Jondal

Jondal is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The 247 km2 municipality existed from 1863 until its dissolution in 2020 when it became part of Ullensvang Municipality in Vestland county. It was located on the Folgefonna peninsula in the Hardanger district, on the eastern shore of the Hardangerfjorden. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Jondal. Other villages in Jondal include Herand, Kysnesstranda, and Torsnes.

Prior to its dissolution in 2020, the 247 km2 municipality is the 305th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Jondal is the 386th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,108. The municipality's population density is 4.7 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 4.9% over the last decade.

In 2016, the chief of police for Vestlandet formally suggested a reconfiguration of police districts and stations. He proposed that the police station in Jondal be closed.

General information
The municipality of Jondal was established on 1 January 1863 when it was separated from the large municipality of Strandebarm. Initially, Jondal had a population of 1,663.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, there were two changes that effected Jondal municipality: the part of Jondal located on the northwestern side of the Hardangerfjorden (population: 515) was transferred to Kvam Municipality and the Kysnesstranda area of Strandebarm municipality (population: 100) was transferred to Jondal.

Then on 1 January 2013, the southwestern part of the Folgefonna peninsula (south of Kysnesstranda) was transferred to Jondal from the neighboring Kvinnherad Municipality. This added forty new residents and 37.1 km2 of land area to the municipality.

On 1 January 2020, the three neighboring municipalities of Jondal, Odda, and Ullensvang were merged. The new municipality was named Ullensvang and its administrative centre is the town of Odda.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Jondalen valley (Jónardalr) which runs through the municipality and it is where the village of Jondal is located. The first element is an old river name (now called Jondalselvi). The meaning of the river name is unknown. The last element is which means "valley" or "dale".

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 27 November 1987 and it was in use until 1 January 2020 when the municipality was dissolved. The official blazon is "Gules, three boathooks bendwise issuant from sinister base Or" (På raud grunn tre skrått framveksande gule båtshaker). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a set of three boat hookss lined up diagonally. The charge has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. This design was chosen to symbolise the importance of sailing and shipping along the Hardangerfjord. Historically, Jondal has been known for its shipyards and sailing college. The arms were designed by Arvid Sveen. 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 Jondal. It is part of the Hardanger og Voss prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Geography
Jondal was located on the southeast side of the Hardangerfjorden on the Folgefonna peninsula. It was bounded by the large Folgefonna glacier to the southeast (inside Folgefonna National Park). The lake Juklavatnet was located on the municipal border with Kvinnherad. The 10 km long tunnel runs under the glacier from Jondal to Mauranger in Kvinnherad.

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. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Hardanger District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Jondal was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

Mayors
The mayors (ordførar) of Jondal (incomplete list):
 * 2007–2009: Sigrid Brattabø Handegard (Sp)
 * 2009–2019: Jon Larsgard (Sp)

Notable people

 * Herborg Kråkevik, a singer and actress
 * Bjørg Hope Galtung, the mayor of Jondal from 1979 to 1993 (only leaving to sit in the national Parliament)