Leikanger

This article is about the municipality in Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. For other uses, see Leikanger (disambiguation).
Leikanger kommune
Municipality

Coat of arms

Sogn og Fjordane within
Norway

Leikanger within Sogn og Fjordane
Coordinates: 61°13′51″N 06°47′23″E / 61.23083°N 6.78972°ECoordinates: 61°13′51″N 06°47′23″E / 61.23083°N 6.78972°E
Country Norway
County Sogn og Fjordane
District Sogn
Administrative centre Hermansverk
Government
  Mayor (2003) Olav Lunden (Ap)
Area
  Total 180.04 km2 (69.51 sq mi)
  Land 177.38 km2 (68.49 sq mi)
  Water 2.66 km2 (1.03 sq mi)
Area rank 344 in Norway
Population (2013)
  Total 2,255
  Rank 315 in Norway
  Density 12.7/km2 (33/sq mi)
  Change (10 years) 2.7 %
Demonym Systrending[1]
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
  Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code NO-1419
Official language form Nynorsk
Website www.leikanger.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Leikanger [læɪˈkɑŋər]  ( listen) is a municipality in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center is the village of Hermansverk, which is also the administrative center of Sogn og Fjordane county.

The Leikanger/Hermansverk urban area has 2,035 inhabitants (2012), about 90% of the municipal population.[2] This urban area is often called Systrond, which is why a person from Leikanger is often called Systrending.

General information

Map of present-day Leikanger
View of Systrond

Leikanger was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The original municipality was identical to the old Leikanger parish (prestegjeld) with the six sub-parishes (sokn) of Leikanger, Fresvik, Rinde, Vangsnes, Tjugum, and Mundal. In 1849, the sub-parishes of Vangsnes, Tjugum, and Mundal were transferred into the newly created Balestrand parish (prestegjeld). The new parish was separated from Leikanger municipality in 1850 to form the new Balestrand municipality. This split left Leikanger with 2,368 residents.[3] Leikanger is the home of numerous celebrities within politics and arts. Inger Lene Nyttingnes, former beauty queen now turned activist and archivist, grew up in Leikanger.

On 1 January 1964, the Hella-Eitorn area (population: 31) was transferred from Balestrand back to Leikanger. Also, the Tingstad area (population: 5) was transferred to neighboring Sogndal municipality. These changes left Leikanger with 2,680 residents. On 1 January 1992, the sub-parishes of Leikanger lying south of the Sognefjorden, including Feios and Fresvik (total population: 572) were transferred to the municipality of Vik. This move left Leikanger with only one sub-parish: Leikanger.[3][4]

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old farm Leikanger (Old Norse: Leikvangir), since the first Leikanger Church was built there. The first element is leikr which means "sports" or "athletics" and the last element is the plural form of vangr which means "meadow". Prior to 1889, the name was written Lekanger.[5]

Coat of arms

The coat of arms were granted on 5 September 1963. The arms are green with a yellow-colored apple tree branch with two apples and three leaves attached. The apple tree branch is a symbol for the many orchards in the municipality and thus for the local economy. The three leaves symbolised the three parishes that used to make up the municipality (before two of them were transferred to Vik in 1992).[6]

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Leikanger. It is part of the Indre Sogn deanery in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Churches in Leikanger
Parish (Sokn)Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
LeikangerLeikanger ChurchLeikanger1166

Government

View of the Kvinnafossen in western Leikanger
View of a small mountain farm

All municipalities in Norway, including Leikanger, 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 Leikanger is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to every four years. The current party breakdown is as follows:[7]

Leikanger Kommunestyre 2011–2015
Party NameName in NorwegianNumber of
representatives
 Labour PartyArbeiderpartiet7
 Conservative PartyHøgre2
 Centre PartySenterpartiet3
 Socialist Left PartySosialistisk Venstreparti2
 Liberal PartyVenstre3
Total number of members:17

Mayor

The mayor (ordførar) of a municipality in Norway is a representative of the municipal council who is elected either by the majority of the council or via direct elections. Olav Lunden of the Labour Party was re-elected mayor for the 2011-2015 term. He was first elected in 2003.

Geography

Leikanger is located on the north side of the Sognefjorden and to the east of the Fjærlandsfjorden. It is bordered on the north and east by the municipality of Sogndal, on the west by Balestrand, and on the south (across the Sognefjorden) by Vik.

View of the main village of Hermansverk/Leikanger in Leikanger municipality

Buildings and structures

East of Leikanger, there are the Sognefjord Spans, three powerline spans with length over 4 kilometres (2.5 mi), which are currently the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th longest spans in the world. In 1955, the first Sognefjord Span was built near Leikanger. It was the longest span in the world from 1955 until 1997.

Sister cities/Twin towns

Leikanger has sister city agreements with the following places:

References

  1. "Personnemningar til stadnamn i Noreg" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
  2. Statistisk sentralbyrå (1 January 2012). "Urban settlements. Population and area, by municipality.".
  3. 3.0 3.1 Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway.
  4. Natvik, Oddvar (9 February 2005). "Some historical data on the 26 Kommunes". Retrieved 23 June 2008.
  5. Rygh, Oluf (1919). Norske gaardnavne: Nordre Bergenhus amt (in Norwegian) (12 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 124.
  6. "Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
  7. "Members of the local councils, by party/electoral lists and municipality" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway. 2011. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
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External links