Fjaler

Infobox_Kommune
name = Fjaler
idnumber = 1429
county = Sogn og Fjordane
landscape = Sunnfjord
capital = Dale i Sunnfjord
demonym = Dalsfjording
Fjalerbu
language = Nynorsk


munwebpage = www.fjaler.kommune.no
governor = Arve Helle (Ap)
governor_as_of = 2003
arearank = 234
area = 417
arealand = 390
areapercent = 0.13
population_as_of = 2004
populationrank = 277
population = 2,910
populationpercent = 0.06
populationdensity = 7
populationincrease = 0.1
lat_deg=61 | lat_min=18 | lat_sec=22 | lon_deg=5 | lon_min=27 | lon_sec=48
utm_zone=32V | utm_northing=6802015 | utm_easting=0310631 | geo_cat=adm2nd

Fjaler is a municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative centre is the village of Dale.

It was the birth place of famous Norwegian poet Jakob Sande. The Red Cross Nordic United World College at Haugland, one of the ten United World Colleges of the world is also located here, as well as the Åsnes ski factory, the Nordic Art Centre at Dalsåsen and the Dale/Jarl shoe factory. There is a car ferry from Dale to Eikenes in Askvoll municipality, and buses depart to Førde, Rysjedalsvika, Hyllestad, and the west of Fjaler. Førde Airport, Bringeland is 28 kilometres to the east, with flights to Oslo and Bergen.

General information

The name

The name (Old Norse "Fjalir") originally belonged to the fjord (now Dalsfjorden). The name is probably the plural form of "fjöl" which means 'board'. The old name was revived in 1913, before then the name of the municipality was "Ytre Holmedal". (See also Gaular.)

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1991). It shows two bridges since there are a lot of old, historic bridges in the municipality.

Background

"Ytre Holmedal" was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The original municipality was identical to the Ytre Holmedal parish "(prestegjeld)" with the sub-parishes ("sokn") of Holmedal, Dale, and Fjaler.cite web|url=http://www.sf-f.kommune.no/sff/emigration3.nsf/enduser?readform|title=Some historical data on the 26 Kommunes|date=9 Feb 2005|last=Natvik|first=Oddvar]

In 1912, the name "Ytre Holmedal" was changed to "Fjaler".

On 1 January 1990, some changes were made to the boundaries between Fjaler, Gaular, and Askvoll. Fure, Folkestad, and Våge (population: 482) in Askvoll was transferred to Fjaler. Vårdal, Holmedal, Rivedal, and a part of Hestad (population: 731) in Fjaler was transferred to Askvoll. The parts of Hestad that didn't go to Askvoll (population: 90) were transferred to Gaular.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]

Churches

The Church of Norway has four churches within the municipality of Fjaler. It is part of the Diocese of Bjørgvin and the Rural Deanery "(Prosti)" of Sunnfjord.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Fjaler, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor.

Municipal council

The municipal council "(Kommunestyre)" of Fjaler is made up of 23 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=6 August|accessyear=2008|date=2007] Infobox_Kommunestyre
name=Fjaler
start=2007
end=2011
Total=23
Arbeiderpartiet=8
Fremskrittspartiet=
Høyre=4
Kristelig_Folkeparti=1
Senterpartiet=4
Sosialistisk_Venstreparti=2
Venstre=4
Rødt=
Local_Lists=|

Mayor

The mayor "(ordførar)" of a municipality in Norway is a representative of the majority party of the municipal council who is elected to lead the council. Arve Helle of the Labour Party "(Det Norske Arbeiderpartiet)" was re-elected mayor for the 2007-2011 term. [cite web|publisher=Fjaler Kommune|title=Folkevalde 2007 - 2011|url=http://hafs.ws.no/innhold/fjaler.asp?page=folkevalde|accessdaymonth=5 August|accessyear=2008 no icon]

External links

* [http://www.nrk.no/img/182341.jpeg Map of Fjaler]

References