| Helleland | |
| Herred: | yes |
| Former: | yes |
| Idnumber: | 1115 |
| County: | Rogaland |
| District: | Dalane |
| Capital: | Helleland |
| Established: | 1 Jan 1838 |
| Preceded: | none |
| Disestablished: | 1 Jan 1965 |
| Succeeded: | Eigersund Municipality |
| Area Total Km2: | 148 |
| Population As Of: | 1965 |
| Population Total: | 851 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Coordinates: | 58.5206°N 6.1158°W |
Helleland is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The 148km2 municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1965. The municipality is now located in the central part of the present-day municipality of Eigersund. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Helleland where the Helleland Church is located.[1]
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, the municipality of Helleland (population: 851) was merged with the town of Egersund (population: 3,787), the municipality of Eigersund (population: 4,664), and the Gyadalen and Grøsfjell areas of the municipality of Heskestad (population: 114). The merger created a much larger municipality of Eigersund.[2]
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Helleland farm (Norse, Old: Helliland) 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".[3]
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.[4]
The mayors (Norwegian: ordfører) of Helleland:[5]
The municipal council Norwegian: (Herredsstyre) of Helleland was made up of 13 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:
. Norske gaardnavne: Stavanger amt . 1915 . W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri . 10 . Kristiania, Norge . 74 . no . Oluf Rygh.