Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the 363.3-square-kilometre (140.3sqmi) municipality was the 247th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Bruvik Municipality was the 152nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 5,709. The municipality's population density was 15.7 inhabitants per square kilometre (41/sqmi) and its population had decreased by 1% over the previous 10-year period.[7][8]
General information
The parish of Haus was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1870, Haus Municipality was divided: the northeastern district (population: 2,062) became the new Bruvik Municipality and the rest of the municipality (population: 4,229) remained as a smaller Haus Municipality.[9]
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Bruvik Municipality was dissolved and its lands were divided as follows:[9]
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Bruvik farm (Old Norse: Brúnvíkr) since the first Bruvik Church was built there. The first element is brún which means "mountain ridge" or "rim". The last element is the genitive case of the word vík which means "bay", "cove" or "inlet". Thus it means the bay by the mountain ridge.[10]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 14 December 1960. The blazon was "Azure, a chevron over a cogwheelargent". This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a cogwheel with a chevronordinary above it. The charge has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The design was chosen to symbolize the importance of industry in the municipality. In 1964 when Bruvik Municipality was dissolved, the new Vaksdal Municipality (which included the majority of the old Bruvik Municipality) chose to continue using the old arms of Bruvik Municipality. Vaksdal Municipality used the arms until 1990 when new arms were adopted.[11]
At the time of its dissolution, the municipality covered 391 square kilometres (151sqmi) on both sides of the Veafjorden, the innermost part of the Sørfjorden, including the southeastern part of the island of Osterøy. The highest point in the municipality was the 1,115-metre (3,658ft) tall mountain Storvarden.[1]Modalen Municipality was located to the north, Evanger Municipality was located to the east, Samnanger Municipality was located to the south, Haus Municipality was located to the southwest, and Hosanger Municipality was located to the west.
The municipal council(Heradsstyre) of Bruvik Municipality was made up of 37 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.
The mayor (Nynorsk: ordførar) of Bruvik Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people held this position:[19]
↑Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (25 November 2024). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
