Fjaler

coat of arms	map
	Fjaler
Basic data
Commune number :	4646
Province  (county) :	Vestland
Administrative headquarters:	Dale i Sunnfjord
Coordinates :	61 ° 18 ′  N , 5 ° 28 ′  E Coordinates: 61 ° 18 ′  N , 5 ° 28 ′  E
Surface:	416.59 km²
Residents:	2,802  (Feb 27, 2020)
Population density :	7 inhabitants per km²
Language form :	Nynorsk
Website:	fjaler.kommune.no
politics
Mayor :	Kjetil Høgseth Felde  ( Sp ) (2019)
Location in the province of Vestland

Fjaler is a Norwegian municipality in the province of Vestland . The municipality borders Sunnfjord to the east and Høyanger and Hyllestad to the south . Across the fjord are Solund in the west and Askvoll in the north. The administrative center is in Dale i Sunnfjord . In the municipality there is the Red Cross Nordic United World College in Haugland, a United World College . The Nordisk Kunstnarsenter Dale, an international artist-in-residency center, is also located in Dale .

geography

Fjaler is located in the western Norwegian province of Vestland , in the historical part of Sunnfjord. The municipality is located south of the Dalsfjord. Due to the elongated shape of the municipality, the landscape changes from a typical coastal landscape in the west to a mountain landscape in the east. The highest point of the municipality is the mountain Styggeheia (799 moh .)

The current borders are the result of a reorganization of the municipal boundaries in 1990, through which the areas north of the Dalsfjord were added to the municipalities of Askvoll and Gaular. Since then, the area around Våge in the north-west of the municipality has belonged to Fjaler.

traffic

A bridge completed in 2013 connects Dale with Askvoll municipality and buses run to Førde , Rysjedalsvika , Hyllestad and the west of the municipality. Førde Airport, Bringeland, is 28 km to the east. There are flights to Oslo and Bergen from there .

history

etymology

Before 1912 the municipality, which is now divided into Gaular, Askvoll and Fjaler, was called "Ytre Holmedal", Holmedal being an old name for the area in the southwest of the Dalsfjord. The name "Fjaler" probably comes from the Old Norse fjǫl, which means something like "edge" or "edge" and probably refers to the steep southern flank of the mountain "Heileberget" north of Dale.

History of the commune

Finds from the Stone Age attest to the settlement of the area for more than 6000 years. Finds from the Iron Age also indicate that rich and powerful people settled in Fjaler.

In Snorre Sturlason's royal sagas there is already mention of an administrative district Fjalir , the center of which was probably Dale, which also gave the fjord its name. Dale was also home to the historic Dingemoen court and ting site.

In Korssund, in the west of the municipality, one of the oldest stone crosses in Norway can still be found today, dating from the time the country was Christianized between 950 and 1050.

Dale was and still is an important school center in the region. In the 19th century there was a girls' boarding school for girls from the upper classes, a community college and a boarding school for boys who were difficult to educate in Fjaler. Today the community still has several elementary schools, one middle and one high school in Dale, and the Red Cross Nordic United World College .

Famous people from Fjaler

• Gaahl (* 1975), black metal singer and painter
• Jakob Sande (1906–1967), writer, poet and singer
• Kjerstin Boge Solås (* 1997), national handball player

Attractions

Entrance to the Fredensborg family cemetery

To the west of the municipality are the Lammetun and Fure squares. Here you can find the remains of the "Fortress Norway" - part of the German defense during the Second World War . German tourists visit this area every year. The old trading center Korssund with the stone cross described above is also close to the facilities.

In Dale i Sunnfjord there is a wooden church from 1864 and the house where Jakob Sandes was born is open to visitors. Flekke also has the Lillingstonheimen estate, which an English priest bought and furnished for his family in the 19th century. The private cemetery of the former owner family, Fredensborg, is also nearby.

Web links

Commons : Fjaler  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Fortress Norway in Wikipedia

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Statistisk sentralbyrå - Befolkning
2. ↑ Fjaler - Store norske leksikon. Retrieved June 1, 2015 . 
3. ↑ Facta om Fjaler - Fjaler commune. In: www.fjaler.kommune.no. Retrieved June 1, 2015 .