Meland is a former municipality in the

Nordhordland Nordhordland is a traditional district in the western part of Norway. The district consists of the northern portion of the old Hordaland county (now in Vestland county), north of the city of Bergen. It includes the municipalities Alver, Austr ...

district 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,

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 existed from 1923 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020 when it was merged into the new Alver Municipality in

Vestland Vestland is a county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the city of Bergen, where t ...

county. The municipality was located about 30 minutes north of the city of

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

Western Norway Western Norway ( nb, Vestlandet, Vest-Norge; nn, Vest-Noreg) is the region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrativ ...

. The island municipality was mostly located on the island of

Holsnøy Holsnøy is an island in Alver Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island lies to the north/west of the mainland, between the islands of Radøy to the north and Askøy to the south. The highest point on the island is the tall Eldsfjel ...

, where 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 ...

Frekhaug Frekhaug is a village in Alver Municipality, located in Vestland county, Norway. The village sits at the southern tip of the island of Holsnøy. Prior to 2020, the village was the administrative centre of the old municipality of Meland. The v ...

is located. Other villages in Meland include

Hjartås Hjartås is a village in Alver municipality, located in Vestland county, Norway. The village lies along the Herdlefjorden on the western coast of the island of Holsnøy. The village is a part of the urban area of Holme. The urban area of Holm ...

, Holme, Io,

Krossneset Krossneset is a village in Alver municipality, in Vestland county, Norway. The village sits on the island of Flatøy, about half-way between the villages of Frekhaug (to the west) and Knarvik (to the east). The village has a population (2019) ...

Meland Meland is a former municipality in the Nordhordland district in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1923 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020 when it was merged into the new Alver Municipality in Vestland county. ...

, and Rossland. Prior to its dissolution in 2020, the municipality is the 386th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Meland is the 135th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 8,021. 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 increased by 33.3% over the last decade.

General information

On 15 October 1923, the western part of the municipality of Alversund was separated to create the new municipality of Meland. Meland was one of many municipalities in Norway that were created for geographical reasons: Meland was separated from the rest of Alversund by the

Radfjorden Radfjorden is a fjord in Alver Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The long fjord runs between the islands of Radøy and Holsnøy. The northwestern end of the fjord is called the ''Mangerfjorden'' and it flows out into the Hjeltefjorden. ...

, and transportation between the different parts of the municipality was unreliable and time-consuming. The creation of the municipality was approved in 1922, and the first election for the municipal council was held 23 August 1923, with the municipality becoming official on 15 October 1923. Meland encompassed the southern two-thirds of the island of

(the northern third belonged to

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 ...

municipality), a small area on the northeast coast of the island of

Askøy Askøy is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island municipality is located in the Midhordland district of the county, sitting in a large group of islands immediately northwest of the city of Bergen. The administrative centre of the ...

, as well as some very small surrounding islands. In 1962, 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 ...

concluded its survey of the organization of Norway's municipalities. The committee recommended enlarging Meland municipality by transferring the northern part of Holsnøy and the minor island of Øpsøy (population: 811) from Herdla municipality to Meland, and the island of

Flatøy Flatøy is an island in Alver Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island lies in the district of Nordhordland, just north of the city of Bergen. The main village on the island is Krossneset on the southern part of the island. The nor ...

(population: 166) was transferred from Hamre municipality to Meland. Simultaneously, Meland would lose the parts of the municipality located on the island of

and that area would go to

Askøy Municipality Askøy is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island municipality is located in the Midhordland district of the county, sitting in a large group of islands immediately northwest of the city of Bergen. The administrative centre of the ...

. Hordaland county approved the move, and the border changes came into effect on 1 January 1964. A proposal to change the name of Meland municipality to "Holsenøy" was rejected. Hamre and Herdla municipalities ceased to exist, and their territory was divided between the municipalities of

Lindås Lindås is a former municipality in the Nordhordland district in the old Hordaland county, Norway. It existed from 1838 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020 when it was merged into the new Alver Municipality. The administrative centre of the ...

Osterøy Osterøy is an island municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordhordland. The municipality encompasses most of the island of Osterøy. The administrative centre of Osterøy is the village of Lon ...

, and Meland, and Askøy,

Øygarden Øygarden is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is an island municipality located in the traditional district of Midhordland, stretching along the west coast of the county. The village of Straume is the administrative centre of the ...

, and Meland, respectively. On 1 January 2020, the neighboring municipalities of Meland,

Radøy Radøy is a former municipality in the Nordhordland district of the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1964 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into the new municipality of Alver in Vestland county. The mun ...

, and

were merged into a large, new municipality called Alver.

Name

The municipality is named after the old ''

'' farm in the south-central part of the island of

. The

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

name of the farm was "Meðalland". "Meðal" means "middle" while "land" means "farm" or "land", so that the name as a whole roughly means "the farm that is located in the middle (of the island)". The name was spelled ''Mæland'' historically.

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 15 May 1987. The arms show a local type of

auger Auger may refer to: Engineering * Wood auger, a drill for making holes in wood (or in the ground) ** Auger bit, a drill bit * Auger conveyor, a device for moving material by means of a rotating helical flighting * Auger (platform), the world's f ...

which is used in

carpentry Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters tr ...

. In the 1850s, auger manufacturing started in the municipality, and the local drills were considered to be high quality. The auger is gray and it is on a red background.

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 Meland. It is part of the

Nordhordland prosti Nordhordland is a traditional district in the western part of Norway. The district consists of the northern portion of the old Hordaland county (now in Vestland county), north of the city of Bergen. It includes the municipalities Alver, Austr ...

(

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 ...

Geography

Meland consisted of a number of islands. The largest was

, which has an area of , out of a total area of for the entire municipality. Holsnøy is located between the island of

and the

peninsula to its north, the

Åsane Åsane is a borough of the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. The borough makes up the northern part of the city, north of the city centre. Åsane is connected to downtown Bergen by the E16/ E39 highway. The E16 highway continues on t ...

peninsula in Bergen to its east, the island of

to its south, and the archipelago of

to its west. It is surrounded by fjords, namely (clockwise from north) Mangerfjorden,

Salhusfjorden Salhusfjorden is a long fjord and sound between Bergen Municipality and Alver Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. To the west, it starts between the villages of Salhus and Frekhaug, where the Byfjorden meets the Herdlefjorden. To the e ...

Herdlefjorden Herdlefjorden is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. The long fjord runs between the islands of Holsnøy (in Alver Municipality) and Askøy (in Askøy Municipality). The fjord connects with the Salhusfjorden and the Byfjorden on the southea ...

, and

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 nam ...

. The second largest island in the municipality is

, located west of Holsnøy. The municipality also encompasses a number of minor islands. The

of the municipality is the village of

, which is its largest settlement. Frekhaug is located in the south-eastern part of Holsnøy, and its

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...

had a population of 1649 as of 2012. An additional two urban areas are located in the municipality:

on Flatøy (population 468) and Holme (population 663).

Transport

As an island municipality, the road network of Meland depended upon bridges to connect it to the mainland. The

Nordhordland Bridge The Nordhordland Bridge ( no, Nordhordlandsbrua) is a combined cable-stayed and pontoon bridge which crosses Salhusfjorden between Klauvaneset (in Bergen Municipality) and the island of Flatøy (in Alver Municipality) in Vestland county, Norwa ...

, which spans the

between Flatøy and Klauvaneset in Bergen, connects Meland to the mainland. The bridge is the main road northwards from Bergen, and is part of

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 ...

. The

Krossnessundet Bridge The Krossnessundet Bridge ( no, Krossnessundet bru) is a cantilever bridge in Alver Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The bridge connects the islands of Holsnøy and Flatøy on the north side of the Salhusfjorden Salhusfjorden is a lo ...

, which is part of Fv 564, connects Flatøy to Holsnøy, the largest island of the municipality. The Krossnessundet Bridge opened in 1977, while the Nordhordland Bridge dates from 1994. The

Hagelsund Bridge The Hagelsund Bridge ( no, Hagelsundbrua) is a suspension bridge in Alver Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The bridge connects the island of Flatøy with the village of Knarvik on the mainland. The length of the bridge is . The length ...

connects the island of Flatøy to

Knarvik Knarvik (or Knarrviki) is the administrative centre of the municipality of Alver in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the mainland, about straight north of Bergen at the confluence of four fjords: Osterfjorden (heading east), ...

on the Lindås peninsula to the east.

History

Meland had several traces of early settlement, including remnants of stone houses,

terraced walls A terraced wall, also a terrace wall, or a terraced retaining wall is a wall that is divided into sections (Terrace (earthworks), terraces) over a slope. Such designs are useful when building on a steep Grade (slope), grade. Terraced walls may b ...

, and farms. ''Holmeknappen'' (from the 18th century) was restored in 1992, and it includes equipment for barrel production and salting

herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...

has been a church site since the mid-13th century. The

stave church A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts a ...

on this site was in use until 1616 when a new wooden church was built on the same site. That church was demolished in 1816 and the new (present) Meland Church was erected in 1816.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Meland, 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 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

Bergen District Court Bergen District Court ( no, Bergen tingrett) was a district court in Vestland county, Norway. The court was based in the city of Bergen at the Bergen Courthouse at Tårnplads 2 in Bergen. The court existed until 2021. It had jurisdiction over the ...

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 Meland was made up of 27 representatives that are 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:

Notable people

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 ...

{{Authority control Alver (municipality) Former municipalities of Norway 1923 establishments in Norway 2020 disestablishments in Norway