| Jostedal | |
| Herad: | yes |
| Former: | yes |
| Former Name: | Jostedalen herred |
| Idnumber: | 1427 |
| County: | Sogn og Fjordane |
| District: | Sunnfjord |
| Capital: | Jostedal |
| Established: | 1 Jan 1838 |
| Preceded: | none |
| Disestablished: | 1 Jan 1963 |
| Succeeded: | Luster Municipality |
| Demonym: | Jostedøl |
| Area Total Km2: | 533 |
| Population As Of: | 1963 |
| Population Total: | 796 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Coordinates: | 61.5872°N 7.2831°W |
Jostedal is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county in Norway. The 533km2 municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1963. It was located in the Jostedalen valley in the northern part of the present-day municipality of Luster, in Vestland county, north of the village of Gaupne. The administrative centre was also located near the Jostedal Church in the central part of the valley.[1]
Jostedal 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 1963, Jostedal municipality (population: 796) was merged with the neighboring municipalities of Luster (population: 2,674) and Hafslo (population: 2,384) which created a newer, larger Luster Municipality.[2]
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Jostedalen valley (Norse, Old: Jǫstrudalr) since the first Jostedal Church was built there. The first element is Norse, Old: Jastra which is the old name for the river Jostedøla. The name comes from the genitive case of the word which means "yeast". This name is likely due to the fact that the water in the river comes from glaciers and during the summer time the river gets "frothy" or "foamy" due to all of the melting ice and the many waterfalls. The last element is which means "valley" or "dale".[3] Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Jostedalen. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Jostedal, removing the definite form ending -en.[4]
The former municipality consisted of Jostedalen valley which empties into the Gaupnefjord at the village of Gaupne. The Gaupnefjord is an arm of the Lustrafjorden, which is an arm of the famous Sognefjord, the second largest fjord in the world. There are three major glacial lakes in the area: Tunsbergdalsvatn, Nigardsbrevatn, and Styggevatn (vatn is Norwegian for lake). Other lakes in Jostdedal include Austdalsvatnet and Styggevatnet.
The river Jostedøla runs through the valley up to its headwaters at the Jostedalsbreen glacier, a plateau glacier which is the European mainland's largest with an area of . Jostedalsbreen National Park and Breheimen National Park are located on either side of the Jostedalen valley.
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.[5]
The mayors of Jostedal:[6]
The municipal council Norwegian: (Heradsstyre) of Jostedal 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: Nordre Bergenhus amt . 1919 . W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri . 12 . Kristiania, Norge . 1 . no . Oluf Rygh.