Borgund is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1864 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Lærdal Municipality in the traditional district of Sogn in Vestland county. The administrative centre was the village of Steinklepp where there was a store, a bank, and a school. The village of Borgund was located just southwest of Steinklepp. The historical Filefjell Kongevegen road passes through the Borgund area.
Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the municipality was the 170th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Borgund Municipality was the 678th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had increased by 10.1% over the previous 10-year period.
History The parish of Borgund was established as a municipality in 1864 when the large Lærdal Municipality was divided in two. The western part (population: 2,777) remained as Lærdal Municipality and the eastern part (population: 963) became the new Borgund Municipality. (A year earlier, the northern part of Lærdal (population: 1,791) was separated to become the new Aardal Municipality.)
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the following areas were merged to form a new, larger Lærdal Municipality: all of Borgund Municipality (population: 492) all of Lærdal Municipality (population: 1,755) the Muggeteigen area (population: 11) of the neighboring Årdal Municipality
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Borgund farm ( or ) since the historic Borgund Stave Church was built there. The first element is which means "castle" or "fortified place". The last element is the suffix which means "rich" or "having a lot of something".
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Borgund Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Lærdal prestegjeld and the Indre Sogn prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.
Churches in Borgund MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtBorgundBorgund ChurchBorgund1868Borgund Stave ChurchBorgund1150
Geography Borgund Municipality was situated near the southeastern end of the Sognefjorden, along the Lærdalselvi river. The lower parts of the municipality were farms such as Sjurhaugen and Nedrehegg. They were at an elevation of about above sea level. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Høgeloft, located in the Filefjell range, right on the border with Hemsedal Municipality (in Buskerud county). The lakes Eldrevatnet, Juklevatnet, and Øljusjøen were also located near the border with Hemsedal Municipality.
Årdal Municipality was located to the northwest, Lærdal Municipality was located to the west, Hol Municipality and Ål Municipality (both in Buskerud county) were located to the south, Hemsedal Municipality (in Buskerud county) was located to the southeast, and Vang Municipality (in Oppland county) was located to the northeast.
Government While it existed, Borgund 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 Gulating Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council of Borgund 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 Borgund Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people held this position:
1864–1867: Haakon Henrikson Eraker 1868–1873: John Knutson Hegg 1874–1875: Haakon H. Kvamme, Sr. 1876–1883: John Knutson Hegg 1884–1887: Roar H. Husum 1888–1891: Ola Kirkevold 1892–1901: John Knutson Hegg 1902–1910: Anders L. Nesset 1911–1914: Ola E. Eggum 1915–1916: Jakob S. Hovland 1917–1917: Lars A. Nesse 1918–1919: Håkon H. Kvamme, Jr. 1920–1922: Ola O. Kvenshagen 1923–1928: Lars A. Nesse 1929–1931: Ola O. Kvenshagen 1936–1945: Nils A. Lyslo 1945–1945: Roar O. Husum 1946–1947: Hallvard Borlaug 1952–1955: Roar O. Husum 1948–1951: Torstein Hillestad (Ap) 1956–1957: Olav Sletthagen(Ap) 1958–1963: Anders Lunden (Ap)
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References