Balestrand is a former municipality in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It was located on the northern shore of the

Sognefjorden The Sognefjord or Sognefjorden (, en, Sogn Fjord), nicknamed the King of the Fjords ( no, Fjordenes konge), is the largest and deepest fjord in Norway. Located in Vestland county in Western Norway, it stretches inland from the ocean to the smal ...

in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center was the village of

Balestrand Balestrand is a former municipality in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It was located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center was the village of Balestrand. Other villages in th ...

. Other villages in the municipality included Ese, Kvamme, Låne, Sæle, Tjugum, and Vetlefjorden. The municipality was situated at the confluence of the

Fjærlandsfjorden Fjærlandsfjorden is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. It is a fjord arm that branches off the main Sognefjorden to the north, running through Sogndal Municipality. The long fjord begins at the village of Fjærland in Sogndal, flowing to the so ...

/ Esefjorden and the main

. The major industries in the municipality were tourism and farming. Balestrand became popular early due to the interest of artists, such as Hans Gude, Kjartan Lauritzen, Alfred Heaton Cooper, Hans Dahl, and Johannes Flintoe. Their paintings of the scenery around Balestrand inspired visitors, and Balestrand maintains its connection with art. Other industries include made-to-order kitchen interiors, local apple juice, and ''Nesseplast'' which produces industrial plastic. The Norwegian County Road 13 runs through the municipality. At the time of its dissolution in 2020, the municipality is the 231st largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Balestrand is the 370th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,272. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 5.1% over the last decade. In 2016, the chief of police for

Vestlandet 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-administrative ...

formally suggested a reconfiguration of police districts and stations. He proposed that the police station in Balestrand be closed.

General information

Adelsteen Normann-Munken gård i Esefjorden

Balestrand was established as a municipality in 1850 when the three sub-parishes () of Vangsnes, Tjugum, and Mundal in the northwestern part of the large Leikanger municipality were separated to form the new municipality of Balestrand. The initial population of the municipality was 2,122. In 1861, the Mundal sub-parish was renamed '' Fjærland''. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964 the municipalities of Vik, Leikanger, and Balestrand changed their boundaries in a land trade. The sub-parish of Vangsnes (population: 189) was transferred from Balestrand to Vik, Balestrand gained the sub-parish of Kvamsøy (population: 389) from Vik, and Leikanger gained the Hella-Eitorn area (population: 31) from Balestrand. Balestrand had a population of 1,606 after the changes were completed. The Fjærland area of Balestrand had always been isolated from the rest of the municipality, and only accessible by boat. In 1995, the Frudal Tunnel was completed connecting Fjærland to neighboring

Sogndal Sogndal is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansverk is the administrative center of Sogndal municipality. Other villages i ...

municipality (not to the rest of Balestrand). This caused discussions about Fjærland's municipal future. On 1 January 2000, the entire sub-parish of Fjærland in northern Balestrand was transferred to

municipality. On 1 January 2020, Balestrand Municipality ceased to exist. The far western Nesse area of Balestrand was transferred to the neighboring

Høyanger Municipality Høyanger () is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center is the village of Høyanger. Other villages in Høyanger municipality include Austreim, Bjordal, Kyrkjebø, ...

and the rest of Balestrand was merged with the neighboring municipalities of Leikanger and

to form a much larger municipality called Sogndal.

Name

The compounded name ''Balestrand'' was created in 1832 by the Norwegian writer

Henrik Wergeland Henrik Arnold Thaulow Wergeland (17 June 1808 – 12 July 1845) was a Norwegian writer, most celebrated for his poetry but also a prolific playwright, polemicist, historian, and linguist. He is often described as a leading pioneer in the develop ...

. The first element is the name of the old farm Bale ( non, Bali) and the last element is "strand" ( non, strönd) which means " beach". The name of the farm is identical with the word ''bali'' which means "hillside along a beach".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 23 October 1989. It shows the silver-colored

hilt The hilt (rarely called a haft or shaft) of a knife, dagger, sword, or bayonet is its handle, consisting of a guard, grip and pommel. The guard may contain a crossguard or quillons. A tassel or sword knot may be attached to the guard or pommel. ...

of a Viking

sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...

on a blue 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 Balestrand. It was part of the

Sogn prosti Sogn is a traditional district in Western Norway ''(Vestlandet)''. It is located in the county of Vestland, surrounding the Sognefjord, the largest/longest fjord in Norway. The district of Sogn consists of the municipalities of Aurland, Balestra ...

(

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 ...

. There is also one

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

church in Balestrand: * ''St. Olaf's Church'' (built in 1897) is located in the village of Balestrand.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Balestrand, 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 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, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor. 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 of Balestrand is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party 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. Harald Offerdal of the Labour Party was elected mayor of Balestrand for the 2011–2015 term and re-elected to the 2015–2019 term.

Geography

Balestrand was located between the high snow-covered

Gaularfjellet Gaularfjellet is a mountain area in central Vestland county, Norway. The mountains is crossed by the border between the municipalities of Sunnfjord and Sogndal. Norwegian County Road 613 (formerly Norwegian County Road 13, Norwegian National Road ...

mountains in the center of the beautiful, lush

. Three fjord arms stretch inland, winding through the mountains and dotted with charming hamlets: Lånefjorden, Esefjorden, and Vetlefjorden. The

runs along the eastern border of the municipality. The Jostefonn glacier sits at the very northernmost part of the municipality. Balestrand was bordered to the west by the municipalities of Høyanger and Gaular, to the north by Førde, and to the east by

and Leikanger. Across the

to the south is the municipality of Vik.

Attractions

Kvikne's Hotel

Built in the 19th century, the Kvikne's Hotel is one of the most famous buildings in

. The Kvikne family, who own the place, took it over in 1877. Since then the establishment has undergone constant development which continues to this day. There are many new buildings and remodeling and expansion projects have been carried out. Today, the hotel is a highly modern facility resounding with tradition and culture. With 200 rooms, it is also one of Norway's largest fine hotels catering to tourists. An impressive collection of art and historical pieces is a central feature of the hotel's interior, and one of the elements of its distinct personality. Kviknes Hotel was made popular for European visitors in the early part of the 20th century by Kaiser Wilhelm II, who often visited there during his

summer vacation Summer vacation or summer break is a school holiday, school break in summer between school years and the break in the school academic year. Students are off anywhere between three weeks to three months. Depending on the country and district, staff ...

s prior to World War I. The hotel still possesses the chair he used in their restaurant. The Kaiser is accompanied on the list by a number of emperors, kings, presidents, Prime ministers, film stars, and artists from many countries.

St. Olaf's Church

St. Olaf's Church, also known as the ''English Church'', is an

church built in the style of a Stave church. The church was completed in 1897 as a memorial to Margaret Green. Margaret, an English lady, came to the fjords as a tourist to hike the mountains. She met, fell in love with and married Knut Kvikne who was an avid mountain man. Being a very pious woman, she wished for an Anglican church in Balestrand. She started the church with her husband, but died before its completion. Sunday services are held during the summer months, being conducted by rotating vicars from England. St. Olaf's Church is notable as the inspiration for the chapel in Elsa's coronation scene in the 2013 Disney film ''Frozen''.

Other attractions

*''Songnefjord Aquarium'' *''Balejazz'' summer jazz festival *''Balestrand Art Village'' *

The Norwegian Museum of Travel and Tourism The Norwegian Museum of Travel and Tourism is a museum located in Sogndal in Vestland cou nty, Norway. The main aim of the museum is to exhibit the history of tourism in Norway from the beginning of the boom in the 19th century, and until today. ...

Notable people

Christian Garup Meidell Christian Garup Meidell (30 January 1780 – 19 March 1863) was a Norwegian military officer and politician. He was born in Balestrand as the son of Jacob Gerhard Meidell (1735–1796) and his wife Birgitte Munthe Finde (1754–1789). He married Ma ...

(1780 in Balestrand – 1863) a military officer and politician; first Mayor of Leikanger, 1838/9 *

Jakob Sverdrup Jakob Sverdrup may refer to: *Jakob Sverdrup (politician) (1845–1899), Norwegian bishop and politician *Jakob Sverdrup (philologist) (1881–1938), Norwegian philologist *Jakob Sverdrup (historian) Jakob Sverdrup (30 November 1919 – 5 December ...

(1845–1899) a Norwegian bishop and politician, raised in Balestrand *

Georg Sverdrup Georg Sverdrup (born Jørgen Sverdrup; 25 April 1770 – 8 December 1850) was a Norwegian statesman, best known as one of the presidents of the Norwegian Constituent Assembly in Eidsvoll in 1814. He was a member of the Norwegian Parliament and ...

(1848 in Balestrand – 1907) a Norwegian-American Lutheran theologian and teacher * Edvard Sverdrup (1861 in Balestrand – 1923) a Norwegian educator, author, church leader and a key theologian in the

in early 20thC. *

Anders Johanneson Bøyum Anders Johanneson Bøyum (23 October 1890 – 22 April 1962) was a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party. He was born in Balestrand. He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Sogn og Fjordane in 1945, and was re-elected on three ...

(1890 in Balestrand – 1962) a politician, Mayor of Balestrand before and after WWII *

Trygve Heltveit Harald Trygve Heltveit (8 December 1913 – 21 August 1985) was a Norwegian philologist. He was born in Balestrand as a son of teacher Olav Heltveit (1873–1959) and Petra Sættevik (1878–1947). In 1943 he married Erna Røisum. He became a stu ...

(1913 in Balestrand – 1985) a Norwegian philologist.

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 ...

Official Website of Balestrand

Kviknes Hotel
{{authority control Sogndal Former municipalities of Norway 1850 establishments in Norway 2020 disestablishments in Norway