Bykle

The municipality of Bykle was created when it was separated from the older Valle Municipality on 1 January 1902 after a dispute over the costs of road building (Bykle was the bigger area, while Valle had more people and more money).^[6] Initially, Bykle had a population of 476 residents in the new municipality. The boundaries of the municipality have not changed since that time.^[7]

Bykle sits in the northern part of the Setesdalen valley. It is bordered to the north by Vinje Municipality and to the east by Tokke Municipality (both of which are in Telemark county). It is bordered to the south by Valle Municipality and Sirdal Municipality (both in Agder county). It is bordered in the southwest by Sandnes Municipality and in the west by Hjelmeland Municipality and Suldal Municipality (both in Rogaland county).

There are many lakes that are located within the mountainous municipality including Blåsjø, Botsvatn, Hartevatnet, Holmavatnet, Ormsavatnet, Reinevatn, Skyvatn, Store Urevatn, Svartevatnet, and Vatndalsvatnet, and Ytre Storevatnet.

The Setesdalsheiene mountain range runs through the municipality, including the tallest mountain in that range, Sæbyggjenuten at 1,507 metres (4,944 ft). The Byklestigen pass is a torturous trail up a steep cliff face. Until the 1870s, it was the only route to reach Bykle from the middle Setesdal valley to the south. It runs above the river Otra and was the site of numerous accidents on the hazardous route. The eastern side of the valley (and the municipal/county border) is lined by the mountains Gråsteinsnosi, Brandsnutene, Svolhusgreini, Sæbyggjenuten, and Støylsdalsnutene. The western side of the valley (and the municipal/county border) is lined by the mountains Storhellernuten, Skyvassnuten, Sveigen, and Kaldafjellet. The southern border of the municipality is marked by the mountain Steinheii. The mountains Urevassnutene, Djuptjønnuten, Snjoheinuten, and Kvervetjønnuten mark the highlands in the southwestern part of the municipality, northwest of the village of Bykle.

Bykle has several hydroelectric power generation facilities. The second-largest sector of income for Bykle is the alpine skiing facility in Hovden. Due to its vast amount of hydroelectric power, Bykle is now the wealthiest of the municipalities in Setesdal.

Bykle 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.^[15] The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Agder District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

At Storhedder, north of the lake Storheddervatnet near the mountain Storheddernuten, there are prehistoric runic inscriptions dating over 1000 years old.

The Hovden area was interconnected more with the districts to the west of the mountains than communities further down the Setesdal valley. The main mountain plateau trade route led west to Suldal municipality in Rogaland. The Byklestigen pass was the line of divisions between dialects; in Valle to the south the classic Setesdal tongue was spoken while in Bykle the dialect includes a significant mixture from neighboring Telemark county.

Falcons were trapped in the heights above Bykle. From as early as 1203 and as late as 1780 there are reports of English and Dutch trapping of falcons at Breivik in Bykle. One byproduct of the numerous Dutch visits in the 1560s was the discovery that the natives had no natural resistance to syphilis; a state physician had to be dispatched there to stem the disease.

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  Farm - c. 1885
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  Farm - c. 1885
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  Traveling in Bykle - c. 1885
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  Farming family from Bykle wearing traditional bunads - c. 1885
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  Farming family from Bykle wearing traditional bunads - c. 1885
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  View of the village of Bykle and the Old Bykle Church - 1948

• Old Bykle Church, built in 1619, is found in the village of Bykle. It stands on the site of an older stave church
• Open air museums at Huldreheimen and Lislestog.
• Hovden ski resort and village is found in the north along Norwegian National Road 9.
• Viking Age bog iron museum, which recognizes the industry in the area over 1000 years ago, located at Hovden
• Prehistoric runic inscriptions at Storhedder

• Tore Segelcke (1901–1979), an actress^[36] who bought and restored Huldreheimen in Bykle with her husband, Anton Raabe