Etne Municipality

Etne was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). Originally, Etne Municipality encompassed the area around the Etnefjorden and the surrounding valleys. For over 120 years, the borders of the municipality did not change.^[5]

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the neighboring Skånevik Municipality was dissolved and merged into its neighboring municipalities as follows:

• the part of Skånevik Municipality located south of the Åkrafjorden and east of the village of Åkra on the north side of the fjord (population: 1,493) was merged into Etne Municipality^[5]
• the part of Skånevik Municipality lying north of the fjord and west of the village of Åkra (population: 1,189), became a part of Kvinnherad Municipality to the north^[5]

Historically, this municipality was part of the old Hordaland county. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became a part of the newly-formed Vestland county (after Hordaland and Sogn og Fjordane counties were merged).^[6]

Etne Municipality is situated south of the city of Bergen and it borders Kvinnherad Municipality and Ullensvang Municipality to the north in Vestland county and Sauda Municipality, Suldal Municipality, and Vindafjord Municipality to the south in Rogaland county.

Etne Municipality has a varied landscape, extending from the Etnefjorden, Skånevikfjorden, and Åkrafjorden at sea level, through the villages up to the high mountains. In the far north, there is a barren and heavily eroded mountain glacier, Folgefonna, where the municipality's highest point rises 1,633 metres (5,358 ft) above sea level.^[1] Folgefonna National Park is partially located in Etne. In addition to that national park, Etne has three nature reserves: Brattholmen, Skåno, and Langebudalen. Lakes in the area include Lykilsvatnet. The famous waterfall Langfossen is located in northern Etne.^[10]

Recent archeological findings indicate that the area was already inhabited around 500 BC.^[12]

Etne 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 Haugaland og Sunnhordland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

The European route E134 highway runs the length of the municipality connecting it to the city of Haugesund in the southwest and to Oslo in the east. The highway runs through Etnesjøen and then northeastwards along the Åkrafjorden before crossing into the neighboring Ullensvang Municipality. There are many tunnels along the route, some quite long, including the Åkrafjord Tunnel, Fjæra Tunnel, Markhus Tunnel, and Rullestad Tunnel.

The Eintveitbrua is a bridge in rural Etne that is not connected to the road network. It is considered to be a bridge to nowhere.

• Erling Skakke (1115 at Etne – 1179), a Norwegian Jarl (Earl) during the 12th century
• Magnus V of Norway (1156 at Etne – 1184), the King during the Civil war era in Norway
• Jacob Børretzen (1900 in Etne – 1989), a hymnwriter and linguist
• Ingvar Moe (1936 in Etne - 1993), a poet, novelist, and children's writer
• Hans Olav Tungesvik (1936 in Skånevik – 2017), a physician and politician
• Osmund Kaldheim (born 1964), a businessman, civil servant, and politician who grew up in Etne
• Ivar Bjørnson (born 1977 in Etne), a composer and guitarist for the progressive black metal band Enslaved
• Anne Lise Frøkedal (born 1981 in Etne), a folk-pop singer-songwriter known by her stage name Frøkedal