Kvam

Kvam is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The municipality is located along the Hardangerfjorden in the traditional district of Hardanger. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Norheimsund. Other larger settlements in the municipality include Øystese, Bru, Ålvik, Tørvikbygd, Omastranda, and Mundheim. Historically, the municipality was named Vikør.

The 617 km2 municipality is the 188th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Kvam is the 126th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 8,531. The municipality's population density is 14.7 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 0.6% over the previous 10-year period.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) was first named Vikør after the old Vikøy farm (Víkeyjar) since the first Vikøy Church was built there. The first element is which means "small bay", "cove", or "inlet". The last element is the genitive case of which means "island". This is likely referring to the small island in the little cove just east of the farm.

On 1 December 1911, a royal resolution changed the name of the municipality to Kvam, bringing back an old name for the area (Hvammr). The name is identical to the word which means "small valley" or "grassy hollow", possibly referring the Steinsdalen valley west of Norheimsund.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 27 November 1981. The official blazon is "Azure, a pale pattee argent" (I blått ein innsvinga sølv stolpe). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the ordinary is a pale that curves inwards on each side. The ordinary 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 arms were designed to look like the Fyksesund, a narrow fjord in the municipality. The shape of the fjord is that it is narrower in the middle and this is symbolized in the design. The arms were designed by Magnus Hardeland. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway has four parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Kvam. It is part of the Hardanger og Voss prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Geography
Kvam municipality borders the municipality of Voss to the north and east; Vaksdal, Samnanger, and Bjørnafjorden to the west; and the Hardangerfjorden to the south. The Fyksesund fjord branches off the main fjord and heads north into the municipality. The Fyksesund Landscape Park surrounds the inner part of the Fyksesund, north of the Fyksesund Bridge. The largest lakes are Bjølsegrøvvatnet and Holmavatnet. In addition a portion of Hamlagrøvatnet is located in Kvam. The Kvamskogen plateau lies west of Norheimsund and is home to hundreds of holiday cabins. The Steinsdalsfossen waterfall, located in Steine is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Norway.

History
The old parish of Vikør was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). According to the 1835 census, the parish had a population of 2,321. On 1 January 1882, a small area of Ullensvang municipality (population: 22) was transferred to Vikør. In 1912, the municipality changed its name from "Vikør" to "Kvam".

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the Åsgrenda area on the Folgefonna peninsula (population: 61) was moved from Kvam to the neighboring Ullensvang Municipality. On the same date, Kvam also gained a considerable amount of territory, making it a much larger municipality. The following places were merged, giving the new Kvam municipality a population of 9,119.
 * Most of Kvam municipality (population: 6,759) except for Åsegrenda which was moved to Ullensvang
 * The part of Jondal municipality that was located on the northwest side of the Hardangerfjord, around the village of Tørvikbygd (population: 515)
 * Most of Strandebarm municipality (population: 1,545), except for the Kysnesstranda area which went to Jondal
 * The Mundheim area of Varaldsøy (population: 300).

Government
Kvam 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 Hordaland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

In 2007, Kvam participated in a trial where the mayor was directly elected. The sitting mayor, Astrid Selsvold, won the election with 26.7% of the votes.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Heradsstyre) of Kvam is made up of 27 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 Kvam:


 * 1838–1839: Fredrich Christian Bruun
 * 1840–1843: Torgeir P. Aarhus
 * 1844–1857: Gjermund N. Skaar
 * 1858–1859: Ola S. Aksnes
 * 1860–1865: Johannes S. Neteland
 * 1866–1885: Nils N. Skaar, Sr.
 * 1886–1887: Lars Lofthus
 * 1888–1919: Nils N. Skaar, Jr.
 * 1919–1922: Hans Jakobson Vik
 * 1923–1931: Jakob N. Vik
 * 1932–1937: Jakob H. Vik
 * 1938–1940: Lars Matre
 * 1940–1945: Jakob H. Vik (NS)
 * 1945–1945: Lars Matre
 * 1946–1960: Olav L. Skeie
 * 1960–1975: Olav M. Laupsa (KrF)
 * 1976–1983: Guttorm Skeie (Sp)
 * 1984–1987: Johannes Waage (KrF)
 * 1988–1989: Sigvard Berge (Ap)
 * 1990–1991: Guttorm Skeie (Sp)
 * 1992–1993: Sigvard Berge (Ap)
 * 1994–2003: Martin Vik (Sp)
 * 2003–2011: Astrid Farestveit Selsvold (Ap)
 * 2011–2015: Asbjørn Tolo (H)
 * 2015–2019: Jostein Ljones (Sp)
 * 2019–present: Torgeir Næss (Ap)

Notable people

 * Johannes Skaar (1828 in Øystese – 1904), the Bishop of the Diocese of Nidaros
 * Jon Flatabø (1846 in Kvam – 1930), a Norwegian writer of popular literature
 * Nils Nilsson Skaar (1852 in Kvam – 1948), a Norwegian teacher, farmer, editor, and politician
 * Ingebrigt Vik (1867 in Øystese – 1927), a distinguished Norwegian sculptor
 * Jakob Nilsson Vik (1882 in Kvam – 1960), a Norwegian farmer, dairy manager, and politician
 * Svein Rosseland (1894 in Kvam – 1985), an astrophysicist who pioneered theoretical astrophysics
 * Geirr Tveitt (1908–1981), a Norwegian composer and pianist who has family in Kvam
 * Gunnar Aksnes (1926 in Kvam — 2010), a Norwegian chemist and poet
 * Magnus Midtbø (1942 in Ålvik – 2010), a Norwegian trade unionist and politician
 * Kaj Skagen (born 1949 in Strandebarm), a Norwegian writer
 * Nils Gunnar Lie (born 1950 in Øystese) a Norwegian television personality
 * Torill Selsvold Nyborg (born 1952 in Kvam) a nurse, missionary, and politician
 * Valgerd Svarstad Haugland (born 1956 in Kvam), a teacher, politician, and civil servant
 * Geir Botnen (born 1959 in Kvam), a Norwegian pianist
 * Gisle Torvik (born 1975 in Tørvikbygd), a Norwegian jazz musician who plays guitar
 * Torstein Lofthus (born 1977 in Øystese), a Norwegian drummer and composer
 * Frank Kjosås (born 1981 in Øystese), a Norwegian actor of theatre and film

Sport

 * Knut Hjeltnes (born 1951 in Øystese), a college coach and former shot-putter and discus thrower
 * Kirsten Melkevik Otterbu (born 1970 in Øystese), a Norwegian marathon runner
 * Torgeir Børven (born 1991 in Øystese), a Norwegian footballer with over 240 club caps