Imsland is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1923 until its dissolution in 1965. The area is now divided between Suldal Municipality and Vindafjord Municipality in the traditional district of Haugaland. The administrative centre was the village of Imslandsjøen.
Prior to its dissolution in 1965, the municipality was the 427th largest by area out of the 525 municipalities in Norway. Imsland Municipality was the 520th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 20.4% over the previous 10-year period.
General information The municipality was established on 1 January 1923 when the large Vikedal Municipality was divided into three: the southeastern part (population: 604) became the new Imsland Municipality the northern part (population: 558) became the new Sandeid Municipality the central part (population: 924) remained as a smaller Vikedal Municipality
Imsland Municipality existed for 42 years before it was dissolved in a merger brought upon by the recommendations of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, Imsland Municipality was dissolved and its lands were split up as follows: the part of Imsland Municipality located south of the Vindafjorden (population: 61) was merged with Suldal Municipality, Sand Municipality, Erfjord Municipality plus parts of Jelsa Municipality to form a larger Suldal Municipality the rest of Imsland Municipality (population: 372) was merged with Sandeid Municipality and parts of Vikedal Municipality, Vats Municipality, and Skjold Municipality to form the new Vindafjord Municipality
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Imsland farm () since the first Imsland Church was built there. The first element is the old name for a local river that used to be called Ylma. It is likely that the river name comes from the genitive case of the word which means "fierce" or "angry". The last element is which means "land" or "district".
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Imsland Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Vikedal prestegjeld and the Ryfylke prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger.
Churches in Imsland MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtImslandImsland ChurchImslandsjøen1861
Geography The municipality included the area surrounding the inner part of the Vindafjorden. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Kaldanuten. Vikedal Municipality was located to the west and north, Sand Municipality was located to the east, and Jelsa Municipality was located to the south.
Government While it existed, Imsland Municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Ryfylke District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council of Imsland Municipality was made up of 13 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.
Mayors The mayor () of Imsland Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1923–1925: Bjørn Nybru 1926–1928: Torbjørn Moe 1929–1931: Bjørn Nybru 1931–1935: Bernhard Skipevåg 1935–1937: Ivar Finnvik 1938–1943: Bernhard Skipevåg 1943–1944: Inge Sigvald Sand (NS) 1944–1945: Lars M. Skibevåg 1945–1951: Jone Hustveit 1951–1955: Bernhard Skipevåg 1955–1964: Jone Hustveit
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References