Jelsa is a former municipality in

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. As of 1 January 2024, it had a population of 49 ...

county,

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 ...

. The municipality existed from 1838 until 1965. It encompassed an area that surrounds the Sandsfjorden in the present-day municipalities of

Suldal Suldal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the northeast corner of Rogaland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Ryfylke. Since 1965, the administrative centre of ...

Hjelmeland is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Ryfylke. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hjelmelandsvågen. Other villages in the municipality include Fister, Årdal, ...

, and

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

. The

administrative centre 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 Belgi ...

was the village of Jelsa, where

Jelsa Church Jelsa Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Suldal Municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Jelsa. It is the church for the Jelsa parish which is part of the Ryfylke prosti (deanery) in the Dioce ...

is located.

History

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 ...

of ''Jælse'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () was the name of a Norwegian self-governing municipality. The name was used from the establishment these municipalities in 1838 until the name fell out of use in 1863. The municipalities had their legal basis from two laws enacted on 14 Jan ...

law). In 1859, the municipality was split, with the northern district becoming the municipality of

Sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

. The split left Jelsa with a population of 2,606. On 1 January 1914, the eastern district was split off as the new municipality of

Erfjord Erfjord is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1914 until 1965. It encompassed the area around the Erfjorden in the southwestern part of the present-day municipality of Suldal. The administrative c ...

. This left Jelsa with 1,539 residents. On 1 January 1965 the municipality of Jelsa was dissolved due to recommendations by the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee () was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a ...

. The majority of Jelsa (population: 928) was merged with the municipalities of

, and

to form a new, enlarged

Suldal Municipality Suldal is a municipality in the northeast corner of Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Ryfylke. Since 1965, the administrative centre of Suldal is the village of Sand i Ryfylke (prior to that it was the villag ...

. At the same time, the Buergårdene area (population: 8) on the island of

Ombo Ombo is an island in the municipality of Stavanger in Rogaland county, Norway. The island is the largest island in the Ryfylke region and the second largest island in Rogaland county. There are several villages on the island, including Jørst ...

was moved to

Hjelmeland Municipality is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Rogaland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Ryfylke. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hj ...

, and the rest of the island of Ombo that belonged to Jelsa (population: 89) was moved to

Finnøy Municipality Finnøy is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The island municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into Stavanger Municipality. It was located in the traditional district of Ryfylke. The ad ...

Name

The municipality (originally the

) is named after the old ''Jelsa'' farm () since the first

was built there. The meaning of the name is uncertain, but it is probably the old name for the Jelsafjorden. It is possible that the name comes from the word which means "noise". Another possibility is that it comes from the

Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

word which means "scream" or "screech" (particularly referring to the noise a seagull makes). Historically, the name was spelled ''Jælse''.

Government

While it existed, this municipality was 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,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

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. During its existence, this municipality was 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 ...

was

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.

Municipal council

The

of Jelsa was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The

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 ...

breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

References

{{use dmy dates, date=July 2020 Suldal Hjelmeland Stavanger Former municipalities of Norway 1838 establishments in Norway 1965 disestablishments in Norway

History

Name

Government

Municipal council

See also

References