Ullensvang Municipality

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Ullensvang farm (Old Norse: Ullinsvangr) since the first Ullensvang Church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of the name of the Norse god Ullin (an alternate form of the name Ullr). The last element is vangr which means "field" or "meadow".^[10]

From 1838 until 1869, the name was Kinservik Municipality. On 1 January 1869, the name was changed to Ullensvang Municipality.^[11]

Ullensvang Municipality historically used the word herad instead of kommune in its name. Both Norwegian words can be translated to be "municipality", but herad is an older word that historically was only used for rural municipalities. Municipalities can choose to use one or the other, but most use the more modern kommune. From 1838 until the mid-20th century, most municipalities used herad or herred (using the Nynorsk or Bokmål spelling) for their name, but after some legal changes in the law on municipalities in the 1950s and onwards, most municipalities switched to kommune. In 2020, when Ullensvang Municipality was enlarged, the municipal council chose to switch to kommune instead of herad. Since that change, there are now three municipalities in Norway that use herad: Voss Municipality, Kvam Municipality, and Ulvik Municipality. There are also a few municipalities with herad in the name such as Kvinnherad Municipality.^[12][13]

Coat of arms

The original coat of arms was granted on 8 November 1979 and it was in use until 1 January 2020 when a new version of the arms was put into use. The official blazon was "Gules, a bar Or between three fleur-de-lis of the same" (Norwegian: I raudt ein gull bjelke følgd av tre gull liljer, to over og ei under bjelken). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a horizontal stripe across the middle, with three fleur-de-lis designs (two above the stripe, one below). The charge has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The design of the arms was derived from the arms of Sigurd Brynjulvsson Galte, a medieval nobleman from the area. They can be seen on his gravestone from 1302 at the local church. As it is the oldest gravestone in the church, the arms were well known in the village, hence the choice for the arms of this knight as municipal arms. The arms were designed by Magnus Hardeland. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.^[14][15]

A new coat of arms was granted in 2019 for use starting on 1 January 2020 after Odda and Jondal municipalities were merged with Ullensvang. The new arms were the same design as the previous arms, but they incorporated the colors from the old arms of Odda Municipality (blue and white instead of red and gold). The official blazon for the new arms is "Azure, a bar argent between three fleur-de-lis of the same" (Norwegian: I blå ein sølv bjelke følgd av tre sølv liljer, to over og ei under bjelken).^[14][16]

• 
  Arms from 1979 to 2019
• 
  Current arms since 2020

Churches

The Church of Norway has eight parishes (sokn) within Ullensvang Municipality. It is part of the Hardanger og Voss prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Ullensvang Municipality is made up of 33 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 mayor (Nynorsk: ordførar) of Ullensvang Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:^[48][49]

Police

In 2016, the chief of police for Vestlandet formally suggested a reconfiguration of police districts and stations. He proposed that the police station for Ullensvang og Eidfjord be closed.^[50]

Public service

• Nils Christian Egede Hertzberg (1827 in Ullensvang – 1911), a theologian, educator, and politician
• Knud Knudsen (1832 in Odda – 1915), one of Norway's first professional photographers
• Halldor O. Opedal (1895 in Lofthus – 1986), a teacher and folklorist
• Eiliv Austlid (1899 in Ullensvang – 1940), a farmer and army officer
• Torbjørn Mork (1928 in Odda – 1992), a physician and civil servant

The Arts

• Nils Tjoflot (1865 in Tjoflot – 1898), a violinist
• Georg Brochmann (1894 in Ullensvang – 1952), a journalist, writer and playwright
• Zinken Hopp (1905 in Ullensvang – 1987), an author, poet and playwright
• Claes Gill (1910 in Odda - 1973), an author, poet, and actor ^[52]
• Anne B. Ragde (born 1957 in Odda), a novelist^[53]
• Frode Grytten (born 1960), a writer and journalist who grew up in Odda
• Knut Olav Åmås (born 1968 in Odda), a writer, editor, and politician
• Svein Olav Herstad (born 1969 in Odda), a jazz pianist
• Leif Einar Lothe (born 1969 in Odda), a TV personality who uses the stage name Lothepus
• Marit Eikemo (born 1971 in Odda), an essayist, novelist, journalist, and magazine editor
• Rannveig Djønne (born 1974 in Djønno), a folk musician

Sport

• Roger Albertsen (1957–2003), a football midfielder with over 300 club caps and 25 for Norway
• Håkon Opdal (born 1982 in Odda), a footballer with over 350 club caps and 12 for Norway