Madla (municipality)

Madla is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The 15.75 km2 municipality existed from 1930 until 1965 when it was merged into Stavanger Municipality. The small municipality now exists as the borough of Madla inside the city of Stavanger, on the northeast side of the Hafrsfjorden. It was one of the smallest municipalities in Rogaland county, with only four farms: Malde (now spelled Madla), Revheim, and North- and South-Sunde. The municipal centre was located at Malde, now known as Madlamark.

History
The municipality of Håland was dissolved in 1930 when it was split into two separate municipalities: Sola (southwest of the Hafrsfjorden) and Madla (northeast of the fjord). Initially, Madla had 1,091 residents. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the municipality of Madla was merged with the city of Stavanger and most of the municipality of Hetland. At the time of the merger, Madla had 6,025 residents.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Malle farm (Mallar). The meaning of the name is uncertain. One possibility is that it comes from the word which means "gravel" or "ore". Another possibility is that it comes from the word which means "earth" or "dirt". Historically, the farm name was spelled Malle.

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.

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