Lavik Municipality


Lavik is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1861 and then again from 1905 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Høyanger Municipality in the traditional district of Sogn in Vestland county. The administrative centre was the village of Lavik.
Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the municipality was the 336th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Lavik Municipality was the 628th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about. The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 5% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

Establishment

The parish of Ladevig was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. In 1858, the municipality was divided. The eastern part became Klævold Municipality and the western part remained as a much smaller Lavik Municipality.
In 1861, Lavik Municipality was merged with the neighboring Brekke Municipality, located on the south side of the Sognefjord, to form the new Lavik og Brekke Municipality.
On 1 January 1875, a part of Klævold Municipality was transferred to Lavik og Brekke Municipality. On 1 January 1905, Lavik og Brekke Municipality was divided, reverting to the pre-1861 borders and re-creating Lavik Municipality and Brekke Municipality as separate municipalities once again.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the following areas were merged to form the new Høyanger Municipality:
The municipality is named after the old Lavik farm since the first Lavik Church was built there. The first element has an uncertain meaning. One possibility is that it comes from the word which means "pile" or "stack". The last element likely comes from the word which means "inlet" or "cove". Historically the spelling has varied greatly. It was Laduigh in the 16th century, Laduig in the 17th century, Ladvig in the 18th century, Ladevig in the 19th century, and finally Lavik in the 20th century.

Churches

The Church of Norway had one parish within Lavik Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Lavik prestegjeld and the Ytre Sogn prosti in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
LavikLavik ChurchLavik1865

Geography

The municipality was located in the outer Sogn region, on both the north and south side of the Sognefjorden. The municipality was mostly on the northern side of the Sognefjorden. A smaller part of Lavik was located on the southern side of the Sognefjorden, a strip of land running south around the Ikjefjorden, past the village of Øystrebø, all the way south to the border with Hordaland county. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Blyfjellet, located on the southeastern border with Kyrkjebø Municipality.
Fjaler Municipality was located to the north, Kyrkjebø Municipality was located to the east, Masfjorden Municipality was located to the south, Brekke Municipality was located to the southwest, and Hyllestad Municipality was located to the northwest.

Government

While it existed, Lavik 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 Lavik 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 Lavik Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people held this position:
  • 1838–1850: Jacob Gabriel Lund
  • 1851–1852: Hans H. Hellebø
  • 1853–1853: Mattias O. Lønnebotten
  • 1854–1857: I. Løland
  • 1858–1860: Peder Fredrik Hartwig
  • 1905–1914: Lasse Trædal
  • 1920–1925: Mons A. Ringereide
  • 1926–1936: Johannes Instefjord
  • 1936–1937: Edvard Hellem
  • 1938–1940: Einar Raasholm
  • 1941–1942: Hans K. Torvund
  • 1943–1945: Kåre Nyheim
  • 1945–1945: Einar Raasholm
  • 1945–1947: Gjert Raae
  • 1948–1955: Thomas Kvammen
  • 1956–1963: Einar Lavik