Årstad (municipality)

Årstad is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county in Norway. The 21.37-square-kilometre (8.25 sq mi) municipality existed from 1838 until 1915 when it was merged into the city of Bergen. The municipality of Årstad (historically spelled Aarstad) was a southern suburb of the city of Bergen, mostly located in the valley to the south of the bay Store Lungegårdsvannet and the Puddefjorden all the way south to the village of Nattland. The administrative centre of Årstad was the village of Kronstad. The mountain Ulriken lies to the east of Årstad and the mountain Løvstakken lies to the west. The municipality is named after the medieval farm Alrekstad, located on this site.[1] The area of the old municipality somewhat corresponds to the present-day borough of Årstad in the city of Bergen.

Årstad herred
Aarstad herred (historic)
Former municipality
Panorama of Årstad from the mountain Fløyen
Panorama of Årstad from the mountain Fløyen
Official logo of Årstad herred
Hordaland within
Norway
Årstad within Hordaland
Årstad within Hordaland
Coordinates: 60°22′35″N 05°21′41″E
CountryNorway
CountyHordaland
DistrictMidhordland
Established1 Jan 1838
 • Created asFormannskapsdistrikt
Disestablished1 July 1915
 • Succeeded byBergen Municipality
Administrative centreKronstad
Government
 • Mayor (1906-1915)Gerdt Meyer Bruun
Area
 (upon dissolution)
 • Total21.37 km2 (8.25 sq mi)
Population
 (1915)
 • Total7,463
 • Density350/km2 (900/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-1280
Data from Statistics Norway

History

The parish of Aarstad was established as a municipality 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). Originally, it sat south of both the city of Bergen and the Bergen Landdistrikt. Årstad and the city of Bergen worked closely together from the start since both made up one large urban area. In fact, most of Årstad had been part of the Bergen Police District since 1808.[2]

On 1 July 1915, Årstad municipality (population: 7,463) was merged into the city of Bergen increasing the area of Bergen municipality from 13.9 to 34.9 square kilometres (5.4 to 13.5 sq mi). The merger happened after a long political process, following decades of close cooperation between the two municipalities. The merger also moved Årstad from Søndre Bergenhus county to Bergen county.[3]

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Aarstad royal estate (Old Norse: Álreksstaðir) since the first Årstad Church was built there. The first element is identical to the old male name Álrekr. The male name is a compound word that is derived from al- which means "all" and rekr which means "mighty". This is the same root as the nearby mountain Ulriken. The last element is the plural form of staðr which means "town" or "abode". Prior to the 1917 Norwegian language reform law, the name was spelled with the digraph "Aa", and after this reform, the letter Å was used instead.[4]

Government

During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.[5]

Mayors

The mayors (Nynorsk: ordførar) of Årstad:[6]

  • 1837–1850: C. Wiese
  • 1850–1856: Ole Nicolai Løberg
  • 1856–1860: Samuel B. Meyer
  • 1860–1862: A. Christie
  • 1862–1876: Hjalmar Løberg
  • 1876–1880: Anders Paulsen
  • 1880–1882: A. Christie
  • 1882–1887: Carl Berg
  • 1888–1896: J.C. Meyer
  • 1896–1899: Samuel B. Michelsen
  • 1899–1902: Statius Arentz
  • 1902–1906: Halvor Kloster
  • 1906–1915: Gerdt Meyer Bruun

See also

References
  1. Store norske leksikon. "Årstad – kommune" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  2. Stein Thowsen and Harald Garmannslund (2000). Årstad - historisk vandring i en ny bydel. Forlaget Livskunst. p. 12.
  3. Jukvam, Dag (1999). Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. ISBN 9788253746845.
  4. Rygh, Oluf (1910). Norske gaardnavne: Søndre Bergenhus amt (in Norwegian) (11 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. pp. 291–292.
  5. Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (20 September 2022). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  6. "Ordførere i Årstad, 1837-1915". Bergen Byarkiv (in Norwegian). Retrieved 29 June 2023.

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