Samnanger () is a municipality in the Midhordland region of

Vestland Vestland is a county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the city of Bergen, whe ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. The

administrative centre An administrative center 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 administrative language (such as Belgium, L ...

of the municipality is the village of Tysse. Other main villages in the municipality include Haga and Bjørkheim in Nordbygda. The municipality is located about east of the city of

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

, Norway's second largest city. It surrounds the inner part of the Samnangerfjorden and the surrounding valleys. There are mountains that surround the municipality. The development of hydroelectric power plants started here in 1909. The municipality is the 274th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Samnanger is the 251st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,501. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...

is and its population has increased by 3.5% over the previous 10-year period. In 2016, the chief of police for Vestlandet formally suggested a reconfiguration of police districts and stations. He proposed that the police station in Samnanger be closed.

General information

The municipality of Samnanger was established on 1 January 1907 when it was separated from the municipality of Os. Initially, Samnanger had 3,025 residents. The borders of the municipality have not changed since that time.

Name

The name originally belonged to the

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icela ...

(now called the Samnangerfjorden). The meaning of the first element is unknown, and the last element is ''angr'' which means "fjord".

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

was granted on 27 April 1990. It shows six yellow

drop Drop, DROP, drops or DROPS may refer to: * Drop (liquid) or droplet, a small volume of liquid ** Eye drops, saline (sometimes mydriatic) drops used as medication for the eyes * Drop (unit), a unit of measure of volume * Falling (physics), allowi ...

s of water on a red field. Water was chosen as a symbol on the arms because of the wet

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologica ...

and the source of

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined a ...

that is prevalent in the area. The designer of the arms was Even Jarl Skoglund.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. ...

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

Hardanger og Voss prosti Hardanger is a traditional district in the western part of Norway, dominated by the Hardangerfjord and its inner branches of the Sørfjorden and the Eid Fjord. It consists of the municipalities of Ullensvang, Eidfjord, Ulvik and Kvam, a ...

(

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman 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 reside ...

) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Samnanger, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient

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

senior citizen Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usag ...

services,

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

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. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or adminis ...

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

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, 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 a ...

, and municipal

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

s. 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, rural coun ...

of elected representatives, which in turn elect a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a 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 responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

. The municipality falls under the Hordaland District Court and the

Gulating Court of Appeal The Gulating Court of Appeal ( no, Gulating lagmannsrett) 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 Munic ...

Municipal council

The

() of Samnanger is made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a 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 often feature ...

breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Samnanger (incomplete list): *2015–present: Knut Harald Frøland ( LL) *1999-2015: Marit A. Aase ( KrF) *1991-1999: Brigt Olav Gåsdal ( Ap) *1982-1991: Brynjulv Hernes (KrF) *1980-1981: Knut N. Langeland (LL) *1978-1979: Martin K.Nilsen (Ap) *1976-1977: Knut N. Langeland (LL) *1972-1975: Martin K.Nilsen (Ap) *1968-1971: Ragnvald Brigsten (KrF) *1964-1967: Martin K.Nilsen (Ap)

Geography

Samnanger lies at the inner end of the Samnangerfjorden. Bjørnafjorden Municipality lies to the south, Bergen Municipality is to the west, Vaksdal Municipality is to the north, and

Kvam Municipality Kvam is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The municipality is located along the Hardangerfjorden in the traditional district of Hardanger. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Norheimsund. Other larger ...

is to the east. Samnanger lies on the mainland of Norway, but its western parts lie on the Bergen Peninsula—a large peninsula connected to the mainland by a small

isthmus An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthm ...

of land running between Trengereid in Bergen and Trengereidfjorden in Samnanger. The

Gullfjellet Gullfjellet or Gulfjellet is a tall mountain in Vestland county, Norway. It is situated on the border between the municipalities of Bergen and Samnanger, and it is the highest mountain in the municipality of Bergen. The name "Gul" is an old ...

mountains lie along the western border of the municipality. The mountain

Sveningen Sveningen is a mountain in Vestland county, Norway. The tall summit of the mountain is a tripoint, marking the border of three municipalities: Bergen, Samnanger, and Bjørnafjorden. It is the second highest mountain in Bergen municipality, afte ...

lies at the

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

border with Samnanger, Bergen, and Bjørnafjorden municipalities. The

Kvamskogen Kvamskogen (lit. ''Kvam forest'') is a mountain plateau in the Hardanger region of Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the municipalities of Samnanger and Kvam Kvam is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The municipality is located ...

mountain plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

lies along the eastern border of the municipality.

Notable people

Knud Langeland Knud Langeland (October 27, 1813 – February 8, 1886) was an American editor, farmer, and politician. Born in Samnanger, Norway, Langeland taught school in Norway. In 1843, Langeland emigrated to the United States and settled on a farm in R ...

(1813–1886) American editor, farmer and politician; emigrated in 1843 * Gustav Indrebø (1889–1942) a Norwegian philologist, interested in

toponymy Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name o ...

Jarle Høysæter Jarle Høysæter (29 April 1933 – 28 February 2017) was a Norwegian journalist. He was born in Samnanger. He was hired in the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation in 1957, and went on to become a known personality in the early years of television. ...

(1933–2017) a Norwegian journalist, worked with NRK &

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pri ...

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, 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 ye ...

{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Municipalities of Vestland 1907 establishments in Norway