Helleland is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1965. The area is now part of Eigersund Municipality in the traditional district of Dalane. The administrative centre was the village of Helleland where the Helleland Church is located.
Prior to its dissolution in 1965, the municipality was the 370th largest by area out of the 525 municipalities in Norway. Helleland Municipality was the 493rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 10.2% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
The parish of Helleland was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, Helleland Municipality was dissolved and it was merged with the following areas to form a much larger Eigersund Municipality:
the town of Egersund (population: 3,787) all of Helleland Municipality (population: 851) all of Eigersund Municipality (population: 4,664) the Gyadalen and Grøsfjell areas of Heskestad Municipality (population: 114)
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Helleland farm () since the first Helleland Church was built there. The first element comes from the dative case of which means "cave" or "cavern". The last element is which means "land" or "district".
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Helleland Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Helleland prestegjeld and the Dalane prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger.
Churches in Helleland MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtHellelandHelleland ChurchHelleland1832
Geography The municipality was located in the Dalane region to the northeast of the town of Egersund. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Rygja, located on the northeastern border with Heskestad Municipality. Bjerkreim Municipality was located to the north, Heskestad Municipality was located to the east, and Eigersund Municipality was located to the southwest.
Government While it existed, Helleland Municipality was 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 was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Dalane District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council of Helleland Municipality was made up of 13 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.
Mayors The mayor () of Helleland Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1838–1847: Peder Jakobsen Feed 1848–1859: Tønnes Tønnessen Svalestad 1860–1863: Peder Jakobsen Lien 1864–1865: Tønnes Tønnesson Svalestad 1866–1869: Jonas Thomassen Birkeland 1870–1877: Peder Jakobsen Lien 1878–1879: Helge Ommundsen Slettebø 1880–1881: Tønnes Jakobsen Gydal 1882–1885: Peder Jakobsen Lien 1886–1887: Jørgen Anton Meldal Pedersen Hogstad 1888–1891: Ommund Helgesen Slettebø 1892–1895: Peder Jakobsen Lien 1896–1907: Jonas Nilsen Svalestad 1908–1917: Theodor Torkellson Hovland (V) 1918–1925: Retsius Hansson Polden 1925–1925: Hans Rasmussen Kvassheim 1926–1928: Anton Emil Jonasson Birkeland 1929–1934: Nils Jonassen Svalestad 1935–1941: Retsius Hansson Polden 1942–1945: Tønnes Hetland (NS) 1945–1945: Jon Birkeland 1945–1965: John Munkejord
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References