Flora is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1964 until its dissolution in 2020. The area is now part of Kinn Municipality in the traditional district of Sunnfjord in Vestland county. The administrative centre was the town of Florø (founded in 1860). Other villages in the municipality included Eikefjord, Rognaldsvåg, Stavang, Grov, Norddalsfjord, Nyttingnes, Steinhovden, and Brandsøy.
Prior to its dissolution in 2020, the municipality was the 163rd largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Flora Municipality was the 99th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had increased by 3.5% over the previous 10-year period.
The municipality stretched from inner fjords where the mountains ascend to the Ålfotbreen glacier, to the outermost islands off the mainland coast. The town of Florø, at its centre, had industries that developed continuously. Trade and industry in Flora were mainly fishing industry, shipyards, and supply for the oil and gas industry in the North Sea.
General information
Name
thumb|left|Sunset over Flora municipality
thumb|left|Stavang Church
thumb|left|Kinn Church
The municipality is named after the old Flora farm () on the island of Brandsøya, near where the town of Florø was built in 1860. The meaning of the name is somewhat uncertain with a couple of different likely possibilities. The old name, is the accusative case/genitive case of the word which means "floor", from which the names Florø and Florelandet are derived. This Old Norse word is probably derived from a Germanic root word, , meaning "flat ground". Another possibility for the meaning of the name is that it is derived from the word which means "flood" or "deluge". A common misunderstanding is that the name Florø includes the Danish word which means "island" as a suffix that was attached to the farm name Flora. Although not true, it almost led to the town being renamed Florøy in the 1930s.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 19 February 1960 for the town of Florø. A few years later on 1 January 1964, the new Flora Municipality was created, including the town of Florø. On 6 October 1967, the old arms of Florø were granted as the arms for Flora Municipality. These arms were in use until 1 January 2020 when the municipality was dissolved. The official blazon is "Gules, three herrings bendwise argent" (). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a set of three diagonal herring. 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 three herrings are a symbol for the great local importance of herring fishing for the development and economy of Flora. The arms were designed by Hallvard Trætteberg. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.
Background
The old Kinn Municipality was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The original municipality was identical to the Kinn parish (prestegjeld) with the sub-parishes () of Bru, Kinn Municipality, and Bremanger.
On 3 January 1861, the village area of Florø (population: 846) was established as a ladested (port town) by royal decree, which removed it from the rural Kinn Municipality and it became an independent Florø Municipality. This left Kinn Municipality with 6,531 residents. On 1 January 1866, the northern district of Kinn Municipality (population: 1,852) was separated to become the new Bremanger Municipality. After the split, Kinn Municipality was left with 4,679 inhabitants. On 1 January 1923, Kinn Municipality was divided into three separate municipalities: the western (island) area was Kinn Municipality (population: 2,508); the central (mostly mainland) area was Bru Municipality (population: 1,560); and the southeasternmost inland area was Eikefjord Municipality (population: 929).
Churches
The Church of Norway had four parishes () within Flora Municipality. It was part of the Sunnfjord prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ style="font-size:medium"|Churches in Flora Municipality
!Parish ()!!Church name!!Location of the church!!Year built
|-
|rowspan="2"|Bru||Askrova Chapel||Askrova||1957
|-
|Stavang Church||Stavang||1957
|-
|Eikefjord||Eikefjord Church||Eikefjord||1812
|-
|rowspan="3"|Kinn||Batalden Chapel||Fanøya||1907
|-
|Florø Church||Florø||1882
|-
|Kinn Church||Kinn||12th century
|-
|Nordal||Nordal Church||Norddalsfjord||1898
|}
Government
While it existed, Flora 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 Sogn og Fjordane District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.
Municipal council
The municipal council of Flora Municipality was made up of 31 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 Flora Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
- 1964–1971: Odd Færøyvik (V)
- 1972–1975: Mons Monsen (LL)
- 1976–1979: Ludvig Botnen (V)
- 1980–1985: Dagfinn Hjertenes (H)
- 1986–1987: Odd Husebø (H)
- 1988–1989: Dagfinn Hjertenes (H)
- 1990–1991: Odd Husebø (H)
- 1992–2003: Kolbjørn Dyrli (Ap)
- 2003–2011: Bente Frøyen Steindal (Ap)
- 2011–2015: Bengt Solheim-Olsen (H)
- 2015–2019: Ola Teigen (Ap)
Geography
thumb|Botnafjorden
thumb|Eikefjorden
Flora was located in the western central part of Sogn og Fjordane county. To the west, it was bordered by the North Sea, to the north it was bordered by Bremanger Municipality, to the east by Gloppen Municipality, and to the south by Naustdal Municipality and Askvoll Municipality. Flora Municipality included many islands, including Reksta, Askrova, Svanøya, Skorpa, Fanøya, Hovden, and Kinn. The municipality also included the large lakes of Endestadvatnet, Lykkjebøvatnet, and Vassetevatnet. The highest point in the municipality was the tall Ålfotbreen glacier.
Sports
Local sport teams include Florø TIF and Florø SK.
Notable people
- Ivar Lykke Falch Lind, a jurist and politician in both Kinn Municipality and Vevring Municipality
See also
- List of former municipalities of Norway