Førde is a former municipality in the

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Sogn og Fjordane Sogn og Fjordane (; literally "Parish and the Fjords") was a Counties of Norway, county in western Norway, from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, after it was merged to become part of Vestland county. Bordering previous counties Møre og Romsda ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It was located in the traditional district of

Sunnfjord Sunnfjord ( - in contrast to Nordfjord) is a traditional district in Western Norway located in Vestland county. It includes the municipalities of Askvoll, Fjaler, the southernmost parts of Kinn, Sunnfjord, and the southernmost parts of Brem ...

. The

administrative center An administrative centre 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 the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...

was the town of Førde which in 2016 had 10,255 inhabitants. Other villages in Førde municipality included Bruland, Holsen, Moskog, and Haukedalen. The Øyrane area in the town of Førde was a large industrial/commercial area for the region. 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 (city), Trondheim, to Aalborg via Bergen, Stavanger and Kristiansand. In total, there are nine ferries, more than any other ...

highway passed through the municipality, and it passed by the lake

Holsavatnet Holsavatnet is a lake which lies in the municipality of Sunnfjord in Vestland county, Norway. The lake is located about east of the town of Førde and about east of the village of Bruland. The village of Holsen lies at the eastern end of t ...

Førde Airport, Bringeland Førde is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the Counties of Norway, county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It was located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative center was t ...

was the regional airport, located about from the town centre with flights that connect

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) 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 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

and

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

with Førde. The airport was actually located in neighboring

Gaular Gaular is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Sogn og Fjordane Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It was located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative centre was the villa ...

municipality, just south of the border. The largest hospital in

county,

Førde Central Hospital Førde Central Hospital () is a general hospital situated in the Vie neighborhood for Sunnfjord, Norway. It is the main facility of Førde Hospital Trust, part of Western Norway Regional Health Authority. It has 1300 employees and serves as a ce ...

, and the regional offices of the

Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...

are located in the town. The International Førde Folk Music Festival is held each summer. The local newspaper is called ''

Firda ''Firda'' is a Norwegian daily newspaper, published in Sunnfjord, Norway. History and profile ''Firda'' was founded in 1917 by Kristian Ulltang, who also was its first editor. The paper was published twice per week in the 1960s. Its frequency ...

''. At the time of its dissolution in 2020, the municipality is the 189th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Førde is the 93rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 13,092. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

is and its population has increased by 10.6% over the last decade.

General information

Førde was established as a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () was the name of a Norwegian self-governing municipality. The name was used from the establishment these municipalities in 1838 until the name fell out of use in 1863. The municipalities had their legal basis from two laws enacted on 14 Jan ...

law). The original municipality was identical to the Førde

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

''(

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 ...

)'' with the sub-parishes () of Førde, Holsen, and

Naustdal Naustdal is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It was located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative centre wa ...

. On 1 January 1896, the northern sub-parish of

(population: 2,543) was separated from Førde and it became a municipality of its own. This left Førde with 2,903 residents. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee () was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a ...

. On 1 January 1964, the areas of

south of the Førdefjorden (population: 265) were transferred to Førde municipality. On 1 January 2020, the neighboring municipalities of Førde,

, and

Jølster Jølster is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Sogn og Fjordane Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It was located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative centre was the vil ...

were merged to form the new

Sunnfjord Municipality Sunnfjord is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Førde. Other villages in the municipality include Naustdal, Sande, ...

Name

The municipality (originally the

) is named after the old '' Førde'' farm (

nominative In grammar, the nominative case ( abbreviated ), subjective case, straight case, or upright case is one of the grammatical cases of a noun or other part of speech, which generally marks the subject of a verb, or (in Latin and formal variants of E ...

] and [dative case, dative]) since the first Førde Church was built there. The name is identical with the word which means "firth" or "fjord", referring to the fjord now called Førdefjorden.

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 last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

was granted on 27 April 1990 and it was in use until 1 January 2020 when the municipality was dissolved. The official

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

is ''"

Gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). Gules is portrayed in heraldic hatch ...

, three

plowshare In agriculture, a plowshare (Differences between American and British spellings, US) or ploughshare (Differences between American and British spellings, UK; ) is a component of a plow (or plough). It is the cutting or leading edge, preceding t ...

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

, two over one"'' (). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

is a set of three

s. The charge has a

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The design was chosen to symbolize the three pillars of the local economy:

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

, and development. The arms were designed by Inge Rotevatn. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

had two parishes () within the municipality of Førde. It was part of the

Sunnfjord prosti Sunnfjord ( - in contrast to Nordfjord) is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in Western Norway located in Vestland counties of Norway, county. It includes the List of municipalities of Norway, municipalities of Askvoll, Fjaler, the sout ...

(

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the 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 residence of ...

) in the

Diocese of Bjørgvin The Diocese of Bjørgvin () 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, and those outside of Norway in the Seamen's Church. The cathedral cit ...

Geography

The municipality of Førde encompasses the valleys that lead away from the inner end of the Førdefjorden. The municipality of

borders Førde to the north, the municipalities of

Sogndal Sogndal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansv ...

, and

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 i ...

are to the east,

municipality is to the south, and the municipality of Askvoll lies to the west. The two largest lakes are

and Haukedalsvatnet. The rivers

Jølstra The Jølstra is a river in Sunnfjord Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The long river flows from the lake of Jølstravatnet (at an elevation of above sea level) down to the Førdefjorden (which is at sea level). The river begins at the ...

and Gaula are both partially located in Førde municipality. The Gaularfjellet mountains are located in the east and south of the municipality. The

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

Grovabreen The Grovabreen glacier is located in Vestland county, Norway. It covers an area of about in Sunnfjord Municipality in the Sunnfjord region. The highest point on the glacier sits at an elevation of above sea level. The glacier is part of Jost ...

and

Jostefonn The Jostefonn glacier is located in Vestland county, Norway. It covers an area of around in the municipalities of Sunnfjord (municipality), Sunnfjord and Sogndal. Jostefonn was formerly a part of the large Jostedalsbreen glacier, but it is no l ...

are located in the eastern mountainous part of Førde. The westernmost edges of the

Jostedalsbreen National Park Jostedalsbreen National Park () is a national park in Norway that encompasses the largest glacier on the European mainland, Jostedalsbreen. The park was established by royal decree on 25 October 1991, and then in 1998, it was enlarged to the nort ...

are located in the Haukedalen valley in Førde.

Government

While it existed, this municipality was responsible for

primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

senior citizen Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

services,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

zoning In urban planning, zoning is a method in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into land-use "zones", each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for ...

economic development In economics, economic development (or 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 object ...

, and municipal

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

s. During its existence, this municipality was 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, borough cou ...

of directly elected representatives. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

was

indirectly elected An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting,'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office ( direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the o ...

by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Sogn og Fjordane District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

of Førde was made up of 27 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, 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 oft ...

breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

Mayors

The

mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

() of Førde: * 1837-1840: Andreas Gunnerus Lind * 1840-1842: Heinrich Rachlew * 1842-1846: S. Steen * 1846-1850: Boyesen * 1850-1858: N. Friis * 1858-1870: Th. Christensen * 1870-1874: C.J. Steen * 1875-1882: N. Hafstad * 1882-1892: Albert Steen * 1893-1895: K.B. Thune * 1896-1898: Ole Martinus Erdal * 1899-1904: Johannes Kvaal * 1905-1914: Ole Martinus Erdal * 1914-1933: Olai Tefre * 1934-1945: A.G. Holsen * 1946-1951: Lars Hustveit * 1952-1963: Bertel Flaten ( V) * 1963-1968: Erik Hagen ( Sp) * 1968-1979: Reidar Tveit ( V/ DLF) * 1980-1981: Helge Barstad ( H) * 1982-1983: Lars Gunnar Lie ( KrF) * 1984-1987: Sverre Øygard ( Sp) * 1988-2003: Aud Viken ( Ap) * 2003-2003: Wilhelm Sandal ( KrF) * 2003-2011: Nils Gjerland ( Sp) * 2011-2019: Olve Grotle ( H)

Attractions

Waterfalls

*''Huldefossen'': Located approximately from the town of Førde, it is a tall

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

into the peaceful valley below. *''Halbrendsfossen'': located a short walk from the Førde town center. It is a very powerful waterfall in the spring.

The Salmon

The Salmon is a long stone

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

which is Norway's longest individual sculpture. It was created by Jørn Rønnau. It blends naturally in with the green surroundings on the banks of the river

, close to the Førdehuset cultural centre.

Førdehuset

Førdehuset (literal meaning: the Førde house) is a regional cultural centre, a cornerstone for cultural life in

Western Norway Western Norway (; ) is the Regions of Norway, region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the Counties of Norway, counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrative fu ...

. The centre is centrally located in the town of Førde, surrounded by a sports complex,

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meani ...

, and is next door to the County Gallery. A multitude of cultural activities are gathered together under one roof - small and large attractions/events the whole year round.

National Tourist Road

Norwegian County Road 13 (Fv13) is one of 18 national tourist roads in Norway because of the nearby waterfalls. From Førde, drivers start on a sightseeing journey with cultural attractions that date from the 19th century to the present day's city environment. The districts of Holsen and Haukedalen are typical of Western Norwegian farming communities that have created a picturesque cultivated landscape. Rørvik Mountain, the trail with the fascinating

stone wall Stone walls are a kind of masonry construction that has been used for thousands of years. The first stone walls were constructed by farmers and primitive people by piling loose field stones into a dry stone wall. Later, mortar and plaste ...

s and a marvellous view over Haukedalen. Along Råheimsdalen and Eldalen to the Gaularfjellet mountains, you will see a marvellous waterfall landscape that has been landscaped with paths for visitors. From the top of Gaularfjell mountains, hairpin bends wind down to the Vetlefjorden, an arm of the

Sognefjorden The Sognefjord or Sognefjorden (, ), nicknamed the King of the Fjords (), is the longest and deepest fjord in Norway. Located in Vestland county in Western Norway, it stretches inland from the ocean to the small village of Skjolden in the muni ...

. The breathtaking contrasts of steep mountainsides, winding roads, and waterfalls are characteristic of

’s exceptional scenery.

Sunnfjord Museum

The Sunnfjord Museum is one of four district

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

s in

County. The main courtyard of the outdoor museum is a cluster of 25 restored antiquarian buildings sited in a cultural landscape representative of the same period. These buildings provide an insight into life and lifestyles in the

districts around the middle of the 19th century. The land tenant's home is on its original site with the interior as it was at the end of the 19th century. In June, July and August, there are daily guided tours through the old buildings.

Notable people

Twin towns — sister cities

Førde is twinned with: *

La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse ( ) is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population was 52,680 as of the 202 ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. *

Kent, Washington Kent is a city in King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area, Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue metropolitan area and had a population of 136,588 as of the 2020 Unit ...

. Each year two students ages 14–17 are exchanged between the two cities to be youth ambassadors of their country.

References

External links

NRK Municipality encyclopedia

Førde Folk Music Festival
also in English, Deutsch and francais
Firda (local newspaper)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forde Sunnfjord Former municipalities of Norway 1838 establishments in Norway 2020 disestablishments in Norway