Luster is 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' ...

Vestland Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. The county is located in Western Norway, and its administrative centre is Bergen, where the executive and political leadership is based. The County governor (Norway), County Governor is based in ...

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 ...

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 is located at the end 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 ...

in the traditional district of

Sogn 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 ...

. 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 ...

is the village of

Gaupne Gaupne is the administrative center of the municipality of Luster in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located along the Gaupnefjorden, an arm of the Lustrafjorden, about north of the village of Hafslo. The village of Veitastrond is lo ...

. Other villages in Luster include Fortun,

Hafslo Hafslo is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1963. It is located in the present-day Luster Municipality (in Vestland county) in the traditional distric ...

, Indre Hafslo,

Jostedal Jostedal is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1963. It was located in the Jostedalen valley in the northern part of the present-day municipality of ...

, Luster,

Nes The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

, Ornes,

Skjolden Skjolden is a village in the municipality of Luster in Vestland county, Norway. It is located at the end of the Lustrafjorden, a branch of the Sognefjorden. Skjolden is located at the innermost point of the Sognefjorden, Norway's longest fjo ...

Solvorn Solvorn is a village in Luster Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the western shore of the Lustrafjorden, the innermost part of the Sognefjorden. The village sits directly across the fjord from the village of Orn ...

, and

Veitastrond Veitastrond is a small village in the western part of the municipality of Luster in Vestland county, Norway. It is located near the Jostedalsbreen glacier, and Jostedalsbreen National Park surrounds the village on three sides. Veitastrond is lo ...

. Luster is centered around the inner branch of the

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

, which is called the

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

. Its landscape includes fjords, steep mountains, water-abundant waterfalls, blue glaciers, and valleys. Both

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 ...

and

Breheimen National Park Breheimen National Park () () is a national park that was established in 2009. The park is located in Skjåk Municipality and Lom Municipality in Innlandet county and in Luster Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The park covers of the B ...

are partially located in this municipality. The

Sognefjellsvegen The Sognefjellsvegen or Sognefjellsveien is the highest mountain pass road in Northern Europe. Part of County Road 55, it is located in Innlandet and Vestland counties in Norway. It is a national tourist road and starts in the village of Lom in ...

road goes over a mountain pass in eastern Luster. The municipality is the 17th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Luster is the 176th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 5,302. 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 5.2% during the previous 10-year period. In 2016, the chief of police for

Vestlandet Western Norway (; ) 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 function. The region has a population of ...

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

General information

''Lyster'' was established as a

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 ''Lyster''

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 Fortun, Dale,

, and

. 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 1963, the neighboring municipalities of

and

were merged with Luster, forming a much larger municipality. After the merger, Luster had 5,854 residents. Since the consolidation of the three municipalities of

and Luster in 1963, the area has been characterized by scattered rural settlements and large distances between these settlements. Luster was the largest municipality by area in the old

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 ...

county. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly created

county after

and

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 ...

counties were merged.

Name

The municipality (originally the

) is named after the

() and the village of Luster which grew up along the fjord. The name is derived from the word which means "light" or "bright", referring to the bright color of the water from 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 ...

s. Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled ''Lyster''. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to ''Luster''.

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 20 April 1990. 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 ''"

Azure Azure may refer to: Color * Azure (color), a hue of blue ** Azure (heraldry) ** Shades of azure, shades and variations Arts and media * ''Azure'' (Art Farmer and Fritz Pauer album), 1987 * Azure (Gary Peacock and Marilyn Crispell album), 2013 * ...

, a

tilia ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperateness, temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Great Bri ...

curled

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 ...

forming an annulet"'' (). This means the arms have a blue

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

(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

branch curled into a circle. 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 arms are inspired by an old

woodcarving Wood carving (or woodcarving) is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ...

found in the

Urnes Stave Church Urnes Stave Church () is a 12th-century stave church at Ornes, along the Lustrafjorden in the municipality of Luster in Vestland county, Norway. The church sits on the eastern side of the fjord, directly across the fjord from the village of ...

which is located in the municipality. The arms were designed by Inge Rotevatn from Nordfjordeid. 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 ...

has eight parishes () within the municipality of Luster. It is 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, Balestran ...

(

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 ...

Government

Luster Municipality is 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,

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

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. 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 and utilities. 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, 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 ...

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 is under the jurisdiction of the Sogn og Fjordane District Court and the

Gulating Court of Appeal The Gulating Court of Appeal () is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Bergen. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Vestland and Rogaland plus Sirdal Municipality in Agder county ...

Municipal council

The

of Luster is made up of 25 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political

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 ...

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 Luster: *1838-1841: Mons S. Fuhr *1842-1843: Peder Lavold *1844-1845: Hans Hanson Urdahl, Sr. *1846-1853: Sølfest Urdahl *1854-1861: Mons S. Fuhr *1862-1863: Hans Hanson Urdahl, Sr. *1864-1865: John Z. Næs *1866-1866: Sølfest Urdahl *1867-1867: John Z. Næs *1868-1869: Sølfest Urdahl *1870-1875: John Z. Næs *1876-1877: Hans Hanson Urdahl, Jr. *1878-1881: John Z. Næs *1888-1893: Hans Hanson Urdahl, Jr. *1894-1897: Sjur O. Fuhr *1898-1898: Hans J. Næss *1899-1900: Sjur T. Næss *1901-1904: Sjur O. Fuhr *1905-1906: Sjur T. Næss *1907-1910: Per Urdahl *1911-1916: Halvard Drægni *1917-1919: Johannes Fladhammer *1920-1921: Halvard Drægni *1922-1922: Hermann Prestegård *1923-1925: Jens Døsen *1926-1927: Halvard Drægni *1928-1928: Olav Tjønn *1929-1931: Anders Molland *1932-1934: Hermann Prestegård *1935-1941: Anders Molland *1942-1944: Eirik Weka *1946-1947: Hans Prestegård *1948-1959: Olav Listou *1960-1975: Anders Bjørk ( Sp) *1976-1977:

Kåre Øvregard Kåre Øvregard (19 February 1933 – 30 January 2025)

( Ap) *1978-1979: Knut P. Nes ( KrF) *1980-1989: Jan Haugen ( Sp) *1990-2003: Ernst Weum ( Ap) *2003-2011: Torodd Urnes ( KrF) *2011-2023: Ivar Kvalen ( Sp) *2023-present: Andreas Wollnick Wiese ( Sp)

Geography

Location

Luster, one of the largest municipalities in southern Norway, is located in the glacial mountains where the

begins its path to the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

. The fjord is fed by many large glaciers such as the

Harbardsbreen Harbardsbreen is the 10th largest glacier in mainland Norway. It is located on the south side of the Tverrådalskyrkja mountain in the Breheimen mountain range in the municipality of Luster in Vestland county, Norway. The glacier is inside Bre ...

Holåbreen Holåbreen is a glacier in the municipalities Skjåk (in Innlandet county) and Luster (in Vestland county) in Norway. Located in the mountain range Breheimen, it has a total area of about . The glacier lies between the mountains Gjelhøi and Ho ...

Jostedalsbreen Jostedal Glacier or is the largest glacier in continental Europe. It is in Vestland county in Western Norway. Jostedalsbreen lies in the municipalities of Luster, Sogndal, Sunnfjord, and Stryn. The highest peak in the area is Lodalskåpa a ...

Nigardsbreen Nigardsbreen () is a glacier arm of the large Jostedalsbreen glacier. Nigardsbreen lies about north of the village of Gaupne in the Jostedalen valley in Luster Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located just west of the Jostedøla ...

Spørteggbreen Spørteggbreen is a glacier in the municipality of Luster in Vestland county, Norway. It is the 12th largest glacier in Norway. It lies between the Jostedalsbreen and Harbardsbreen glaciers. The glacier lies inside Breheimen National Park. ...

, and others. It is bordered by four municipalities in

county:

Stryn Stryn is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the Counties of Norway, county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Nordfjord. The administrative center of the municipality is the vi ...

to the north,

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 ...

to the west,

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 ...

to the southwest, and

Årdal Årdal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located at the end of the Årdalsfjorden in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sogn. The village of Årdalstangen is ...

to the southeast. It is also bordered by three municipalities in

Innlandet Innlandet is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (Jevnaker Municipality and Lunner Municipality were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken ( ...

county:

Skjåk Skjåk is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bismo. Most of the municipal residents live in the Billingsdalen ...

to the northeast and by Lom and Vang to the east.

Feigumfoss waterfall

With a vertical drop of , the Feigumfoss Waterfall is one of the highest in

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

Mountains

The

Hurrungane Hurrungane (also written ''Hurrungene'', ''Hurrungadn'', ''Horungane'') is a mountain range in Luster Municipality and Årdal Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The area is southwest in the larger mountain range Jotunheimen and is also part ...

Breheimen Breheimen is a mountain range in the Innlandet and Vestland counties in Norway. The area lies west of the Jotunheimen mountain range. The mountain range lies to the northwest of the Sognefjellsvegen road, north of the Sognefjorden, south of the ...

, and

Jotunheimen Jotunheimen (; "the home of the Jötunn") is a mountainous area of roughly in southern Norway and is part of the long range known as the Scandinavian Mountains. The 29 highest mountains in Norway are all located in the Jotunheimen mountains, in ...

mountains cover parts of the municipality. Store Skagastølstind (or Storen) is the third highest mountain peak in

at high, and it is located on the southern border of Luster and

. It is part of the

mountain range which contains some of the most alpine peaks in Norway.

Lakes and Rivers

There are notable lakes such as Veitastrondsvatnet,

Austdalsvatnet Austdalsvatnet is a lake in the northwestern part of Luster Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the Breheimen mountain range at the end of the Austdalsbreen glacier, just north of the lake Styggevatnet. It is about east o ...

Styggevatnet Styggevatnet is a glacial lake from the glacier Jostedalsbreen in Luster Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The lake lies just southeast of the lake Austdalsvatnet. The lake is regulated by a dam and it empties into the river Jostedøla. ...

, Tunsbergdalvatnet,

Prestesteinsvatnet Prestesteinsvatnet () is a lake in Luster Municipality in Vestland county, Norway, with a small part of the lake crossing over into the neighboring Lom Municipality in Innlandet county. The lake sits at an elevation of above sea level. It lie ...

, and

Hafslovatnet Hafslovatnet is a lake in the municipality of Luster in Vestland county, Norway. The lake lies at an elevation of , has a surface area of , and a water volume of . It serves as a reservoir for the hydroelectric power station in Årøy. The prim ...

. There are also many big waterfalls such as the ''Feigumfoss'' waterfall at tall. The river

Jostedøla Jostedøla (or ''Jostedalselva'') is a river which runs through the Jostedalen valley in Luster Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The Jostedøla river begins near the ''Fåbergstølen'' mountain farm where the runoff from the great Josted ...

runs through the Jostedal valley and empties into the fjord at Gaupne. Austerdalen LC0364

Glaciers

The

glacier (including the arm called

) is the biggest

in continental

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, the highest point on it is

Høgste Breakulen Høgste Breakulen is the highest point on the Norwegian glacier Jostedalsbreen. It is inside the Jostedalsbreen National Park on the border of the municipalities of Stryn and Luster in Vestland county, Norway. Lodalskåpa, a nunatak to the nor ...

. It is located west of

, north of

, in

, much of which is located in the municipality of Luster. Other glaciers include the Austerdalsbreen,

and

Economy

The inhabitants of Luster make their living by farming, growing berries and fruit,

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

, and

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

. Jøstedal and Fortun have large hydroelectric power stations. Summer tourism is quite busy. Tourist activities include mountain climbing, skiing, fishing, hiking, and hunting. The

tourist road passes through Luster.

River fishing

Fishing permits (for salmon fishing) are sold for use on specific rivers, including Årøy-elva.

Culture and education

Historic churches

;Urnes Stave Church

was built around 1150 and is

's oldest

Stave church A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts ...

. The Church lies majestically on the top of Urnes. The Stave church is one of four Norwegian Churches on

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

`s list of the most precious cultural monuments in the world. The

es are constructions of high quality, richly decorated with carvings. In virtually all of them the door frames are decorated from top to bottom with carvings. This tradition of rich ornamentation appears to go back to the animal carvings of the Viking age. The dragons are lovingly executed and transformed into long-limbed creatures of fantasy, here and there entwined with tendrils of vine, with winding stems and serrated leaves. The elaborate designs are executed with supreme artistic skill. The stave church doorways are, therefore, among the most distinctive works of art to be found in Norway. However, it is difficult to connect them with the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

gospel. ;Old Gaupne Church The

Old Gaupne Church Old Gaupne Church () is a historic parish church of the Church of Norway in Luster Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Gaupne. It was the main church for the Luster parish (which is part of the Sogn prosti (dea ...

is a magnificent church that was built in 1647 on a hill directly opposite

centre. ;Dale Church Dale Church is a stone church that was built in gothic style in the year 1250.

Breheim center

The Breheim Center contains a comprehensive exhibition. A journey through 20,000 years - from the

Ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

to the present day, an audio/visual show takes visitors inside the glacier. Glacier boat ''M/S "Jostedalsrypa"'' crosses the Nigard Glacier Lake. There are internationally approved guides, glacier and climbing courses, and ski-trips.

Education

In 2020, 32% of the municipality's applicants for econdary schooling''

videregående skole Education in Norway is mandatory for all children aged from 6 to 16. Schools are typically divided into two divisions: primary and lower secondary schooling. The majority of schools in Norway are municipal, where local governments fund and manag ...

'', sought on-vocational schooling ''studiespesialisering''; 7% orthe rest of the applicants sought

vocational school A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary education#List of tech ed skills, secondary or post-secondar ...

ing.

Notable people

Gerhard Munthe Gerhard Peter Frantz Munthe (19 July 1849 in Elverum (town), Elverum, Hedmark – 15 January 1929 in Lysaker, Bærum Municipality, Bærum) was a Norwegian painter and illustrator. Background Munthe was born in Elverum (town), Elverum to physicia ...

(1795 in Hafslo - 1876), a military officer, historian, and cartographer * Christian Ellefson (1842 in Luster - 1925?), an American farmer and member of the Wisconsin State Assembly * Peter J. Dale (1845 in Luster – 1935), a Norwegian-American member of the Wisconsin State Assembly * Henrik Angell (1861 in Luster – 1922), a military officer, sportsman, writer, skiing pioneer, and the first Norwegian delegate to the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

* Sylfest Lomheim (born 1945 in Hafslo), a Norwegian philologist, academic, and politician * Tor Bremer (born 1955 in Luster), a farmer and politician *

Kurt Heggestad Kurt Heggestad (born 19 August 1982) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a left winger or left-back. He represented Norway at the under-16 and under-17 level, and played 53 matches for Sogndal in Tippeligaen. Heggestad p ...

(born 1982 in Veitastrond), a Norwegian former professional footballer *

Stine Pettersen Reinås Stine is a name. Notable people with the name include: People with the surname *Brad Stine (born 1960), American comedian and author * Brad Stine (tennis coach) (born 1958), American tennis coach *Charles Stine (1882–1954), American chemist * Cha ...

(born 1994 in Hafslo), a Norwegian football defender with over 150 club caps and eight for the

Norway women's national football team The Norway women's national football team () represents Norway in international Women's association football, football, and is controlled by the Norwegian Football Federation. The team is former European, World and Olympic champions and thus one ...

Twin cities/towns

Luster has

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

agreements with the following places: *

Viroqua, Wisconsin Viroqua is the county seat of Vernon County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,504 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is in the Viroqua (town), Wisconsin, town of Viroqua. Etymology The town was originally name ...

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 ...

Media gallery

File:Bilde-Lodalskåpa 1.jpg, Lodalskåpa, a peak in the northeast part of

File:Feigumfoss i Lyster i Sogn022.jpg, Feigumfossen File:Hafslovatnet Norway.jpg, Hafslovatnet lake with the

in the background File:Lustrafjorden.JPG, Lustrafjorden File:Urnes Stave Church 1.jpg,

File:2005 07 18 Sognefjell 05.jpg, Sognefjell File:Skjolden, Luster.JPG, Skjolden at Lustrafjorden in Luster, Norway File:Nigardsbreen-Norway-glacier-hiking.jpg, Several groups of people are glacier hiking on the glacier Nigardsbreen

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway (, 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 year on its web site. All rele ...

Luster Municipality Website

{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Municipalities of Vestland 1838 establishments in Norway