Fjaler

Fjaler is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative centre is the village of Dale. Other places in Fjaler include Espedal, Flekke, Folkestad, Guddal, and Hellevika.

Fjaler was the birthplace of famous Norwegian poet Jakob Sande. The UWC Red Cross Nordic at Haugland, one of the eighteen United World Colleges of the world is also located here, as well as the Nordic Art Centre at Dalsåsen. There is a bridge connecting Dale to Eikenes in Askvoll municipality, and buses depart from Dale to Førde, Rysjedalsvika, Hyllestad, and the western part of Fjaler. Førde Airport, Bringeland is located about 28 km to the east, with flights to Oslo and Bergen.

The 417 km2 municipality is the 234th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Fjaler is the 231st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,913. The municipality's population density is 7.5 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 1.5% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
Ytre Holmedal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The original municipality was identical to the Ytre Holmedal parish (prestegjeld) with the sub-parishes (sokn) of Holmedal, Dale, and Fjaler. In 1912, the name Ytre Holmedal was changed to Fjaler.

On 1 January 1990, some changes were made to the boundaries between the municipalities of Fjaler, Gaular, and Askvoll. The areas surrounding the villages of Fure, Folkestad, and Våge (population: 482) in Askvoll were transferred to Fjaler municipality. The areas surrounding the villages of Vårdal, Holmedal, Rivedal, and a part of Hestad (population: 731) in Fjaler were transferred to Askvoll municipality. The parts of Hestad that did not go to Askvoll (population: 90) were transferred to Gaular municipality.

On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly created Vestland county after Sogn og Fjordane and Hordaland counties were merged.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) was named Ytre Holmedal, after the old Holmedal farm (Hǫlmudalr) since the first Holmedal Church was built there. The meaning of the first element of Holmedal is uncertain, but it may have been an old name for a local river, Holma. It is unknown what the river name meant. The last element is which means "valley" or "dale". The prefix (which means "outer") was added to distinguish the area from its neighbor, Indre Holmedal.

On 6 December 1912, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Fjaler. This new name brought back a very old name for the area (Fjalir). The name was the ancient name for the fjord (now called the Dalsfjorden). The name comes from the plural form of the word which means "board" or "table". Older forms of the name were Fjalir or Fjalar.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 8 February 1991. The official blazon is "Gules, two arched bridges argent" (På raud grunn to sølv kvelvingsbruer). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is two arched stone bridges. The charge has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The two bridges symbolize the old, historic bridges in the municipality that are part of the old post road that goes through Fjaler on its way to Trondheim. The arms were designed by Inge Rotevatn from Nordfjord. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Fjaler. It is part of the Sunnfjord prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Government
Fjaler Municipality is 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 is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Sogn og Fjordane District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Fjaler is made up of 23 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordførar) of Fjaler:


 * 1838–1847: Johan Widing Heiberg Landmark
 * 1847–1847: Bertel Vonen
 * 1847–1855: Peder J. Fossedal
 * 1855–1860: P. J. Smith
 * 1860–1862: Ola Mathiasson Bakke
 * 1863–1868: Peder C. Mork
 * 1868–1868: J. Vonen
 * 1868–1872: J. Kalstad
 * 1872–1876: Mons Davidson Huustvedt
 * 1876–1880: P. J. Smith
 * 1880–1892: L. Larsen
 * 1892–1896: Mons Davidson Huustvedt
 * 1896–1898: David Olsen Bakke
 * 1899–1904: Ole A. Skarstein
 * 1904–1910: David Olsen Bakke
 * 1911–1913: Øystein Sørebø
 * 1914–1916: Andreas Sande
 * 1917–1919: Ola J. Espedal
 * 1920–1928: Andreas Sande
 * 1929–1934: Knut Bakkelid
 * 1935–1940: Ragnvald Fagerheim
 * 1941–1942: Søren K. Hauge
 * 1945–1945: David M. Hustveit
 * 1945–1947: Ragnvald Fagerheim
 * 1948–1959: Søren K. Hauge
 * 1960–1961: Jonas Mork
 * 1961–1963: Aksel Hovland (V)
 * 1964–1965: Gustav Stavøstrand (V)
 * 1966–1967: Ola Sørebø (V)
 * 1968–1971: Andreas Sande (Sp)
 * 1972–1975: Arne Barnsnes (Ap)
 * 1976–1981: Trygve Bjånes (Ap)
 * 1982–1987: Kåre Kleppe (Sp)
 * 1988–1989: Magnar Vagstad (Ap)
 * 1990–1995: Rasmus Felde (Sp)
 * 1995–2002: Arne Kyrkjebø (Ap)
 * 2002–2003: Jan Ulltang (Sp)
 * 2003–2015: Arve Helle (Ap)
 * 2015–2019: Gunhild Berge Stang (V)
 * 2019-2023: Kjetil Høgseth Felde (Sp)
 * 2023-present: Leif Jarle Espedal (Ap)

Geography
Fjaler municipality lies to the south of the Dalsfjord in the Sunnfjord region. The municipality of Askvoll lies to the north (across the fjord), the municipality of Sunnfjord lies to the northeast, the municipality of Høyanger lies to the southeast, and the municipalities of Hyllestad and Solund lie to the southwest.

Notable people

 * Nikka Vonen (1836 in Dale – 1933), a Norwegian educator, folklorist, and author
 * Haldis Halvorsen (1889 in Dale – 1936), a Norwegian mezzo-soprano opera singer
 * Erik Grant Lea (1892–1979), a mythical tycoon and Norwegian ship-owner, banker, insurer, and mill owner who settled in Gjølanger in Fjaler in 1922
 * Jakob Sande (1906 in Dale – 1967), a Norwegian writer, poet, and folk singer who wrote in Nynorsk
 * Herbjørn Sørebø (1933 in Fjaler – 2003), a Norwegian journalist and broadcasting personality