- Gulen
Infobox_Kommune
name = Gulen
idnumber = 1411
county = Sogn og Fjordane
landscape = Sogn
capital =Eivindvik
demonym = Guling
language =Nynorsk
munwebpage = www.gulen.kommune.no
governor = Trude Brosvik (KrF)
governor_as_of = 2003
arearank = 184
area = 597
arealand = 575
areapercent = 0.18
population_as_of = 2004
populationrank = 305
population = 2,462
populationpercent = 0.05
populationdensity = 4
populationincrease = -1.6
lat_deg = 61 | lat_min = 1 | lat_sec = 27 | lon_deg = 5 | lon_min = 7 | lon_sec = 10
utm_zone = 32V | utm_northing = 6771696 | utm_easting = 0290365 | geo_cat = adm2ndAudio|Gulen.ogg|Gulen is a municipality in the southwestern part of
Sogn og Fjordane county,Norway . It is part of the traditional district ofSogn . The administrative center of the municipality is the village ofEivindvik .The municipality of Gulen surrounds the Gulafjorden, which is considered to be the place where
Norway 's west-coastalViking s met at theGulating , a governing body. The area in Gulafjorden called Flolid (just east of the village of Eivindvik) is now a national historic place, where an open air theater and annual summer play commemorates the Vikings who gathered there 1000 years ago to acceptChristianity .General information
Name
The name (
Old Norse "Guli") originally belonged to the fjord (now called Gulafjorden). The name is probably derived from the word "gul" which means "(strong) wind". Until 1891 the name of the municipality was "Evenvig" or "Eivindvig" (now writtenEivindvik ).Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1990). It shows the two stone crosses found near the village of
Eivindvik that are believed to be about 1000 years old, erected there after theViking s who met at theGulating gathering embracedChristianity .Background
"Eivindvig" was established as a municipality on
1 January 1838 (seeformannskapsdistrikt ). The municipality of 1838 was created to be identical to the Eivindvig parish "(prestegjeld)" that included the three sub-parishes "(sokn)" ofEivindvik ,Brekke , and Husøy.The sub-parish of
Brekke (population: 898) was separated from the municipality in 1850 to form a municipality of its own, leaving a total of 3,944 residents in Eivindvig.In 1858, the sub-parish of Husøy (population: 1,384) was separated from Eivindvig to form its own municipality called "Utvær" (renamed
Solund in 1923). This left Eivindvig with 3,018 inhabitants.cite web|first=Dag|last=Jukvam|publisher=Statistics Norway|title=Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen|date=1999|url=http://www.ssb.no/emner/00/90/rapp_9913/rapp_9913.pdf no icon]On
1 July 1890 the name of Eivindvig municipality was changed to Gulen.On
1 January 1964 , the municipality ofBrekke (population: 782) was merged with Gulen. Also on that same date, the island of Losna (population: 40) was transferred from Gulen toSolund .cite web|url=http://www.emigration.no/sff/emigration3.nsf/0/326D0346278A5909C1256F570048962C?OpenDocument|title=Some historical data on the 26 Kommunes|first=Oddvar|last=Natvik|date=09 Feb 2005|accessdaymonth=3 June|accessyear=2008] After these changes, Gulen had a population of 3,250.Churches
The
Church of Norway has three churches within the municipality of Gulen. It is part of theDiocese of Bjørgvin and the RuralDeanery "(Prosti)" of YtreSogn .chools
The roughly 2500 residents live scattered throughout the municipality and are divided into four school districts:
Brekke ,Eivindvik ,Dalsøyra , andByrknes . [cite web|url=http://www.scandion.no/sognogfjordane/gulen/skular/1.html|title=Skular i Gulen kommune|publisher=Scandion.no|accessdaymonth=3 August|accessyear=2008 no icon]Government
All municipalities in Norway, including Gulen, are responsible for
primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services,unemployment and other social services,zoning ,economic development , and municipalroad s. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect amayor .Municipal council
The municipal council "(Kommunestyre)" of Gulen is made up of 21 representatives that are elected to every four years. For 2007–2011, the party breakdown is as follows:cite web|publisher=Statistics Norway|url=http://www.ssb.no/english/subjects/00/01/20/kommvalgform_en/tab-2008-01-29-15-en.html|title=Members of the local councils|accessdaymonth=19 June|accessyear=2008|date=2007] Infobox_Kommunestyre
name = Gulen
start = 2007
end = 2011
Total = 21
Arbeiderpartiet = 3
Fremskrittspartiet =
Høyre = 4
Kristelig_Folkeparti = 5
Rød_Valgallianse =
Rødt =
Senterpartiet = 6
Sosialistisk_Venstreparti =
Venstre = 3
Local_Lists = |Mayor
The
mayor "(ordførar)" of a municipality in Norway is usually a representative of the majority party of the municipal council who is elected to lead the council. The mayor of Gulen for the 2007-2011 term is Trude Brosvik of the Christian Democratic Party "(Kristelig folkeparti)".Geography
Gulen has an area of about 600 km2 including about 1500 small islands, islets, and skerries. [cite web|url=http://www.ssb.no/english/municipalities/1411|title=Figures on Gulen Municipality|date=1 January 2008|author=Statistics Norway|accessdaymonth=3 June|accessyear=2008] The mainland is characterized by small valleys and large mountains crossing the landscape.
Gulen is bounded on the north by the
Sognefjord and to the south by the Fensfjord with theNorth Sea to the west of then municipality. Gulen is bordered by the municipalities ofSolund andHyllestad to the north, byHøyanger to the east, and byAustrheim ,Lindås , andMasfjorden (all three inHordaland county) to the south.The area is a geological region that contains a relatively low nutrition content ground, which characterizes the types of
flora . Themoors , which are frequently covered with wild purple heather, are the dominating picure of the area. Due to the large quantity of rain in the area there are lots of types ofmoss andlichen in Gulen. [cite web|url=http://www.scandion.no/sognogfjordane/gulen/1.html|author=Scandion.no|title=Gulen - møtestad for lov og rett|accessdaymonth=3 June|accessyear=2008 no icon] Most of the land in Gulen is very mountainous and inhospitable.Economy
Historically, Gulen's economy has been centered around farming and fishing. More recently, Gulen has become important because of its close proximity to the
Mongstad industrial area which includes many oil refineries operated byStatoilHydro , Shell Oil, and other oil companies. Other factories and industries in Gulen include [http://www.wergeland-halsvik.no/pls/htmldb/f?p=700:1:426633333459433::NO Wergeland-Halsvik] , Baker Oil Tools, [http://www.septik24.no/pub/cms171.html Johnny Birkeland Transport] , and Vest Tank. There are many other small businesses located in Gulen today.Attractions
Tusenårsstaden (Gulating)
A sculpture park was built in Flolid in Gulen in order to commemorate the fact that the
Gulating legislative assembly met regularly on the shores of the Gulafjord for a period of five hundred years. In 1300 the assembly was moved toBergen . This was where important political issues were discussed and decisions were made. The members of the assembly represented the farmers of Western Norway, and the Gulating is thus related to the representative institutions of today such as the municipal council and the Norwegian Parliament,Storting .The old assembly was also used as a law court for both civil and criminal cases. The Norwegian sculptor Bård Breivik is responsible for the artistic elements. The park is a work of art in its own right that is used as the setting for outdoor dance and musical performances in beautiful and unique natural surroundings.
ellevåg Wooden Shoe Factory
Wooden shoes were produced in Sellevåg from 1899–1975. The factory was powered by water in the Sellevåg Lake. The wooden shoe factory is still there with all its production equipment in tact. A guided tour with demonstration can be arranged on request.
Trondheim Post-Road
The historic mail route from
Bergen andTrondheim , The post-road goes throughFjaler ,Hyllestad and Gulen municipalities. Built between 1801 and 1806, it passes over many beautiful stone bridges.cite web |url=http://www.gonorway.no/norway/counties/sogn-and-fjordande/gulen/763b49b968d768f/index.html|author=GoNorway.no|title=Gulen in Sogn og Fjordane|accessdaymonth=3 June|accessyear=2008]References
External links
* [http://www.gulatinget.no/ Gulatinget: Tusenårsstaden i Sogn og Fjordane no icon]
* [http://www.gulen.kommune.no Gulen Kommune no icon]
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