Høle (or historically Høgsfjord) is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1865 until its dissolution in 1965 (during the period from 1865 until 1871, it was called Høgsfjord Municipality). The area is now divided between Gjesdal Municipality and Sandnes Municipality in the traditional district of Ryfylke. The administrative centre was the village of Høle.
Prior to its dissolution in 1965, the municipality was the 414th largest by area out of the 525 municipalities in Norway. Høle Municipality was the 487th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 6.7% over the previous 10-year period.
The municipality originally was quite large, surrounding both sides of the Høgsfjorden and Lysefjorden. Throughout its history, it included large parts of the present-day Sandnes Municipality and Gjesdal Municipality. Since 1965, most of the area of the old Høle Municipality has made up the borough of Høle within Sandnes Municipality. Høle Church, built in 1860, was the main church of the municipality.
General information
The municipality of Høgsfjord (later renamed Høle) was established in 1842 when the large Strand Municipality was divided. The southern district (population: 3,203) became the new Høgsfjord Municipality and the northern district (population: 2,228) remained as a much smaller Strand Municipality.
On 1 January 1871, Høgsfjord Municipality was divided into two municipalities: the district located east of the Høgsfjorden (population: 2,081) became the new Fossan Municipality and the remaining parts of Høgsfjord Municipality that were located west of the Høgsfjorden (population: 1,122) changed its name to Høle Municipality.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers in Norway due to the recommendations of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the southeastern corner of Høle Municipality which surrounded the farming village of Oltesvik (population: 37) was transferred to the neighboring Gjesdal Municipality. The remaining areas of Høle Municipality were merged with the following areas: all of Sandnes Municipality (population: 3,931) all of Høyland Municipality (population: 20,353) the Riska and Dale areas of Hetland Municipality (population: 2,077) most of Høle Municipality (population: 926), except for the area around Oltesvik which went to Gjesdal Municipality
Name The municipality (originally the parish) was first named Høgsfjord after the Høgsfjorden. The meaning of the first element is uncertain. The last element comes from the word which means "fjord". In 1871, the municipal name was changed to Høle after the municipality was divided. This new name comes from the old Høle farm () since the first Høle Church was built there. The name comes from the old name for the local river. The name is the plural genitive case of which means "deep place" or "pool in a river".
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Høle Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Høgsfjord prestegjeld and the Hetland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger.
Churches in Høle MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtHøleHøle ChurchHøle1860
Geography Høle Municipality was located along the western shore of the Høgsfjorden and it included the island of Ådnøy. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Bynuten. Strand Municipality was located to the north, Forsand Municipality was located to the east, Gjesdal Municipality was located to the south, Høyland Municipality was located to the southwest, and Hetland Municipality was located to the northwest.
Government While it existed, Høle 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 Høle 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 Høle Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1842–1843: Osmund Fossand 1844–1845: Torger Meling 1846–1857: Osmund Fossand 1858–1863: Lars Rønneli 1864–1865: Guttorm Tollefsen Bergsagel 1866–1866: Asbjørn Bjørnsen Frafjord 1867–1869: Rev. Laurentius Borchsenius Fredrik Fabritius 1870–1870: Osmund Guttormsen Espedal 1871–1873: Ole Halvorsen Eskeland 1874–1875: Guttorm Tollefsen Bergsagel 1876–1881: Andreas Asbjørnsen Høle 1882–1883: Guttorm Tollefsen Bergsagel 1884–1887: Rasmus Osmundsen Oanæs 1888–1895: Rev. Jakob Bernhoff Gregusson 1896–1897: Guttorm Tollefsen Bergsagel 1898–1913: Gabriel Espedal 1914–1916: Ola Bergsaker 1917–1922: Gabriel Espedal 1923–1931: Ola Bergsaker 1932–1945: Trygve Bergsåker 1946–1951: Tobias Horve 1952–1957: Samuel Ims, Jr. 1958–1962: Leif Espedal 1963–1963: Samuel Ims, Jr. 1964–1964: Trygve Bergsåker
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References