Masfjorden

Masfjorden kommune
Municipality
Coat of arms Hordaland within Norway
Masfjorden within Hordaland
Coordinates: 60°50′18″N 05°26′55″E / 60.83833°N 5.44861°ECoordinates: 60°50′18″N 05°26′55″E / 60.83833°N 5.44861°E
Country	Norway
County	Hordaland
District	Nordhordland
Administrative centre	Masfjordnes
Government
• Mayor (2011)	Karstein Totland (H)
Area
• Total	556.07 km^2 (214.70 sq mi)
• Land	510.85 km^2 (197.24 sq mi)
• Water	45.22 km^2 (17.46 sq mi)
Area rank	191 in Norway
Population (2014)
• Total	1,693
• Rank	349 in Norway
• Density	3.3/km^2 (9/sq mi)
• Change (10 years)	-1.1 %
Demonym(s)	Masfjording[1]
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code	NO-1266
Official language form	Nynorsk
Website	www.masfjorden.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Masfjorden is a municipality in the northern part of Hordaland county in Norway. The municipality is located in the Nordhordland district of the county. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Masfjordnes. Other villages in the municipality include Frøyset, Hosteland, Matre, and Solheim.

The municipality is centered on the Masfjorden which almost divides the municipality completely into a north side and a south side. A cable ferry crosses the fjord from Masfjordnes to Duesund in the western part of the municipality. The Matre Hydroelectric Power Station is located in the eastern part of the municipality.

General information

Map of Masfjorden

Sandnes Church

The parish of Masfjorden was established as a municipality on 1 March 1879 when it was separated from the large municipality of Lindås. Masfjorden was the northern part of Lindås, and its initial population was 2,336. On 1 January 1964, the Einestrand, Eikebotn, and Kikallen area along the Austfjorden (population: 25) was transferred from Lindås to Masfjorden.^[2]

Name

The municipality is named after the Masfjorden, the fjord which runs through it. The Old Norse form of the name was Matrsfjǫrðr. The first element is the genitive case of the old (uncompounded) name of the fjord: Matr. This name is derived from matr which means "food" - and the meaning of the fjord name is "the one full of food (fish)". The village of Matre lies at the inner end of the fjord, and that name has a similar origin.^[3]

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 28 September 1990. The arms feature three gold heldrer, a traditional tool made of wood for fastening a rope around a load. They are meant to symbolize unity as well as the importance of forestry. Three of these objects appear in yellow and they are centered on a field of red.^[4][5][6]

See also: Coat of arms of Øyer

Churches

The Church of Norway has three parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Masfjorden. It is part of the Nordhordland deanery in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Churches in Masfjorden

Parish (Sokn)	Church Name	Location of the Church	Year Built
Frøyset	Frøyset Church	Frøyset	1937
Sandnes	Sandnes Church	Masfjordnes	1845
Solheim	Solheim Church	Solheim	1881

Government

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1951	1,928	—
1960	1,987	+3.1%
1970	1,858	−6.5%
1980	1,915	+3.1%
1990	1,891	−1.3%
2000	1,774	−6.2%
2010	1,635	−7.8%
2014	1,693	+3.5%
Source: Statistics Norway.

All municipalities in Norway, including Masfjorden, 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 Masfjorden is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to every four years. For 2011–2015, the party breakdown is as follows:^[7]

Masfjorden Kommunestyre 2011–2015

Party Name		Name in Norwegian	Number of representatives
	Labour Party	Arbeiderpartiet	3
	Progress Party	Framstegspartiet	2
	Conservative Party	Høgre	6
	Christian Democratic Party	Kristelig Folkeparti	2
	Centre Party	Senterpartiet	2
	Liberal Party	Venstre	2
Total number of members:			17

Geography

View of the fjord in eastern Masfjorden

Masfjorden municipality lies to the east of the Fensfjorden and Austfjorden. The Masfjorden runs east to west bisecting the municipality. The eastern part has mountains and as one heads westward, the land levels out before reaching the fjord in the east.

The municipality lies along the northern border of Hordaland county, bordering Sogn og Fjordane county to the north. The municipalities of Gulen and Høyanger lie to the north, the municipality of Modalen to the east, and the municipality of Lindås lies to the south and west.

The European route E39 highway runs through eastern Masfjorden heading north and south. The 4.1-kilometre (2.5 mi) long Masfjord Tunnel and the 2.5-kilometre (1.6 mi) long Jernfjell Tunnel (and a few other tunnels) are part of the E39 highway which winds its way through some valleys in the mountainous eastern region of Masfjorden.

References

1. "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
2. Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå.
3. Rygh, Oluf (1910). Norske gaardnavne: Søndre Bergenhus amt (in Norwegian) (11 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 430.
4. Engene, Jan Oskar (27 June 2002). "Masfjorden, Hordaland". Flags of the World. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
5. "Masfjorden Kommunevåpen" (in Norwegian). Masfjorden Municipality. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
6. "Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 2014-03-18.
7. "Members of the local councils, by party/electoral lists and municipality" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway. 2011.