Masfjorden is a municipality in the central part of

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 in

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 is located in the

Nordhordland Nordhordland is a traditional district in the western part of Norway. The district consists of the northern portion of the old Hordaland county (now in Vestland county), north of the city of Bergen. It includes the municipalities Alver, Aus ...

district of the county. 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 ...

of the municipality is the village of

Masfjordnes Masfjordnes is the administrative centre of Masfjorden municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village lies along the southern shore of the Masfjorden, along Norwegian County Road 570. The village is very narrow, occupying the wide strip ...

. Other villages in the municipality include Frøyset, Hosteland, Matre, and Solheim. The municipality is centered on the

Masfjorden Masfjorden is a municipality in the central part of Vestland county in Norway. The municipality is located in the Nordhordland district of the county. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Masfjordnes. Other villages i ...

which almost divides the municipality completely into a north side and a south side. A

cable ferry A cable ferry (including the types chain ferry, swing ferry, floating bridge, or punt) is a ferry that is guided (and in many cases propelled) across a river or large body of water by cables connected to both shores. Early cable ferries often ...

crosses the fjord from Masfjordnes to Duesund in the western part of the municipality. The Matre Hydroelectric Power Station is located in the eastern part of the municipality. The municipality is the 195th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Masfjorden is the 297th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,654. 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 decreased by 2.5% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The parish of Masfjorden was established as a municipality on 1 March 1879 when it was separated from the large municipality of

Lindås Lindås is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the Nordhordland district in the old Hordaland county, Norway. It existed from 1838 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020 when it was merged into the new Alver Munici ...

. Masfjorden was the northern part of Lindås, and its initial population was 2,336. 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 Einestrand, Eikebotn, and Kikallen area along the Austfjorden (population: 25) was transferred from Lindås to Masfjorden.

Name

The municipality (originally 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 ...

) is named after the

() since that fjord is a central geographical feature of the municipality. The first element is the

genitive case In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive ca ...

of the old (uncompounded) name of the fjord: ''Matr''. That name is identical to the word which means "food". The last element is which means "

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

" or "

firth Firth is a word in the English and Scots languages used to denote various coastal waters in the United Kingdom, predominantly within Scotland. In the Northern Isles, it more often refers to a smaller inlet. It is linguistically cognate to Scan ...

". Therefore, the meaning of the name is "the fjord that's full of food (fish)". The village of Matre lies at the inner end of the fjord, and that name has a similar origin.

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 28 September 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 ''"

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 clasps Or in pall"'' (). This means the arms have a red

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 three , traditional tools made of wood for fastening a

rope A rope is a group of yarns, Plying, plies, fibres, or strands that are plying, twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have high tensile strength and can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger ...

around a load. 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 ...

of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. They are meant to symbolize unity as well as the importance of

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

. The arms were designed by Rune Garmann. 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 one parish () within the municipality of Masfjorden. It is part of the

Nordhordland prosti Nordhordland is a traditional district in the western part of Norway. The district consists of the northern portion of the old Hordaland county (now in Vestland county), north of the city of Bergen. It includes the municipalities Alver, Austr ...

(

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 ...

. Prior to 2020, the municipality had three parishes (Frøyset, Sandnes, and Solheim).

Government

Masfjorden 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

Hordaland District Court Hordaland District Court () is a district court located in Vestland county, Norway. This court is based at a courthouse in Bergen. The court serves the Nordhordland and Midthordland areas of the county which includes cases from 12 municipalities. ...

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 ...

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 Masfjorden (incomplete list): *1879–1880: Erik A. Riisnæs *1880–1883: Kristen T. Bergsvik *1884–1889: Thorbjørn Frølich *1890–1895: Rasmus M. Haugsvær *1896–1899: Torgeir R. Haugsvær *1900–1901: Rasmus M. Haugsvær *1901–1916: Hans Bergersen Wergeland *1917–1919: Ivar R. Eikemo *1920–1941: Martin H. Matre *1942–1945: Gjert Daae *1945–1945: Magnus Maurstad *1945–1945: Martin H. Matre *1945–1950: Magnus Halsøy *1999–2003: Helge Haukeland *2003–2011: Håkon Matre ( H) *2011-2023: Karstein Totland ( H) *2023-present: Erlend Kvamsdal ( H)

Municipal council

The

() of Masfjorden is made up of 17 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 ...

Population

Geography

Masfjorden municipality lies to the east of the

Fensfjorden Fensfjorden is a fjord in Vestland, Norway. The long fjord begins in the North Sea at Holmengrå Lighthouse and flows to the southeast through the municipalities of Austrheim, Gulen, Lindås, and Masfjorden. The fjord ends on the Masfjorden-L ...

and Austfjorden. The

runs east to west bisecting the municipality. The eastern part has mountains and as one heads westward, the land levels out before reaching the fjord in the east. The municipality lies along the west coast in the central part of the county. The municipalities of

Gulen Gulen or Gülen may refer to: People * Fethullah Gülen (1941—2024), Turkish preacher, author, and Islamic opinion leader * Levent Gülen (born 1994), Turkish-Swiss footballer * Nur Mustafa Gülen (born 1960), Turkish footballer and coach Pl ...

and

Høyanger 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, Kyrkjeb� ...

lie to the north, the municipality of

Modalen Modalen is a municipality in the Nordhordland Districts of Norway, district in the central part of Vestland county in Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Mo, Hordaland, Mo. The other main village in the municip ...

to the east, and the municipality of Alver lies to the south and west. 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 runs through eastern Masfjorden heading north and south. The long Masfjord Tunnel and the long Jernfjell Tunnel (and a few other tunnels) are part of the E39 highway which winds its way through some valleys in the mountainous eastern region of Masfjorden.

Notable people

* Hans Bergersen Wergeland (1861–1931), a Norwegian politician, local mayor, and farmer *

Ludvig Hope Ludvig Hope (17 January 1871, Masfjorden – 26 October 1954) was a Norwegian lay preacher, writer, teacher and organizer. He was a popular preacher from the late 1890s, and could gather up to 5,000 listeners at his meetings. He was a central le ...

(1871–1954), a Norwegian lay preacher, writer, and teacher *

Einar Hope Einar Hope (born 13 July 1937) is a Norwegian economist. He was born in Masfjorden. Having graduated as siviløkonom, he was employed at the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration from 1978 to 1990, before being CEO of the Foun ...

(born 1937), a Norwegian economist * Bjarne Johannes Hope (1944–2006), a Norwegian civil servant

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 ...

{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Municipalities of Vestland 1879 establishments in Norway