Leikanger Municipality


Leikanger is a former municipality in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It was located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center was the village of Hermansverk, which also was the administrative center of the old Sogn og Fjordane county.
Prior to its dissolution in 2020, the municipality was the 342nd largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Leikanger Municipality was the 302nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about. The municipality's population density was and its population had increased by 8.1% over the previous 10-year period.
The Leikanger/Hermansverk urban area had 2,144 inhabitants, about 90% of the municipal population. This urban area is often called Systrond, which is why a person from Leikanger is often called Systrending.

General information

The parish of Leikanger was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. The original municipality was quite large and it was identical to the old Leikanger Church of Norway prestegjeld with the six parishes of Leikanger, Fresvik, Rinde, Vangsnes, Tjugum, and Mundal. In 1850, Leikanger Municipality was divided as follows:
  • the parishes of Vangsnes, Tjugum, and Mundal became the new Balestrand Municipality
  • the parishes of Leikanger, Fresvik, and Rinde continued on as a smaller Leikanger Municipality
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the Hella-Eitorn area was transferred from Balestrand Municipality to Leikanger Municipality. Also, the Tingstad area was transferred from Leikanger Municipality to neighboring Sogndal Municipality. These changes left Leikanger Municipality with 2,680 residents.
On 1 January 1992, the parishes of Leikanger Municipality located south of the Sognefjorden, including Feios and Fresvik were transferred to Vik Municipality. This move left Leikanger Municipality with only one parish: Leikanger.
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 that date, Leikanger Municipality was merged with the neighboring Balestrand Municipality and Sogndal Municipality to form a new, much larger Sogndal Municipality.

Name

The municipality is named after the old Leikanger farm since the first Leikanger Church was built there. The first element is which means "game", "sports", or "contest". The last element is the plural form of which means "field" or "meadow". Thus it means a meadow used for sports or games. Prior to 1889, the name was written Lekanger.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 5 September 1963. The official blazon is "Vert, two apples on a branch with three leaves Or". This means the arms have a green field and the charge is an apple tree branch with two apples and three leaves attached. The charge has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The apple tree branch is a symbol for the many orchards in the municipality and thus for the local economy. The three leaves symbolised the three parishes that used to make up the municipality. The arms were designed by K. Fotland. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway had one parish within Leikanger Municipality. It was part of the Sogn prosti in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
LeikangerLeikanger ChurchLeikanger1166

Government

While it existed, Leikanger 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 Sogn og Fjordane District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Leikanger 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 Leikanger Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people held this position:
  • 1838–1839: Christian Garup Meidell
  • 1840–1843: Søren Lem
  • 1844–1847: Herman Brun
  • 1848–1849: Harald Ulrik Sverdrup
  • 1849–1851: Herman Brun
  • 1852–1853: Hans Johannes Brun
  • 1854–1857: Johan David Haslund
  • 1858–1868: Sjur Sæterlid
  • 1868–1868: Hans Lem
  • 1868–1869: Johan Herman Brun
  • 1870–1873: Nils J. Njøs
  • 1874–1881: Lars M. Husabø
  • 1882–1884: Jakob Liv Rosted Sverdrup
  • 1885–1901: Jakob Bøthun
  • 1902–1907: Lars M. Husabø
  • 1908–1916: Nils Tjønn
  • 1917–1919: Hans N. Grinde
  • 1920–1922: Hans Fleche
  • 1922–1922: Knut Jordal
  • 1923–1934: Hans N. Grinde
  • 1935–1951: Olav Tveit
  • 1952–1957: Per H. Bøthun
  • 1958–1961: Hans Husabø
  • 1962–1963: Leiv Loen
  • 1964–1975: Arne Grepstad
  • 1975–1975: Olav Straume
  • 1976–1977: Lars Lefdal
  • 1978–1979: Kåre Næss
  • 1980–1983: Ola A. Vestrheim
  • 1984–1987: Erling Olsen
  • 1988–1991: Ola A. Vestrheim
  • 1992–1993: Kjell Helleland
  • 1994–1995: Åsta Magni Hauge
  • 1996–1999: Nils Erling Yndesdal
  • 2000–2003: Rolf Nesheim
  • 2003–2015: Olav Lunden
  • 2015–2019: Jon Håkon Odd

    Geography

Leikanger Municipality was located on the north side of the Sognefjorden and to the east of the Fjærlandsfjorden. It was bordered on the north and east by Sogndal Municipality, on the west by Balestrand Municipality, and on the south by Vik Municipality. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Gunvordalsbreen.

Buildings and structures

East of Leikanger, there are the Sognefjord Spans, three powerline spans with length over, which are currently the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th longest spans in the world. In 1955, the first Sognefjord Span was built near Leikanger. It was the longest span in the world from 1955 until 1997.

Sister cities/Twin towns

Leikanger has sister city agreements with the following places: