Nedstrand (municipality)

Nedstrand is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The 119 km2 municipality was located along the Nedstrandfjorden, an inner branch off the main Boknafjorden. The municipality encompassed the majority of the Nedstrand peninsula. Originally (from 1838 to 1868) it also included the Sjernarøyane islands and the western part of the island of Ombo in the fjord to the south. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Nedstrand. Nedstrand Church is located in Hindaråvåg, a small village just west of Nedstrand village. Today, the area is part of the large municipality of Tysvær.

History
The parish of Nærstrand was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). Originally, it encompassed the two sokn (parishes) of Hinderaa and Sjærnerø, located on the northern (mainland) part of the municipality and the southern (islands) in the Nedstrandfjorden, respectively. On 1 January 1868, the southern islands were separated to become the new municipality of Sjærnerø (population: 922). The remaining northern mainland portion of Nærstrand was renamed as Hinderaa (population: 1,680). On 10 August 1881, a royal resolution was handed down that changed the name of Hinderaa municipality was changed back to Nerstrand (with a slight spelling change from its previous spelling). Later, between 1910 and 1920 the spelling was changed slightly to Nedstrand to better match the local pronunciation.

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 Nedstrand (population: 1,200) was merged with the neighboring municipality of Tysvær and parts of the municipalities of Avaldsnes, Skjold, Vats, and Vikedal to form the new municipality of Tysvær.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) was first named after the old Nærstrand farm (Nesjarstrǫnd). The first element is the plural form of the word which means "headland". The last element is which means "beach" or "shore".

In 1868, the municipality was split with the southern islands becoming the municipality of Sjærnerø. The remaining parts of the municipality of Nærstrand were re-named Hinderaa municipality. This name came from the old Hinderaa farm (Hinderá) since the first Nedstrand Church was built there. The farm was named after a local river. The first element is which means "female deer". The last element is which means "river" or "creek".

On 10 August 1881, a royal resolution changed the name of the municipality back to Nerstrand. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Nedstrand.

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 Nedstrand 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 (ordfører) of Nedstrand (incomplete list):
 * 1938-1940: Hans Jørgensen Aarstad (V)
 * 1945-1946: Hans Jørgensen Aarstad (V)