Haus (historically ''Hougs'') is a former municipality 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 Munici ...

county,

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 ...

. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality encompassed the southern half of the island of

Osterøy Osterøy is an List of islands of Norway, island Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Nordhordland. The municipality encompasses ...

as well as the area across the Sørfjorden from the island to the east, south, and west (although the municipality was quite a bit larger when it was first created in 1838). The

administrative centre 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 Belgi ...

was the village of Haus, where

Haus Church Haus Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Osterøy Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Hausvik on the western shore of the island of Osterøy. It is the church for the Haus parish which is pa ...

is located.

History

The

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 ...

of Haus (historically spelled ''"Hougs"'') was established as a 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). On 1 January 1870, the northeastern half of the municipality (population: 2,062) was separated from Haus to form the new Bruvik Municipality. The split left Haus with a population of 4,229. 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 municipality of Haus was dissolved. The part of Haus municipality that was situated on the island of Osterøy was transferred to the new

Osterøy Municipality Osterøy is an List of islands of Norway, island Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Nordhordland. The municipality encompasses ...

and the remaining part of Haus (on the mainland) formed the new Arna Municipality.

Name

The municipality (originally the

) is named after the old '' Haus'' farm () since the first

was built there. The name is identical with the word which means "

skull The skull, or cranium, is typically a bony enclosure around the brain of a vertebrate. In some fish, and amphibians, the skull is of cartilage. The skull is at the head end of the vertebrate. In the human, the skull comprises two prominent ...

". It is likely referring to the shape of a nearby mountain. Historically, the name was spelled ''Hougs''.

Government

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.

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 Haus: * 1838–1839: J.C. Hammer * 1840–1845: Julius Christopher Hansen * 1846–1847: Johannes O. Veseth * 1848–1851: J.C. Hammer * 1852–1853: Ole J. Borge * 1854–1857: J.C. Hammer * 1858–1859: C. Jul Hammer * 1860–1861: Anders J. Sandvig * 1862–1863: Peter Jebsen * 1864–1869: John L. Rognved * 1870–1873: E. Meier * 1874–1875: Mons J. Vevle * 1876–1885: John L. Rognved * 1886–1895: Ole J. Veseth * 1896–1904: Magne J. Rognved * 1905–1907: Ole J. Mjelde * 1908–1910: Magne J. Rognved * 1911–1919: Anders O. Sundland * 1920–1925: Johan E. Rognved * 1926–1934: Anders O. Sundland * 1935–1937: Johan E. Rognved * 1937–1937: Johan Garnes * 1938–1940: G. Adolf Andersen * 1945–1945: G. Adolf Andersen * 1946–1947: Nils Garnes * 1948–1951: Henrik A. Holsen * 1952–1955: Hjalmar Romslo * 1956–1964: Johannes Holmefjord

Municipal council

The

of Haus was made up of 37 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:

References

External links

Map of Parishes in Hordaland in 1837
{{use dmy dates, date=June 2023 Osterøy Former municipalities of Norway 1838 establishments in Norway 1964 disestablishments in Norway