Vossestrand Municipality


Vossestrand is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1868 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Voss Municipality in the traditional district of Voss in Vestland county. The administrative centre was the village of Oppheim. Other villages in the municipality included Stalheim, Vinje, and Myrkdalen.
Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the municipality was the 187th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Vossestrand Municipality was the 527th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about. The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 4.8% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Vossestrand was created on 1 January 1868 when the old Voss Municipality was divided into two separate municipalities. The northern part became Vossestrand Municipality and the southern part remained as a smaller Voss Municipality. On 21 August 1869, an unpopulated area of Voss Municipality was administratively transferred to Vossestrand Municipality.
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 a new, larger Voss Municipality:
The municipality is named after an old name for the area, Strand. The name Vossestrand was created in the 1860s when the municipality was established. The first element is named after the traditional district of Voss. That name is likely derived from the word vǫrr which means "water" (likely the old district name was originally used as the name for the lake Vangsvatnet. The last element is derived which means "beach" or "shore".
Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Vossestranden. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Vossestrand, removing the definite form ending -en.

Churches

The Church of Norway had two parishes within Vossestrand Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Vossestrand prestegjeld and the Hardanger og Voss prosti in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
OppheimOppheim ChurchOppheim1871
VinjeVinje ChurchVinje1871

Geography

The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Blåfjellet, located on the northern border with Vik Municipality. The large lake Oppheimsvatnet sat in the central part of the municipality. Vik Municipality was located to the north, Aurland Municipality was located to the northeast, Voss Municipality was located to the east and south, and Evanger Municipality was located to the west.

Government

While it existed, Vossestrand 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 Vossestrand 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 Vossestrand Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
  • 1868–1871: Christian Johannes Hammer
  • 1871–1880: Torstein Hellesnes
  • 1881–1910: Olav Brekke
  • 1911–1918: Eirik T. Hellesnes
  • 1919–1925: Torstein Skjervheim
  • 1926–1934: Sjur Bygd
  • 1935–1941: Odd Hole Høen
  • 1942–1945: Lars Rygg
  • 1945–1947: Odd Hole Høen
  • 1948–1959: Lars A. Hauge
  • 1960–1963: Per Årmot