Nærbø is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1894 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Hå Municipality in the traditional district of Jæren. The administrative centre was the village of Nærbø. Other villages in the municipality included Obrestad and Nærland.
Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the municipality was the 566th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Nærbø Municipality was the 233th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had increased by 18.2% over the previous 10-year period.
General information The municipality of Nærbø was established in 1894 when the old Haa Municipality was divided into two municipalities: the northern district (population: 1801) became the new Nærbø Municipality and the southern district (population: 1806) became the new Varhaug 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 the new Hå Municipality (resurrecting the name of the old municipality that was dissolved in 1894): all of Nærbø Municipality (population: 3,926) all of Ogna Municipality (population: 1,470) all of Varhaug Municipality (population: 3,454)
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Nærbø farm () since the Old Nærbø Church was built there. The first element is which means "lower". The last element is which means "farm" or "farmstead".
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Nærbø Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Hå prestegjeld and the Jæren prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger.
Churches in Nærbø MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtNærbøNærbø ChurchNærbø1834
Geography The highest point in the municipality was the tall point on the border with Time Municipality, just northwest of the hill Olsholen on the Varhaug Municipality/Time Municipality, just a short distance away. Klepp Municipality was located to the north, Time Municipality was located to the northeast/east, Varhaug Municipality was located to the south, and the North Sea was to the west.
Government While it existed, Nærbø 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 Jæren District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council of Nærbø Municipality was made up of 17 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 Nærbø Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1894–1897: Ingebret J. Gausland 1898–1898: Peder N. Njølstad 1899–1907: Sem N. Bø 1908–1910: Lars O. Vigre 1911–1913: Sem N. Bø 1914–1931: Tobias Obrestad 1931–1935: Rasmus Njølstad 1935–1941: Sven Gausland 1941–1941: Matheus Moi 1941–1945: Einar Lende Njå 1945–1947: Sven Gausland 1947–1951: Rasmus Njølstad 1951–1959: Hans N. Njærheim (Sp) 1959–1963: Odd Skjærpe (KrF)
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References