Varaldsøy Municipality
Varaldsøy is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1902 until its dissolution in 1965. The area is now divided between Kvinnherad Municipality and Kvam Municipality in the traditional district of Hardanger in Vestland county. The administrative centre was the village of Våge on the south part of the island of Varaldsøy. Other villages in the municipality included Mundheim and Gjermundshamn.
Prior to its dissolution in 1965, the municipality was the 438th largest by area out of the 525 municipalities in Norway. Varaldsøy Municipality was the 502nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about. The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 0.9% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
On 1 January 1902, Strandebarm Municipality was divided into two municipalities: the southern part became the new Varaldsøy Municipality and the northern part remained as a smaller Strandebarm Municipality.During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, Varaldsøy Municipality was dissolved and its lands were split between two neighboring municipalities. The Mundheim area northwest of the island on the mainland was incorporated into Kvam Municipality. The island of Varaldsøy and the rest of the mainland area southwest of the island became a part of Kvinnherad Municipality.
Name
The municipality is named after the island of Varaldsøy. The first element comes from the old male name Varaldr. The last element is which means "island". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Varaldsø. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Varaldsøy. The letter y was added to the end of the word to "Norwegianize" the name.Churches
The Church of Norway had one parish within Varaldsøy Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Strandebarm prestegjeld and the Hardanger og Voss prosti in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.| Parish | Church name | Location of the church | Year built |
| Varaldsøy | Varaldsøy Church | Varaldsøy | 1885 |
Geography
The municipality encompassed the whole island of Varaldsøy and a wide strip of the mainland located west of the island. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Lukefjellet, a tripoint on the border with Strandebarm Municipality, Strandvik Municipality, and Hålandsdal Municipality. Strandebarm Municipality was located to the north, Kvinnherad Municipality was located to the east and south, Strandvik Municipality was located to the west, and Hålandsdal Municipality was located to the northwest.Government
While it existed, Varaldsøy 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 Varaldsøy Municipality was made up of 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 Varaldsøy Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:- 1902–1919: Nils Dybsland
- 1920–1922: Nils Kårstad
- 1923–1925: Torbjørn Galtung
- 1926–1928: Erik Skjelnæs
- 1929–1931: Nils Dybsland
- 1932–1940: Kristoffer Mundheim
- 1941–1942: Lars Nedrevåge
- 1942–1945: Sverre Mundheim
- 1945–1945: Kristoffer Mundheim
- 1946–1961: Lars Gerhard Sandvik
- 1961–1963: Arnt Johan Pettersen
- 1964–1965: Haktor Djuvsland