created a new, larger Luster Municipality.

Name

The municipality is named after the Jostedalen valley since the first Jostedal Church was built there.
The first element is Jastra which is the old name for the river Jostedøla. The name comes from the genitive case of the word which means "yeast". This name is likely due to the fact that the water in the river comes from glaciers and during the summer time the river gets "frothy" or "foamy" due to all of the melting ice and the many waterfalls. The last element is which means "valley" or "dale".
Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Jostedalen. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Jostedal, removing the definite form ending -en.

Churches

The Church of Norway had one parish within Jostedal Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Jostedal prestegjeld and the Indre Sogn prosti in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
JostedalJostedal ChurchJostedal1660

Geography

The former municipality consisted of Jostedalen valley which empties into the Gaupnefjord at the village of Gaupne. The Gaupnefjord is an arm of the Lustrafjorden, which is an arm of the famous Sognefjorden, the second largest fjord in the world. There are three major glacial lakes in the area: Tunsbergdalsvatnet, Nigardsbrevatnet, and Austdalsvatnet/Styggevatnet.
The river Jostedøla runs through the valley up to its headwaters at the Jostedalsbreen glacier, a plateau glacier which is the European mainland's largest with an area of. Jostedalsbreen National Park and Breheimen National Park are located on either side of the Jostedalen valley. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Lodalskåpa on the northern border with Stryn Municipality.
Stryn Municipality was to the northwest, Skjåk Municipality was to the east, and Luster Municipality was to the south and west.

Government

While it existed, Jostedal 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 Jostedal Municipality was made up of 13 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 Jostedal Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people held this position:
  • 1838–1839: K.A. Bugge
  • 1840–1841: Lars R. Faaberg
  • 1842–1845: M.S. Fasting
  • 1846–1846: Lars T. Kronen
  • 1847–1849: Christian B. Heltberg
  • 1850–1850: Anders A. Haugen
  • 1851–1852: Christian B. Heltberg
  • 1853–1855: I.H. Vamberg
  • 1856–1856: O. Christian Rasch
  • 1857–1858: Lars T. Kronen
  • 1859–1861: O. Christian Rasch
  • 1862–1862: Jon A. Haugen
  • 1868–1869: Lars T. Kronen
  • 1870–1874: Rasmus L. Faaberg
  • 1875–1875: Andreas E. Hansen
  • 1876–1876: Anders Christensen Ormbergstøl
  • 1877–1878: Tøger Kronen
  • 1879–1880: Anders Christensen Ormbergstøl
  • 1881–1882: Anton Hansen
  • 1883–1896: Anders Christensen Ormbergstøl
  • 1897–1904: Kristen Andersen Ormbergstøl
  • 1905–1907: Lars Rasmussen Faaberg
  • 1908–1910: Ole E. Myklemyr
  • 1911–1922: Lars Rasmussen Faaberg
  • 1923–1935: H.N. Bruheim
  • 1836–1836: Hans Moen
  • 1936–1937: H.N. Bruheim
  • 1938–1939: Ove W. Haug
  • 1940–1941: Hans Moen
  • 1941–1945: K.R. Vigdal
  • 1946–1947: Kristen Bakken
  • 1948–1951: Johannes Grov
  • 1952–1955: Hallvard Hesjevoll
  • 1956–1963: Johannes Grov

    Notable people

  • Kåre Øvregard, a Norwegian politician
  • Kristen Øyen, a forester