is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Vestfold og Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. In 2020, it had a population of 47 ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

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 ...

. It is located in the traditional district of Ryfylke. 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 ...

of the municipality is the village of

Hjelmelandsvågen Hjelmelandsvågen is the administrative centre of Hjelmeland municipality, Norway. The village is located on the south side of the mouth of the Jøsenfjorden. The village has a population (2019) of 592 and a population density of . The Norwegia ...

. Other villages in the municipality include

Fister Fister is a village in Hjelmeland municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is a small community approximately 600 inhabitants, and is located on the mainland, along the Fisterfjorden, a branch off the main Boknafjorden. The village l ...

, Årdal, and

Jøsenfjorden Jøsenfjorden is a fjord in the municipality of Hjelmeland in Rogaland county, Norway. The fjord is a branch off of the main Boknafjorden. The fjord has a length of and a width between . The Norwegian National Road 13 runs along the northern ...

. Hjelmeland is known for its fruit (

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the p ...

plum A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes. History Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found i ...

cherries A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The nam ...

and

strawberries The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

) and fish production.

Salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

has been important for the fish industry in Hjelmeland for a couple of decades, but white fish such as

cod Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus '' Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is commonly not call ...

and

halibut Halibut is the common name for three flatfish in the genera '' Hippoglossus'' and ''Reinhardtius'' from the family of right-eye flounders and, in some regions, and less commonly, other species of large flatfish. The word is derived from ''h ...

has increased its value in the latter years. The municipality is the 105th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Hjelmeland is the 250th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,534. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

is and its population has decreased by 9.7% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

Hjelmeland was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () is the name for Norwegian local self-government districts that were legally enacted on 1 January 1838. This system of municipalities was created in a bill approved by the Parliament of Norway and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January ...

law). In 1859, Hjelmeland municipality was split into two: the southern portion of the municipality (population: 1,315) was split off to form the new municipality of Årdal and the remainder of the municipality became the municipality of

Hjelmeland og Fister Hjelmeland og Fister is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1859 until its dissolution in 1884. It encompassed the area of today's Hjelmeland municipality plus the eastern islands in today's Stavange ...

(population: 3,084). On 1 July 1884, the western islands and the western coast of the mainland (population: 832) were split off from

to form the new municipality of

and the rest of the municipality was renamed simply "Hjelmeland" which now had 2,249 residents. 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 1965, all of Hjelemland municipality (population: 1,691) was merged with most of the municipality of Årdal (except the Sundgardene area along the Årdalsfjorden), the mainland part and the island of

Randøy Randøy is an island in Hjelmeland municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The island lies just off the mainland between the Jøsenfjorden and the Årdalsfjorden. The large island of Ombo lies to the north and the island of Halsnøya lies to t ...

from the municipality of

, and the small Buergårdene area on

Ombo Ombo is an island in the municipality of Stavanger in Rogaland county, Norway. The island is the largest island in the Ryfylke region and the second largest island in Rogaland county. There are several villages on the island including Jørstad ...

from the municipality of Jelsa. The population of the newly enlarged Hjelemland was 2,909; nearly doubling the size of the municipal population. On 1 January 2020, the parts of Hjelmeland municipality that were located on the island of

were transferred to the neighboring

Stavanger Municipality Stavanger (, , US usually , ) is a city and municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the administrative center of Rogaland county. Th ...

so that the whole island would be part of the same municipality.

Name

The municipality (originally the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

) is named after the old ''Hjelmeland'' farm ( non, Hjalmaland), since the first

Hjelmeland Church Hjelmeland Church ( no, Hjelmeland kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Hjelmeland Municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Hjelmelandsvågen. It is the church for the Hjelmeland parish which is pa ...

was built there. Today the farm is a part of the

urban area. The first element of the name is the plural

genitive case In grammar, the genitive case (abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can al ...

of ''hjalmr'' which means " helmet" and this is referring to two heights behind the farm which have the form of two helmets. The last element is ''land'' which means "land" or "farm".

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

was granted on 30 November 1984. The arms show a six yellow woven straws on a red background. They are based on the local tradition of making chairs and other furniture with seats of woven twigs (). The process of weaving is symbolised in the arms. At the same time the arms show the strength and solidarity of the municipality.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...

has three parishes () within the municipality of Hjelmeland. It is part of the Ryfylke prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

) in the

Diocese of Stavanger The Diocese of Stavanger ( no, Stavanger bispedømme) is a diocese in the Church of Norway. It covers all of Rogaland county in western Norway. The cathedral city is Stavanger, where the Stavanger Cathedral is located. The bishop is Anne Li ...

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Hjelmeland, are responsible for

primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wiktionary:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physical and menta ...

, senior citizen services,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for Work (human activity), w ...

and other

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

zoning Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...

, and municipal

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

s. The municipality is governed by a

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 elected representatives, which in turn elect a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

. The municipality falls under the Sør-Rogaland District Court and the

Gulating Court of Appeal The Gulating Court of Appeal ( no, Gulating lagmannsrett) is one of six Court of appeal (Norway), courts of appeal in the Norway, Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Bergen (city), Bergen. The court has jurisdiction over the cou ...

Municipal council

The

() of Hjelmeland is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to four year terms. Currently, 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 is as follows:

Geography

The municipality stretches from the mountains bordering the

Setesdal Setesdal (; older name: Sætersdal) is a valley and a traditional district in Agder County in southern Norway. It consists of the municipalities of Bykle, Valle, Bygland, Iveland, and Evje og Hornnes. The Otra river flows through the valley of ...

valley to the shores of the

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...

s that connect to the main

Boknafjorden Boknafjord or Boknafjorden ( en, Bokna Fjord) is a fjord located in Rogaland county, Norway. The huge fjord lies between the cities of Stavanger and Haugesund and dominates the central part of the county. The main part of the fjord is shared bet ...

. The small

and Årdalsfjorden cut into the mainland. There are several islands that are part of Hjelmeland including

as well as some smaller surrounding islands. The island of Randøy is connected to the mainland by the

Randøy Bridge Randøy Bridge is a suspension bridge in Hjelmeland municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The bridge crosses the Ølesundet strait and links the island of Randøy to the mainland. The bridge has a main span of . The bridge opened in 1976 as pa ...

. There are several large lakes in the municipality including

Nilsebuvatnet Nilsebuvatnet is a lake in the municipalities of Sandnes and Hjelmeland in Rogaland county, Norway. The lake lies in the Lyseheiane mountains about north of the village of Lysebotn and about east of the village of Årdal. The lake is regulat ...

, Øvre Tysdalsvatnet, and Tysdalsvatnet. The large lake Blåsjø partially lies in the municipality. The Trollgarden glacial moraine lies atop a mountain in Hjelmeland. The Ritland crater is also located in the municipality.

Notable people

* Jacob Tostrup (1806 in Hjelmeland – 1890) a Norwegian jeweller, goldsmith and silversmith * Per Hovda (1908 in Hjelmeland – 1997) a Norwegian philologist * Per Pedersen Tjøstland (1918 in Fister - 2004) a Norwegian Nazi activist and SS volunteer *

Kjell Erfjord Kjell Erfjord (born 24 July 1940) is a Norway, Norwegian former educator and politician for the Christian Democratic Party (Norway), Christian Democratic Party. He was born in Hjelmeland as a son of Bernt Erfjord (1898–1981) and Karen Hagen (19 ...

(born 1940 in Hjelmeland) a Norwegian former educator and politician, Mayor of

Lund Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, across the Øresund, Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipali ...

1981-1991 and 1999-2007

References

External links

* *
Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every yea ...

Ryfylke tourist bureau
{{use dmy dates, date=June 2020 Municipalities of Rogaland 1838 establishments in Norway