Gloppen is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. Gloppen is generally subdivided into three areas: Hyen in the west, Gloppen in the center, and Breim in the east. Each of the areas have their own main service centres. Sandane, 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 largest with about 2,500 inhabitants. Sandane, Vereide, and Sørstranda are centered on the Gloppefjorden in Gloppen in the central part of the municipality. The villages of Byrkjelo, Re, Kandal, and Egge are centered on the lake

Breimsvatnet Breimsvatn or Breimsvatnet is a lake in the municipalities of Gloppen and Sunnfjord in Vestland county, Norway. At , it is the largest lake in Gloppen (followed by the lake Emhjellevatnet). The European route E39 highway runs along the north ...

in the Breim area in the east. The villages of Straume, Eimhjellen, and Solheim are located around the Hyefjorden in Hyen in the west. The whole municipality sits on the southern side of the large Nordfjorden. 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 the municipality before crossing the Nordfjorden on a car ferry. The Sandane Airport, Anda is located along the E39 highway, just north of Vereide. The municipality is the 112th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Gloppen is the 162nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 5,875. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 3.5% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

Gloppen 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). The original municipality was identical to the Gloppen parish ''(

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 ...

)'' including the sub-parishes () of Gimmestad, Breim, and Vereide. On 1 January 1886, the sub-parish of Breim (population: 1,823) was separated from Gloppen to form its own municipality. This left Gloppen with 2,970 residents. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the municipality of Breim (population: 1,731) was merged back into the municipality of Gloppen. After the merger, the population of Gloppen was 5,702. On 1 January 1965, the Hoplandsgrenda area (population: 42) of Gloppen municipality (on the northern shore of the Nordfjorden) was transferred to neighboring

Stryn Municipality 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 th ...

. On 1 January 1992, the Lote area of Gloppen (also on the north side of the Nordfjorden) was transferred to

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 ...

. This left all of Gloppen located south of the Nordfjorden. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly created Vestland county after Sogn og Fjordane and Hordaland counties were merged.

Name

The name ( non, Gloppi) was originally the name of a fjord (now Gloppefjorden). The name is probably derived from the word ''gloppa'' which means "narrow opening".

Coat of arms

The municipal coat of arms was granted on 19 December 1986. It shows a silver-colored fjord horse on a blue background. This was chosen since these horses are bred in the area.

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 four parishes () within the municipality of Gloppen. 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 Gloppen, 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 Gloppen is made up of 27 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayor of a municipality in Norway is a representative of the majority party of the municipal council who is elected to lead the council. The mayors of Gloppen (incomplete list): *2015–present: Leidulf Gloppestad ( Sp) *1999-2015: Anders Ryssdal (Sp) *1988-1999:

Nils R. Sandal Nils Reielson Sandal (born 9 June 1950 in Breim) is a Norwegian politician for the Centre Party. He served as a deputy representative to the Norwegian Parliament from Sogn og Fjordane during the term 1997–2001. On the local level, he se ...

(Sp) *1976-1988: Olav Moritsgård (Sp) *1968-1975:

Ola M. Hestenes Ola M. Hestenes (3 August 1919 – 21 April 2008) was a Norwegian politician for the Centre Party. On the local level, he served as mayor of Gloppen municipality from 1968 to 1976. Following the 1975 elections, the first time county mayors were ...

(Sp)

Geography

The municipality is located southern shores of the Nordfjorden. To the north is the municipality of

Eid Eid as a name may refer to: Islamic holidays An Eid is a Muslim religious festival: * ''Eid Milad un Nabi'', alternate name for Mawlid (, "Birth of the Prophet"), the date of observance of the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad * Eid al ...

, to the east is

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 south is

Naustdal Naustdal is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It was located in the traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative centre was the village of Naustdal, which has 1,188 inhabitants (2017). Other village ...

and Jølster, and to the west is Flora and

Bremanger Bremanger is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village of Svelgen is the administrative centre of the municipality. Other villages include Bremanger, Berle, Davik, Isane, Kalvåg, Svelgen, Rugsund, and Ålfoten. Bremanger is the ...

. There are two fjords that branch off the main fjord into Gloppen: Hyefjorden and Gloppefjorden. Gloppen has a natural landscape with virtually unspoiled nature ranging from sea level up to high-alpine mountains of some height.

Snønipa Snønipa is a mountain in Vestland county, Norway. The tall mountain lies on the border of the municipalities of Sunnfjord and Gloppen. It forms a nunatak of the Myklebustbreen Myklebustbreen or Snønipbreen is the seventh largest glacier in ...

is the highest mountain in the municipality and is located at the

Myklebustbreen Myklebustbreen or Snønipbreen is the seventh largest glacier in mainland Norway. It is located in the municipalities of Nordfjord, Gloppen, and Stryn in Vestland county. Its highest point is located just below the nunatak Snønipa, with an a ...

glacier. The lakes Breimsvatn and Emhjellevatnet are, respectively, the first and second largest lakes in Gloppen. There are also some large glaciers such as

Ålfotbreen The Ålfotbreen glacier is located in Vestland county, Norway. The glacier is located on the border of three municipalities in the Nordfjord region: Bremanger, Kinn, and Gloppen. It is located west of the village of Hyen, south of the village ...

Gjegnalundsbreen The Gjegnalundsbreen glacier is located in Vestland county, Norway. The glacier sits on the borders of the municipalities of Bremanger and Gloppen. The glacier sits on the eastern side of the tall mountain Blånibba, inside the Ålfotbreen l ...

, and

. The river Gloppeelva runs from the lake Breimsvatnet to the Gloppefjorden.

Climate

Gloppen has a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb in the Köppen climate classification), also known as a marine west coast climate. The wettest season is autumn and winter, with December as the wettest month. The driest season is April - August. The driest month May gets about a third of the average precipitation in December. The average daily high temperature varies from about in January and February to in July. The average date for the last overnight freeze (low below ) in spring is 27 April and average date for first freeze in autumn is 15 October giving a frost-free season of 170 days (1981-2010 average). The Sandane weather station started recording in June 1957. There is also a weather station at Sandane Airport, showing similar temperatures.

glacier, partly in the municipality, is estimated to get around precipitation annually.

Gallery

Breimsvatnet.JPG,

lake Myklebustdalen-sanddal-fjordane.jpg, Myklebustdalen valley east of Byrkjelo Karnils tumulus - fjordview.jpg, Karnilshaugen from Gloppefjorden Gloppefjorden.JPG, Gloppefjorden

Economy

The dominant trades and industries in Gloppen are agriculture and farming. The municipal centre Sandane is also home to a college of secondary education and a branch of

Sogn og Fjordane University College 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, Balestran ...

which specialized in music therapy (this school closed in 2005). The Firda Upper Secondary School is located in Sandane.

Attractions

Karnilshaugen

Gloppen is the site of Karnils tumulus burial mound ( no, Karnilshaugen) from the Old Norse word ''haugr'' meaning mound or barrow. Karnilshaugen or ''Tinghaugen på Hauge'' is located on the Hauge farm west of Sandane. Karnilshaugen is probably one of the ten largest mounds in Nordfjord. The burial mound was built on top of Tinghaug, the site of a Thing (assembly). Tinghaug was a place of public gathering, for cultural events and religious actions.Karnilshaugen på gården Hauge i Sandane, Gloppen, Norge (Solverv)
/ref>

Notable people

Knut Gjengedal Knut Gjengedal (17 October 1900– 14 February 1973) was a Norwegian schoolteacher, novelist, short story writer and children's writer. Biography Gjengedal was born in Gloppen. He attended Sunnfjord Folkehøgskole 1919-20 and Volda lærersk ...

(1900 in Gloppen – 1973) a schoolteacher, novelist, short story writer and children's writer. *

John Austrheim John Austrheim (10 October 1912 – 13 April 1995) was a Norwegian politician, farmer for the Centre Party. Born in Gloppen, Sogn og Fjordane, Austrheim had no more than a primary education, and worked as a farmer when he was elected mayo ...

(1912 in Gloppen – 1995) a farmer and politician, Mayor of Gloppen 1955-1962 *

(1919 in Gloppen – 2008) a politician, Mayor of Gloppen 1968-1976 *

(born 1950 in Breim) a Norwegian politician, Mayor of Gloppen 1987–1999 * Sigrid Moldestad (born 1972 in Breim) a folk singer, musician,

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

r and instrumentalist *

Anne-Pia Nygård Anne-Pia Nygård (born August 10, 1977) is a Norwegian writer. Her debut book was the 2009 autobiography ''What Nobody Sees'' (''Det som ingen ser''). Biography Nygård is born and raised in the village Sandane, Gloppen; her mother from the sa ...

(born 1977 in Sandane) a Norwegian diasabled writer

Sport

Kjell Ove Hauge Kjell Ove Hauge (born 20 February 1969) is a retired Norwegian shot putter and discus thrower, turned educator, later Head teacher. As an athlete he represented Gloppen Athletics club. Since July 2013 Hauge is Principal at Kuben Upper Secondary ...

(born 1969 in Gloppen) a retired Norwegian shot putter and discus thrower *

Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset (born 6 December 1971 in Nordfjordeid) is a Norwegian former cross-country skier who competed from 1993 to 2012. A classical technique specialist, Hjelmeset's biggest success is the gold medal in the 50 km event at the ...

(born 1971 in Nordfjordeid) a former cross-country skier, bronze medallist in the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...

and team silver medallist at the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...

Rune Bolseth Rune Bolseth (born 4 July 1980) is a retired Norwegian footballer who played as a midfielder. Career Bolseth was born in Gloppen in Sogn og Fjordane and he started his career with Sogndal in 1999. He made his debut against Hødd in a 1–2 loss ...

(born 1980 in Gloppen) a retired Norwegian footballer with 430 club caps * Trude Raad (born 1990 in Breim) a deaf Norwegian track and field athlete

References

Other sources

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 ...

Google Maps: GloppenOfficial travel guide to Gloppen and the Nordfjord region
{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Municipalities of Vestland 1838 establishments in Norway