Røldal is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Ullensvang Municipality in the traditional district of Hardanger in Vestland county. The administrative centre was the village of Røldal. Other villages in the municipality included Botnen and Håra.
Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the municipality was the 145th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Røldal Municipality was the 667th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 4.4% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
Historically, the Røldal area was part of the parish of Suldal (to the south), with Røldal being an annex to the main parish. Suldal and Røldal each had their own churches, but they shared a priest since Røldal was a sparsely populated area and could not support their own priest. Suldal was located in Stavanger county and Røldal was located in Søndre Bergenhus county. This arrangement was not a problem until 1837 when the formannskapsdistrikt law was passed. The law called for each parish to become a municipality led by a self-governing council starting in 1838. It also said that each municipality must be within one county, not two. Therefore, Suldal and Røldal had to be divided and starting on 1 January 1838, Røldal Municipality was established in Søndre Bergenhus county.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. The sparsely populated Røldal Municipality (population: 676) existed until 1 January 1964 when it was merged into the larger neighboring Odda Municipality (population: 9,487).
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Røldal farm () since the first Røldal Church was built there. The village was named after the Røldalen valley in which it is located. The first element comes from the local river name, Røyrga (now known as the Storelva river). The river name is the genitive case of the word which means "rocky ground" or "rock heap". The last element is which means "valley" or "dale".
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Røldal Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Røldal prestegjeld and the Hardanger og Voss prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.
Churches in Røldal MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtRøldalRøldal Stave ChurchRøldal1250
Geography The municipality encompassed the Røldalen valley and some small side valleys, as well as a large area up on the vast Hardangervidda plateau. Historically, Røldal was an important trade and transportation route between Eastern and Western Norway. The large lakes Røldalsvatnet, Votna, and Valldalsvatnet were located in the municipality. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Sandfloegga.
Ullensvang Municipality was to the north, Vinje Municipality (in Telemark county) was to the east, Suldal Municipality (in Rogaland county) was to the south, Sauda Municipality (also in Rogaland county) was to the southwest, and Odda Municipality was to the west.
Government While it existed, Røldal 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 Røldal 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 Røldal Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1838–1841: Helleik Nielsen Rabbe 1842–1843: Nils Amundsen Tufte 1844–1850: Ole Jacobsen Tufte 1850–1851: Helleik Nielsen Rabbe 1852–1853: Ole Jacobsen Tufte 1854–1855: Svend Olsen Berge 1856–1861: Ole Jacobsen Tufte 1862–1865: Eivind Osmundsen Berge 1866–1867: Ole Nielsen Haarenæs 1868–1869: Eivind Osmundsen Berge 1870–1871: Ole Olsen Hagen 1872–1873: Ole Nilsen Hamre 1874–1877: Eivind Osmundsen Berge 1878–1891: Ole Nilsen Hamre 1892–1898: Rev. Peder S. Ringdal 1899–1901: Usmund Seim 1902–1907: Asmund J. Tvedt 1908–1911: O. Gryting 1912–1913: Asmund J. Tvedt 1914–1919: H.N. Prestegaard 1920–1925: Jakob Tveit 1926–1929: H.N. Prestegaard 1930–1931: Jakob Tveit 1932–1934: H.N. Prestegaard 1935–1941: Nils G. Grave (V) 1942–1945: Nils Medhus 1945–1945: Nils G. Grave 1946–1947: Olav Tufte (Ap) 1948–1951: Obert Øverland (V) 1952–1956: Nils K. Hagen (Ap) 1956–1959: Obert Øverland (V) 1959–1961: Ingvald Øvregaard (Ap) 1962–1963: Nils Medhus (Sp)
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References