Sogndal is a former municipality and small seaport ('' ladested'') in

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,

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 is located on the coast in the traditional district of

Dalane Dalane is a traditional district in the southwestern part of Norway, consisting of the municipalities of Lund, Sokndal, Eigersund, and Bjerkreim. Dalane is one of the 15 districts in Western Norway. It sits to the southeast of the very flat Jæ ...

. The municipality existed from 1845 until its dissolution in 1944 when it was merged into the municipality of

Sokndal Sokndal is the southernmost municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Dalane. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hauge. Other villages in Sokndal include Li, Rekefjor ...

. It comprised the two harbor villages: the

Sogndalsstranda Sogndalsstranda or Sogndalstrand is a harbor village in Sokndal municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located at the mouth of the river Sokno, about south of the municipal centre of Hauge and also about southeast of the villa ...

and the Rægefjord. The river ''Sogndalselva'' reaches the ocean at Songdalsstranda.

History

The seaport village of Sogndalsstranda was built up around the Kjelland farm (historically spelled ''Kielland''). The farm (named after a spring (''kilde'') situated there) was owned by the Kielland family, from which

Alexander Kielland Alexander Lange Kielland (; 18 February 1849 – 6 April 1906) was a Norwegian realistic writer of the 19th century. He is one of the so-called "The Four Greats" of Norwegian literature, along with Henrik Ibsen, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson and ...

descended. This family left Sogndal in 1751 and established a successful firm in

Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...

. The Kielland farm can still be found there. As is typical of older records, this farm is listed in historical records under a number of phonetically similar names: Kollandt in 1563, Kieldeland in 1567, Kuelandt in 1567, Tielland in 1610, Kielland in 1616, Kiedland in 1668 and finally fixing on Kielland since 1723. The villages of Sogndalsstranda and Rægestad are located near each other and together they were granted '' ladested'' rights in 1798. Together, this ladested was called ''Sogndal'' (historically spelled ''"Soggendahl"''). This status gave them a monopoly on import and export of goods and materials in the port and in the surrounding district. On 1 January 1838, all of Norway was divided up into municipalities according to the

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. The ladested of Sogndal was put into the municipality of

. In 1845, the ladested of Sogndal was separated from Sokndal and became a municipality of its own. Initially, Sogndal ladested had a population of 348 while the rural Sokndal municipality that surrounded it had a population of 2,819. In 1875, the population of Sogndal had grown to 526, but decreased to 473 in 1885. On 1 July 1944, Sogndal was merged back together with Sokndal municipality, losing its small seaport status. Prior to the merger Sogndal had a population of 311.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Sogndal, 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 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 ...

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 populatio ...

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 ...

Municipal council

The

of Sogndal was made up of 12 representatives that were elected to three-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:

References

{{use dmy dates, date=July 2020 Sokndal Former cities in Norway Former municipalities of Norway 1845 establishments in Norway 1944 disestablishments in Norway