Erfjord

Erfjord is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The 132-square-kilometre (51 sq mi) municipality existed from 1914 until 1965. It encompassed the area around the Erfjorden in the southwestern part of the present-day municipality of Suldal. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Hålandsosen, where the Erfjord Church is located.^[2]

Erfjord Municipality Erfjord herred
Former municipality
View of the fjord area
Rogaland within Norway
Erfjord within Rogaland
Coordinates: 59°21′N 06°13′E
Country	Norway
County	Rogaland
District	Ryfylke
Established	1 Jan 1914
• Preceded by	Jelsa Municipality
Disestablished	1 Jan 1965
• Succeeded by	Suldal Municipality
Administrative centre	Hålandsosen
Area  (upon dissolution)
• Total	132 km2 (51 sq mi)
Population  (1965)
• Total	610
• Density	4.6/km2 (12/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	NO-1137[1]
Data from Statistics Norway

History

The municipality of Erfjord was created on 1 January 1914, when the municipality of Jelsa was split in two: the western part remained as Jelsa, and the eastern part became Erfjord. Initially, Erfjord had 617 inhabitants. On 1 January 1965, a major municipal consolidation took place due to the recommendations of the Schei Committee. Erfjord municipality ceased to exist and it was merged with the municipalities of Sand and Suldal as well as part of the municipalities of Jelsa and Imsland to form the new (much larger) municipality of Suldal. At the time of its dissolution, Erfjord had 610 residents.^[3]

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Erfjord farm (Old Norse: Elrifjǫrðr or Æðrafjǫrðr) since the first Erfjord Church was built there. The meaning of the first element of the name is uncertain, but there are two strong possibilities. The first possibility is that it comes from the word elri which means "alder", a type of common tree in the area (the more modern local name is ør which sounds a lot like Er-). The other main possibility is that it comes from the word æðr which means "eider", a local type of waterfowl. The last element is fjǫrðr which means "fjord".^[4]

Government

While it existed, this municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment, social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.^[5]

Municipal council

The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Erfjord was made up of representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

Erfjord herredsstyre 1964–1965 ^[6]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	13
Total number of members:		13

Erfjord herredsstyre 1960–1963 ^[7]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	13
Total number of members:		13

Erfjord herredsstyre 1956–1959 ^[8]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	13
Total number of members:		13

Erfjord herredsstyre 1952–1955 ^[9]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	12
Total number of members:		12

Erfjord herredsstyre 1948–1951 ^[10]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	12
Total number of members:		12

Erfjord herredsstyre 1945–1947 ^[11]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	List of workers, fishermen, and small farmholders (Arbeidere, fiskere, småbrukere liste)	7
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	5
Total number of members:		12

Erfjord herredsstyre 1938–1941* ^[12]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	12
Total number of members:		12
Note: Due to the German occupation of Norway during World War II, no elections were held for new municipal councils until after the war ended in 1945.

See also

• List of former municipalities of Norway

References

1. Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (9 January 2024). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon.
2. Store norske leksikon. "Erfjord – tidligere kommune" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 19 May 2015.
3. Jukvam, Dag (1999). Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. ISBN 9788253746845.
4. Rygh, Oluf (1915). Norske gaardnavne: Stavanger amt (in Norwegian) (10 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 342.
5. Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (20 September 2022). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
6. "Kommunevalgene 1963" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1964. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
7. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1959" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1960. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
8. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1955" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1957. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
9. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1951" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1952. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
10. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1947" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1948. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
11. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1945" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1947. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
12. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1937" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1938. Retrieved 14 July 2020.