Hornindal is a
former municipality in the old
Sogn og Fjordane
Sogn og Fjordane (; English: "Sogn and Fjordane") was, up to 1 January 2020, a county in western Norway, when it was merged to become part of Vestland county. Bordering previous counties Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland, the cou ...
county, Norway. It existed from 1867 until 1965 and then again from 1977 until 2020. It was located in the
traditional district of
Nordfjord
Nordfjord ( en, Northern fjord—in contrast to Sunnfjord) is a traditional district of Norway.
Geography
The region is located in the northern part of Vestland county in Western Norway. It centers on the Nordfjorden and it comprises the muni ...
. 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 was the village of
Grodås
Grodås is a village in Volda Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The village is located along the river Horndøla on the eastern end of the lake Hornindalsvatnet, about southwest of the mountain Hornindalsrokken. The village si ...
. The municipality was located at the eastern end of the lake
Hornindalsvatnet
Hornindalsvatnet is Norway's and Europe's deepest lake, and the world's twelfth deepest lake, officially measured to a depth of . Its surface is above sea level, which means that its bottom is below sea level.
The village of Grodås lies at ...
, the deepest lake in Northern Europe. The rest of the lake lies inside neighboring
Eid Municipality
Eid is a former municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It was located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The village of Nordfjordeid was the administrative center of the municipality. Other larger villages in Eid include ...
.
The
European route E39
European route E39 is the designation of a north–south road in Norway and Denmark from Klett, just south of Trondheim, to Aalborg via Bergen, Stavanger and Kristiansand. In total, there are nine ferries, more than any other single road in Eu ...
highway runs through Hornindal Municipality as it makes its route along the western coast of Norway. The
Kviven Tunnel
The Kviven Tunnel ( no, Kvivstunnelen) is a long road tunnel through the mountain ''Kviven'', along the European route E39 highway. The tunnel is located in Volda Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The eastern end of the tunnel ...
was completed in 2012 as part of the new E39 route connecting Hornindal to
Volda Municipality
Volda is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Volda. Other villages in the municipality include Dravlaus, Fyrde, Straumshamn, Leira, Bjørke, and ...
in Møre og Romsdal county to the north. The tunnel was constructed to avoid the ferry crossing over the
Voldsfjorden
Voldsfjorden or Voldafjorden is a fjord in Volda Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The long fjord begins at the confluence of the Austefjorden and the Kilsfjorden.
The Voldsfjorden reaches a maximum depth of below sea level, ...
and it shortened the distance from Hornindal to Volda significantly.
At the time of its dissolution in 2020, the municipality is the 334th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Hornindal is the 381st most-populous municipality in Norway, with a population of 1,175. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 3% over the last decade.
General information
![Hornindalsrokken 2008 August](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Hornindalsrokken_2008_August.jpg)
Since ancient times, Hornindal was a sub-parish () of
Eid ''
prestegjeld
A ''prestegjeld'' was a geographic and administrative area within the Church of Norway (''Den Norske Kirke'') roughly equivalent to a parish. This traditional designation was in use for centuries to divide the kingdom into ecclesiastical areas tha ...
'' (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 1865, Hornindal became a parish of its own and then two years later, on 1 January 1867, Hornindal was established as a separate municipality. At this time, Hornindal had a population of 1,612.
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, the municipality of Hornindal was dissolved and it was divided between the neighboring municipalities of Eid and Stryn.
Navelsaker and
Holmøyvik and all of Hornindal west of there (population: 310) was transferred to Eid, and the 1,184 residents to the east of those areas went to Stryn. This, however, was not long-lasting. On 1 January 1977, the area of the old municipality of Hornindal was separated from Stryn and recreated as a separate municipality once again. The portions of Hornindal that were moved to Eid in 1964 remained there. The new Hornindal municipality had a population of 1,202.
On 1 January 2019, the Maurset area in southern Hornindal (population: 19) was transferred from Hornindal to the neighboring municipality of
Stryn
Stryn is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Stryn. The municipality is located along the innermost part of t ...
.
On 1 January 2020, Hornindal (in
Sogn og Fjordane
Sogn og Fjordane (; English: "Sogn and Fjordane") was, up to 1 January 2020, a county in western Norway, when it was merged to become part of Vestland county. Bordering previous counties Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland, the cou ...
county) merged with the neighboring
Volda Municipality
Volda is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Volda. Other villages in the municipality include Dravlaus, Fyrde, Straumshamn, Leira, Bjørke, and ...
and joined
Møre og Romsdal
Møre og Romsdal (; en, Møre and Romsdal) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is the ...
county.
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) was named after the old farm called ''Horne'' ( non, Hornvin), since the first
Hornindal Church
Hornindal Church ( no, Hornindal kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in the municipality of Volda in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the village of Grodås, at the eastern end of the lake Hornindalsvatnet. It is ...
was built there. The first element is ''horn'' which means "horn" (here referring to a pointed mountain behind the farm) and the last element is ''vin'' which means "meadow" or "pasture". So the meaning of the compounded name ''Hornindal'' is "the valley/dale of Horne".
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 7 August 1987. They were designed by Petter Eide. It shows three silver blades of
scythe
A scythe ( ) is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass or harvesting crops. It is historically used to cut down or reap edible grains, before the process of threshing. The scythe has been largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor m ...
s on a blue background. Historically, farming and
blacksmith
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
ing were vital industries in Hornindal. At one point, there were as many as 200 blacksmiths in the area. There was also a rich tradition of making handmade scythes and this was very symbolized by putting scythes on the coat-of-arms.
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 ...
had one parish () within the municipality of Hornindal. It is part of the
Nordfjord prosti
Nordfjord ( en, Northern fjord—in contrast to Sunnfjord) is a traditional district of Norway.
Geography
The region is located in the northern part of Vestland county in Western Norway. It centers on the Nordfjorden and it comprises the mun ...
(
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 Bjørgvin
The Diocese of Bjørgvin ( no, Bjørgvin bispedømme) is one of the 11 dioceses that make up the Church of Norway. It includes all of the churches located in the county of Vestland in Western Norway. The cathedral city is Bergen, Norway's second ...
.
Government
All municipalities in Norway, including Hornindal, 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,
senior citizen
Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...
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 Elected may refer to:
* "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973
* ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008
*The Elected, an American indie rock band
See also
*Election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...
representatives, which
in turn elects 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
Sogn og Fjordane District Court
Sogn og Fjordane District Court ( no, Sogn og Fjordane tingrett) is a district court (Norway), district court located in Vestland county, Norway. This court is based at two different courthouses which are located in Førde (town), Førde and Sognd ...
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
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 Hornindal was made up of 17 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:
Mayor
The mayor ''(ordførar)'' of a municipality in Norway is a representative of the majority party of the municipal council who is elected to lead the council. Stig Olav Lødemel of the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
was elected mayor for the 2015–2019 term.
Geography
![Hornindalsrokken](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Hornindalsrokken.jpg)
Location
Hornindal is located on the northern border of
Sogn og Fjordane
Sogn og Fjordane (; English: "Sogn and Fjordane") was, up to 1 January 2020, a county in western Norway, when it was merged to become part of Vestland county. Bordering previous counties Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland, the cou ...
county. Hornindal is bordered to the west by the municipality of
Eid, to the south by
Stryn
Stryn is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Stryn. The municipality is located along the innermost part of t ...
, to the east by
Stranda
Stranda is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Stranda. Stranda consists of three smaller villages and one larger central villag ...
(in
Møre og Romsdal
Møre og Romsdal (; en, Møre and Romsdal) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is the ...
county), and to the north by
Ørsta
is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre Districts of Norway, region of Western Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Ørsta ( ...
and
Volda
Volda is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Volda. Other villages in the municipality include Dravlaus, Fyrde, Straumshamn, Leira, Bjørke, and Gro ...
(both in
Møre og Romsdal
Møre og Romsdal (; en, Møre and Romsdal) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is the ...
county).
Mountains
*
Hornindalsrokken
Hornindalsrokken is a tall mountain in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located on the border of two municipalities: Stranda Municipality and Volda Municipality. The mountain is sometimes also called ''Honndalsrokken'' or sometimes just ' ...
mountain ()
*Gulkoppen mountain ()
*Middagsfjellet ()
Tourist attractions
Hornindalsvatnet
The
Hornindalsvatnet
Hornindalsvatnet is Norway's and Europe's deepest lake, and the world's twelfth deepest lake, officially measured to a depth of . Its surface is above sea level, which means that its bottom is below sea level.
The village of Grodås lies at ...
lake is the deepest lake in Europe at deep. None of the glacier streams run out into the lake and this has resulted in one of Europe's clearest lakes.
Anders Svor Museum
Anders Svor was born in 1864 on the Svor Farm in Hornindal. At the age of 21 he left for Denmark where he enrolled at the
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
Academy of Art. He later participated in many art exhibitions in
Kristiania
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
, Copenhagen, Paris, and Chicago. The Anders Svor Museum was opened in 1953 and features 450 of his works. His art is characterised by simple, clean lines, and deep authenticity.
Notable people
*
Anders Fannemel
Anders Fannemel (; born 13 May 1991) is a Norwegian ski jumper. He is a former ski flying world record holder, with set in Vikersund on 15 February 2015.
Career
Fannemel started ski jumping when he was 14 years old, which is rather late c ...
(born 1991),
ski jumper
Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the fina ...
*
Frode Grodås
Frode Grodås (born 24 October 1964) is a Norwegian football coach and former national team goalkeeper originally from Hornindal in Sogn og Fjordane. Capped 50 times for his country, he participated at the 1998 FIFA World Cup as well as being an ...
(born 1964),
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
*
Bjørn Lødemel (born 1958), politician
*
Brita Lund (1886–1966), artist
*
Anders Svor (1864–1929), sculptor
References
External links
Municipal fact sheetfrom
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 ...
Official website of HornindalWebcam in Hornindal
{{authority control
Former municipalities of Norway
1867 establishments in Norway
1965 disestablishments in Norway
1977 establishments in Norway
2020 disestablishments in Norway