Hyllestad is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Vestland Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. The county is located in Western Norway, and its administrative centre is Bergen, where the executive and political leadership is based. The County governor (Norway), County Governor is based in ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It is located in the traditional district of

Sogn Sogn is a traditional district in Western Norway (''Vestlandet''). It is located in the county of Vestland, surrounding the Sognefjord, the largest/longest fjord in Norway. The district of Sogn consists of the municipalities of Aurland, Balestra ...

. The

administrative center An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...

is the village of Hyllestad. Other villages in the municipality include

Sørbøvågen Sørbøvågen is a village in Hyllestad Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located along the northern shore of Åfjorden. It is located about northwest of the village of Hyllestad, the administrative centre of the municipa ...

and

Leirvik Leirvik is a town and the administrative centre of Stord municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The town lies along the southern coast of the large island of Stord, along the Hardangerfjorden. The town gained "town status" in 1997. The town ...

. Hyllestad municipality has existed since 1862 when it was created from parts of the neighboring municipalities of

Askvoll is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative centre is the village of Askvoll. Other villages in the municipality include Holmedal, Kvammen, and Stongfjorden. The ...

and

Lavik Lavik is a former municipality in the old county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It was located in the western part of the present-day municipality of Høyanger which is in Vestland county. The municipality was mostly on the northern side of the ...

. Hyllestad is located on the north side of the

Sognefjorden The Sognefjord or Sognefjorden (, ), nicknamed the King of the Fjords (), is the longest and deepest fjord in Norway. Located in Vestland county in Western Norway, it stretches inland from the ocean to the small village of Skjolden in the muni ...

, near the mouth of the fjord. The municipality is the 280th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Hyllestad is the 314th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,268. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

is and its population has decreased by 11.2% over the previous 10-year period. In 2016, the chief of police for

Vestlandet Western Norway (; ) is the region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrative function. The region has a population of ...

formally suggested a reconfiguration of police districts and stations. He proposed that the police station in Hyllestad be closed. In the fourth quarter of 2020, there were more than 400 employees at Noryard, a shipyard.

General information

''Hyllestad'' was created as a

in 1862. Two sub-parishes () from the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

(''Øn'' and ''Hyllestad'') and one sub-parish () from the

Lavik og Brekke Lavik og Brekke is a Former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane Counties of Norway, county in Norway. It is in the present-day municipalities of Gulen (municipality), Gulen and Høyanger in Vestland county. ...

''(Bø)'' were merged to form a separate municipality which was named ''Hyllestad''. The population at that time in Hyllestad was 2,475. On 1 January 1888, the Krakken farm (population: 17) on the northeastern corner of the island of Sula was transferred from Hyllestad to the neighboring municipality of

Utvær Utvær is an island group in Solund Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is the westernmost archipelago in Norway. The main residential area on the rocky islands is also called Utvær. It lies on the western side of the Sognesjøen whi ...

. The municipal boundaries have not changed since that time. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly created

county after

Sogn og Fjordane Sogn og Fjordane (; literally "Parish and the Fjords") was a Counties of Norway, county in western Norway, from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, after it was merged to become part of Vestland county. Bordering previous counties Møre og Romsda ...

and

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Munici ...

counties were merged.

Name

The municipality (originally the

) is named after the old ''

Hyllestad Hyllestad is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the Counties of Norway, county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center is the Hyllestad (village), vi ...

'' farm () since the first

Hyllestad Church Hyllestad Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Hyllestad Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Hyllestad. It is one of the three churches for the Hyllestad parish which is part of the Sunnfjo ...

was built there. The first element comes from ''Hylli'', the old uncompounded name of the nearby Hyllestadfjorden. This name is likely derived from the word which means "quiet", "friendly", or "benevolent". The last element is the plural form of which means "

abode In law, a dwelling (also known as a residence, abode or domicile) is a self-contained unit of accommodation – such as a house, apartment, mobile home, houseboat, recreational vehicle, or other "substantial" structure – used as a home by on ...

" or "town".

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

was granted on 10 March 1989. The official

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

is ''"

Azure Azure may refer to: Color * Azure (color), a hue of blue ** Azure (heraldry) ** Shades of azure, shades and variations Arts and media * ''Azure'' (Art Farmer and Fritz Pauer album), 1987 * Azure (Gary Peacock and Marilyn Crispell album), 2013 * ...

, three millstones

in bend In heraldry, a bend is a band or strap running from the upper dexter (the bearer's right side and the viewer's left) corner of the shield to the lower sinister (the bearer's left side, and the viewer's right). Authorities differ as to how m ...

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

"'' (). This means the arms have a blue

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

(background) and the

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

is a set of three

millstone Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, used for triturating, crushing or, more specifically, grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones. Millstones come in pairs: a s ...

s lined up diagonally. The charge has a

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The millstones were chosen because the production of millstones is the oldest

industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

in the municipality and has been very important to the life of the community. The arms were designed by Hans Berge. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

has one parish () within the municipality of Hyllestad. It is part of the

Sunnfjord prosti Sunnfjord ( - in contrast to Nordfjord) is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in Western Norway located in Vestland counties of Norway, county. It includes the List of municipalities of Norway, municipalities of Askvoll, Fjaler, the sout ...

(

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...

) in the

Diocese of Bjørgvin The Diocese of Bjørgvin () is one of the 11 dioceses that make up the Church of Norway. It includes all of the churches located in the county of Vestland in Western Norway, and those outside of Norway in the Seamen's Church. The cathedral cit ...

Government

Hyllestad Municipality is responsible for

primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

senior citizen Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

services,

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

and other

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

zoning In urban planning, zoning is a method in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into land-use "zones", each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for ...

economic development In economics, economic development (or economic and social development) is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and object ...

, and municipal

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

s and utilities. The municipality is governed by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

of directly elected representatives. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

indirectly elected An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting,'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office ( direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the o ...

by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Sogn og Fjordane District Court and the

Gulating Court of Appeal The Gulating Court of Appeal () is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Bergen. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Vestland and Rogaland plus Sirdal Municipality in Agder county ...

Municipal council

The

of Hyllestad is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

Mayors

The

mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

() of Hyllestad: *1861–1861: Andreas Jacobsen Salbue *1862–1865: Henrik Johannesen Sørebøe *1866–1893: Johan Henrik Wolff *1894–1916: Johannes Ottesen *1917–1919: Olai Haugland *1920–1928: Jonas Sørefjord *1929–1934: Andreas Gjertsen *1935–1937: Sivert Holten *1938–1955: Hans A. Risnes *1956–1959: Magnus Lundeland ( Ap) *1960–1966: Olav Bruknap ( Sp) *1966–1967: Sigurd Giil ( Sp) *1968–1971: Leif Hatlem ( Sp) *1972–1979: Bendik Systad ( Sp) *1980–1981: Ingemar Nordstrand ( V) *1982–1985: Per Bygnes ( Sp) *1986–1987: Hans Berge ( H) *1988–1993: Håkon Giil ( Sp) *1993–1995: Astrid Waage ( Sp) *1995–2007: Harry Mowatt ( Ap) *2007–2011: Tore Bråstad ( Sp) *2011–2015: Jan Olav Gjerde ( Ap) *2015–2019: Morten Askvik ( Sp) *2019–present: Kjell Eide ( Ap)

Geography

Hyllestad is located north of the

along the Åfjorden/ Hyllestadfjorden, which flows through the middle of the municipality. Hyllestad is bordered to the north by the municipality of

Fjaler Fjaler is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative centre is the village of Dale. Other places in Fjaler include Espedal, Flekke, Folkestad, Guddal, and Hel ...

, to the east by

Høyanger Høyanger () is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center is the village of Høyanger. Other villages in Høyanger municipality include Austreim, Bjordal, Kyrkjeb� ...

, to the south (across the fjord) by

Gulen Gulen or Gülen may refer to: People * Fethullah Gülen (1941—2024), Turkish preacher, author, and Islamic opinion leader * Levent Gülen (born 1994), Turkish-Swiss footballer * Nur Mustafa Gülen (born 1960), Turkish footballer and coach Pl ...

, and to the west by the island municipality of

Solund Solund is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the Counties of Norway, county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sogn. Solund is the westernmost island municipality in Norway. Hol ...

Attractions

Kvernsteins Millstone Park

The production of

s in Hyllestad started over 1,000 years ago and used to be a major industry employing up to 1,000 people. Millstones were exported to

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

region, and across

. Many of the stone crosses to be seen along the coast are made from millstones from Hyllestad, including the crosses in

Eivindvik Eivindvik is the administrative centre of the municipality of Gulen in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the mainland, along the north shore of the Gulafjorden. It is also located about south of the village of Dingja (and th ...

and Korssund. The park offers nature trails that visualize the history of the industry, with debris, broken product, and half-carved stones still not separated from the rock surface. At the

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with mortar and even the ancient lime mortar ...

camp there is a guided tour of the historic stone quarry in the mill stone park and a visit to Åfjordstein where you can see how mill stones are used in a modern, new design.

Lihesten

The majestic and bewitching Lihesten is one of the most prominent

mountains A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

on the coast of

. There are several marked routes to the peak, over above sea level, with views both straight out to the open

sea A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...

and inwards over the

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

s. Lihesten also has a number of good fishing lakes.

Trondheim Postal Road

Many bicyclists have described the well-preserved section of the

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

postal road between Hyllestad and

as one of the most exhilarating cycling experiences in the country. There were originally 19 stone bridges on the route between the villages of Dale and

, and many of them are still standing as proud and impressive examples of early dry masonry. There are only a few places along the stretch between Dale in Fjaler and Leirvik in Hyllestad where the surface is so uneven that it is best to push a bike rather than ride it. Occasionally it is necessary to join the paved road ( Fylkesvei 57), but most of the route is free from cars and idyllic.

Water Mills

On the postroad, by Skor, lies a beautiful cluster of five authentic, newly renovated

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

Notable people

* Anfin Øen (1868–1928), a bailiff and politician * Ivar Tveit (1880–1952), a newspaper editor *

Håkon Steinar Giil Håkon Steinar Giil (born 28 January 1943 in Hyllestad) is a Norwegian politician for the Centre Party. He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Sogn og Fjordane in 1993, but was not re-elected in 1997. Instead he served in the position of ...

(born 1943), a

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and former mayor of Hyllestad from 1987 to 1993

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway (, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every year on its web site. All rele ...

{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Municipalities of Vestland 1862 establishments in Norway