Sunnfjord (municipality)

Sunnfjord is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Førde. Other villages in the municipality include Naustdal, Sande, Vassenden, and Skei.

This article is about the municipality in Vestland, Norway. For the district in Western Norway, see Sunnfjord.
Sunnfjord kommune
Municipality
Aerial view of the town of Førde
Aerial view of the town of Førde
Coat of arms of Sunnfjord kommune
Coat of arms
Official logo of Sunnfjord kommune
Vestland within
Norway
Sunnfjord within Vestland
Sunnfjord within Vestland
Coordinates: 61.4522°N 5.8572°E / 61.4522; 5.8572
CountryNorway
CountyVestland
DistrictSunnfjord
Established1 Jan 2020
 • Preceded byNaustdal, Førde, Gaular, and Jølster
Administrative centreFørde
Government
 • Mayor (2021)Jenny Følling (SP)
Area
 • Total2,208.13 km2 (852.56 sq mi)
 • Land2,065.33 km2 (797.43 sq mi)
 • Water142.80 km2 (55.14 sq mi)  6.5%
 • Rank#27 in Norway
Population
 (2022)
 • Total22,116
 • Rank#56 in Norway
 • Density10.7/km2 (28/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
Increase +5.7%
DemonymSunnfjording[1]
Official language
[2]
 • Norwegian formNynorsk
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-4647
WebsiteOfficial website
Data from Statistics Norway

The 2,208-square-kilometre (853 sq mi) municipality is the 27th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Sunnfjord is the 56th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 22,116. The municipality's population density is 10.7 inhabitants per square kilometre (28/sq mi) and its population has increased by 5.7% over the previous 10-year period.[3][4]

General information

The municipality was established on 1 January 2020 when the old municipalities of Førde, Gaular, Jølster, and Naustdal were merged.

Name

The municipality was named after the traditional district of Sunnfjord, in which it is located. The first element is sunn which means "southern". The last element is fjord which means "fjord", thus it is the southern fjord region (as opposed to the nearby Nordfjord region (the northern fjord region).[5]

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted in 2019 for use starting on 1 January 2020 when the municipality was established. The arms have a dark green field (background) and the charge is four small vertical stripes meeting in the centre with one large vertical stripe. The charge has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The arms symbolize four rivers joining a larger body of water. The rivers symbolize the four main rivers of Sunnfjord: Nausta, Gaula, Anga, and Jølstra all flowing in to a large fjord. It was also meant to symbolize the many waterfalls and rivers in the municipality as well as strength and unity.[6][7]

Churches

The Church of Norway has six parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Sunnfjord. It is part of the Sunnfjord prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Churches in Sunnfjord
Parish (sokn)Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
FørdeFørde ChurchFørde1885
GaularBygstad ChurchBygstad1845
Sande ChurchSande1864
Hestad ChapelHestad1805
Viksdalen ChurchVik1848
HelgheimHelgheim ChurchHelgheim1877
Holsen og
Haukedalen		Haukedalen ChurchHaukedalen1885
Holsen ChurchHolsen1861
NaustdalNaustdal ChurchNaustdal1891
Vevring ChurchIndrevevring1846
ÅlhusVassenden ChurchVassenden2002
Ålhus ChurchÅlhus1795
Beach at Sanden in Naustdal, Sogn og Fjordane

Government

All municipalities in Norway are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.[8] The municipality falls under the Sogn og Fjordane District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Sunnfjord is made up of 45 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Sunnfjord kommunestyre 2020–2023 [9]  
Party Name (in Nynorsk)Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) 11
  Progress Party (Framstegspartiet) 1
  Green Party (Miljøpartiet Dei Grøne) 2
  Conservative Party (Høgre) 10
  Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) 2
  Red Party (Raudt) 1
  Centre Party (Senterpartiet) 12
  Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti) 4
  Liberal Party (Venstre) 2
Total number of members:45

Mayors

The mayors of Sunnfjord:

Climate

Situated slightly inland and along the innermost part of a narrow fjord, Sunnfjord's climate is somewhat colder in winter than places along the outer coast, but also with slightly warmer summer days. Førde is one of Norway's wettest towns. The wettest season is autumn and winter with December as wettest month. The driest season is late spring and summer with May as the driest month. The climate data for Førde is consistent with an oceanic climate with the original Köppen climate threshold of −3 °C (27 °F) (using the 0 °C (32 °F) threshold for coldest month as in the United States, Førde would be classified as a humid continental climate). The all-time high is 32.5 °C (90.5 °F) recorded 16 July 2003.[10] The all-time low is −21 °C (−6 °F). [11]

Climate data for Førde 1991-2020 (64 m, Tefre)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 2.5
(36.5)		 2.6
(36.7)		 5.4
(41.7)		 10
(50)		 14.5
(58.1)		 17.7
(63.9)		 20.1
(68.2)		 19.4
(66.9)		 15.5
(59.9)		 10.1
(50.2)		 5.3
(41.5)		 2.6
(36.7)		 10.5
(50.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) −0.3
(31.5)		 −0.7
(30.7)		 1.5
(34.7)		 5.2
(41.4)		 9.2
(48.6)		 12.7
(54.9)		 14.9
(58.8)		 14.3
(57.7)		 10.8
(51.4)		 6.1
(43.0)		 2.4
(36.3)		 −0.1
(31.8)		 6.3
(43.4)
Average low °C (°F) −3
(27)		 −3.5
(25.7)		 −1.8
(28.8)		 1
(34)		 4.3
(39.7)		 8
(46)		 11
(52)		 10.6
(51.1)		 7.6
(45.7)		 3.5
(38.3)		 0
(32)		 −3
(27)		 2.9
(37.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 250.1
(9.85)		 221.3
(8.71)		 209.4
(8.24)		 121.4
(4.78)		 103.7
(4.08)		 118.4
(4.66)		 135.4
(5.33)		 141.8
(5.58)		 205.8
(8.10)		 230.9
(9.09)		 255.2
(10.05)		 288.1
(11.34)		 2,281.5
(89.81)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 21 19 21 18 18 19 20 20 20 22 21 22 241
Source: NOAA WMO averages 91-2020 Norway [12]

Notable people
Arild Stubhaug, 2009
Himanshu Gulati, 2012

Public service

The arts
Eldrid Lunden, 2000
Marianne Clementine Håheim, 2016
  • Anders Askevold (1834 in Askvoll – 1900), a painter of landscapes and animals
  • Johannes Haarklou (1847 in Haukedalen – 1925), a composer, organist, conductor and music critic
  • Hauk Aabel (1869 in Førde – 1961), a comedian and actor in Norwegian and Swedish silent films [13]
  • Hjalmar Christensen (1869 in Sunnfjord – 1925), a writer and prominent literary critic
  • Helene Bergsholm (born 1992 in Førde), an actress
  • Ludvig Eikaas (1920 in Jølster – 2010), a Norwegian painter, graphic artist and sculptor
  • Gunnar S. Gundersen (1921 in Førde – 1983), a modernist painter known as Gunnar S
  • Eldrid Lunden (born 1940 in Naustdal), a poet and Norway's first professor in creative writing
  • Arve Furset (born 1964 in Askvoll), a composer, jazz musician and music producer
  • Ole Jonny Eikefjord (born 1970 in Førde), a chef, cookbook author and restaurateur
  • Kristian Eivind Espedal (born 1975 in Sunnfjord), a black metal vocalist, musician and painter whose stage name is Gaahl
  • Gunnar Garfors (born 1975), a traveller, author, media professional and public speaker; grew up in Naustdal
  • Olaug Nilssen (born 1977 in Førde), a novelist, playwright, children's writer and magazine editor
  • Marianne Clementine Håheim (born 1987 in Jølster), a Norwegian author
  • Thea Hjelmeland (born 1987 in Førde), a Norwegian musician, singer and songwriter
  • Iselin Solheim (born 1990 in Naustdal), a Norwegian singer and songwriter

Sport
  • Helgheim church in Jølster
    Helgheim church in Jølster
  • At the Daleelva at Årdal
    At the Daleelva at Årdal
  • Råeimsdalen from Viksdalen near Vallestadfossen
    Råeimsdalen from Viksdalen near Vallestadfossen
  • Blomreina gravplass i Førde
    Blomreina gravplass i Førde

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sunnfjord.
  1. "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
  2. "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
  3. Statistisk sentralbyrå. "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian).
  4. Statistisk sentralbyrå. "09280: Area of land and fresh water (km²) (M)" (in Norwegian).
  5. Askheim, Svein, ed. (1 November 2018). "Sunnfjord". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  6. "Symbol og identitet" (in Norwegian). Prosjekt Sunnfjord. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  7. "Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  8. Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (20 September 2022). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  9. "Tall for Norge: Kommunestyrevalg 2019 - Nordland". Valg Direktoratet. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  10. https://www.firda.no/kan-bli-varmerekordar-blir-skikkeleg-varmt/s/5-15-849227
  11. https://www.nrk.no/vestland/21-nye-norske-kulderekorder-satt-i-natt-1.13935896
  12. "NOAA WMO normals Norway 1991-2020".
  13. IMDb Database retrieved 28 August 2020

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