Hjelme is a former municipality in the old

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Municipal ...

county in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. The municipality was located within the northern part of the present-day municipality of

Øygarden Øygarden is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is an island municipality located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Midhordland, stretching along the west coast of the cou ...

. It existed from 1910 until 1964. The

administrative centre An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

was located at Hjelme, where the

Old Hjelme Church Old Hjelme Church ( no, Hjelme gamle kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Øygarden Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Hjelmo on the island of Seløyna. It is one of the three churches in the ...

was located. The municipality included the main islands of Alvøyna, Seløyna, Lyngøyna, and

Hernar Hernar is an island in Øygarden municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is one of the northernmost islands in the Øygarden archipelago. The island is rocky and barren. Most of the settlement is in one cluster on the southwestern part of ...

as well as many smaller surrounding islands. The

Fedjeosen Fedjeosen is a strait or stretch of open sea in Vestland county, Norway. It is located between the island of Fedje in Fedje Municipality and the island of Nordøyane in Øygarden Municipality. The strait has a width of about and leads into the ...

strait was the northern boundary, the

Hjeltefjorden Hjeltefjorden is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. The long fjord runs north–south between many islands leading from the open ocean to the city of Bergen. It passes through the municipalities of Fedje, Øygarden, Alver, and Askøy. Its name ...

was the eastern boundary, the small ''Nordra Straumøysundet'' strait was the southern boundary, and the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

was to the west.

History

On 1 January 1910, the western district of the municipality of

Manger __NOTOC__ A manger or trough is a rack for fodder, or a structure or feeder used to hold food for animals. The word comes from the Old French ''mangier'' (meaning "to eat"), from Latin ''mandere'' (meaning "to chew"). Mangers are mostly used in ...

(population: 986) was separated to form its own municipality called ''Hjelmen''. On 5 November 1912 the name was changed from ''Hjelmen'' to ''Hjelme'' by royal resolution. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee ( no, Schei-komitéen) was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II. It convened in 1946, and its formal name was (The 1946 Committee on Municip ...

. On 1 January 1964, the municipality of Hjelme (population: 956) was merged with the majority of the neighboring municipality of

Herdla Herdla is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1871 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality encompassed a large group of about 2,000 islands and skerries covering about of land area ...

to form the new municipality named "

Municipal council

The

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

of Hjelme was made up of 13 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...

breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

Churches

The

(''Hjelme gamle kirke'') dates from 1875. Before the church was built, the inhabitants of the parish of Hjelme had to row across the

to either

Hordabø Church Hordabø Church ( no, Hordabø kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Alver Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Bøvågen on the island of Radøy. It is one of the four churches in the Radøy par ...

Manger Church Manger Church ( no, Manger kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Alver Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Manger on the island of Radøy. It is one of the four churches in the Radøy parish whi ...

. It is built of wood and has 180 seats. The church is no longer in active use since the new

Hjelme Church Hjelme Church ( no, Hjelme kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Øygarden Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the central part of the island of Seløyna. It is one of the three churches in the ''Hjelme og Blo ...

(''Hjelme kirke'') was built in 1971. It was built of concrete and has 340 seats.''Hjelme Church'' (Øygarden)
/ref>

References

{{Authority control Øygarden Former municipalities of Norway 1910 establishments in Norway 1964 disestablishments in Norway

History

Municipal council

Churches

See also

References