Luster is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located at the end of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative centre is the village of Gaupne. Other villages in Luster include Fortun, Hafslo, Indre Hafslo, Jostedal, Luster, Nes, Ornes, Skjolden, Solvorn, and Veitastrond.

Luster is centered around the inner branch of the Sognefjord, which is called the Lustrafjorden. Its landscape includes fjords, steep mountains, water-abundant waterfalls, blue glaciers, and valleys. Both Jostedalsbreen National Park and Breheimen National Park are partially located in this municipality. The Sognefjellsvegen road goes over a mountain pass in eastern Luster.

The municipality is the 17th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Luster Municipality is the 177th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of . The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 5.5% during the previous 10-year period.

In 2016, the chief of police for Vestlandet formally suggested a reconfiguration of police districts and stations. He proposed that the police station in Luster be closed.

General information

thumb|left|View of the [[Fortun (village)|Fortun area]]

thumb|left|Norwegian sheep and Luster landscape

thumb|left|[[Old Gaupne Church]]

The parish of Lyster was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The original municipality was identical to the Church of Norway's Lyster prestegjeld with the parishes () of Fortun, Dale, Nes, and Gaupne.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1963, Luster Municipality (population: 2,674) was merged with Hafslo Municipality (population: 2,384) and Jostedal Municipality (population: 796) forming a new, much larger Luster Municipality with 5,854 residents.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Lustrafjorden () and the village of Luster which grew up along the fjord. The name is derived from the word which means "light" or "bright", referring to the bright color of the water from the glaciers.

Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Lyster. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Luster.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 20 April 1990. The official blazon is "Azure, a tilia curled argent forming an annulet" (). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a tilia branch curled into a circle. 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 arms are inspired by an old woodcarving found in the Urnes Stave Church which is located in the municipality. The arms were designed by Inge Rotevatn from Nordfjordeid. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway has eight parishes () within Luster Municipality. It is part of the Sogn prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|+ style="font-size:medium"|Churches in Luster Municipality

!Parish ()!!Church name!!Location of the church!!Year built

|-

|Dale||Dale Church||Luster||1250

|-

|rowspan="2"|Fet og Joranger||Fet Church||Fet||1894

|-

|Joranger Church||Joranger||1660

|-

|Fortun||Fortun Church||Fortun||1879

|-

|rowspan="2"|Gaupne||Gaupne Church||rowspan="2"|Gaupne||1908

|-

|Old Gaupne Church||1647

|-

|rowspan="2"|Hafslo||Hafslo Church||Hafslo||1878

|-

|Veitastrond Chapel||Veitastrond||1928

|-

|Jostedal||Jostedal Church||Jostedal||1660

|-

|Nes||Nes Church||Nes||1909

|-

|rowspan="2"|Solvorn||Solvorn Church||Solvorn||1883

|-

|Urnes Stave Church||Ornes||1130

|}

Government

thumb|left|180px|Mayor Andreas Wollnick Wiese (2024)

Luster Municipality is 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 is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Sogn og Fjordane District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Luster Municipality is made up of 25 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors

The mayor () of Luster Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position:

  • 1838–1841: Mons S. Fuhr
  • 1842–1843: Peder Lavold
  • 1844–1845: Hans Hanson Urdahl, Sr.
  • 1846–1853: Sølfest Urdahl
  • 1854–1861: Mons S. Fuhr
  • 1862–1863: Hans Hanson Urdahl, Sr.
  • 1864–1865: John Z. Næs
  • 1866–1866: Sølfest Urdahl
  • 1867–1867: John Z. Næs
  • 1868–1869: Sølfest Urdahl
  • 1870–1875: John Z. Næs
  • 1876–1877: Hans Hanson Urdahl, Jr.
  • 1878–1881: John Z. Næs
  • 1888–1893: Hans Hanson Urdahl, Jr.
  • 1894–1897: Sjur O. Fuhr
  • 1898–1898: Hans J. Næss
  • 1899–1900: Sjur T. Næss
  • 1901–1904: Sjur O. Fuhr
  • 1905–1906: Sjur T. Næss
  • 1907–1910: Per Urdahl
  • 1911–1916: Halvard Drægni
  • 1917–1919: Johannes Fladhammer
  • 1920–1921: Halvard Drægni
  • 1922–1922: Hermann Prestegård
  • 1923–1925: Jens Døsen
  • 1926–1927: Halvard Drægni
  • 1928–1928: Olav Tjønn
  • 1929–1931: Anders Molland
  • 1932–1934: Hermann Prestegård
  • 1935–1941: Anders Molland
  • 1942–1944: Eirik Weka
  • 1946–1947: Hans Prestegård
  • 1948–1959: Olav Listou
  • 1960–1975: Anders Bjørk (Sp)
  • 1976–1977: Kåre Øvregard (Ap)
  • 1978–1979: Knut P. Nes (KrF)
  • 1980–1989: Jan Haugen (Sp)
  • 1990–2003: Ernst Weum (Ap)
  • 2003–2011: Torodd Urnes (KrF)
  • 2011–2023: Ivar Kvalen (Sp)
  • 2023–present: Andreas Wollnick Wiese (Sp)

Geography

thumb|right|Note people entering the ice cave in the glacier Nigardsbreen—this gives some perspective on the size of the glacier as the cave shows in the other picture.

thumb|right|The [[glacier Nigardsbreen and the lake Nigardsbrevatnet in Luster.]]

Location

Luster, one of the largest municipalities in southern Norway, is located in the glacial mountains where the Sognefjorden begins its path to the North Sea. The fjord is fed by many large glaciers such as the Harbardsbreen, Holåbreen, Jostedalsbreen, Nigardsbreen, Spørteggbreen, and others.

It is bordered by four municipalities in Vestland county: Stryn Municipality to the north, Sunnfjord Municipality to the west, Sogndal Municipality to the southwest, and Årdal Municipality to the southeast. It is also bordered by three municipalities in Innlandet county: Skjåk Municipality to the northeast and by Lom Municipality and Vang Municipality to the east.

Feigumfoss waterfall

With a vertical drop of , the Feigumfoss Waterfall is one of the highest in Scandinavia. Other glaciers include the Austerdalsbreen, Harbardsbreen and Spørteggbreen.

Economy

The inhabitants of Luster make their living by farming, growing berries and fruit, tourism, and hydroelectricity. Jøstedal and Fortun have large hydroelectric power stations, and a 107 GWh pumped-storage plant is underway at Illvatn lake. Summer tourism is quite busy. Tourist activities include mountain climbing, skiing, fishing, hiking, and hunting.

Culture and education

Historic churches

thumb|right|[[Urnes Stave Church ]]

;Urnes Stave Church

Urnes Stave Church was built around 1150 and is Norway's oldest Stave church. The Church lies majestically on the top of Urnes. The Stave church is one of four Norwegian Churches on UNESCO`s list of the most precious cultural monuments in the world.

The Stave churches are constructions of high quality, richly decorated with carvings. In virtually all of them the door frames are decorated from top to bottom with carvings. This tradition of rich ornamentation appears to go back to the animal carvings of the Viking age. The dragons are lovingly executed and transformed into long-limbed creatures of fantasy, here and there entwined with tendrils of vine, with winding stems and serrated leaves. The elaborate designs are executed with supreme artistic skill. The stave church doorways are, therefore, among the most distinctive works of art to be found in Norway. However, it is difficult to connect them with the Christian gospel.

Notable people

140px|thumb|Gerhard Munthe, 1817

  • Gerhard Munthe (1795 in Hafslo - 1876), a military officer, historian, and cartographer
  • Christian Ellefson (1842 in Luster - 1925?), an American farmer and member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
  • Peter J. Dale (1845 in Luster – 1935), a Norwegian-American member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
  • Henrik Angell (1861 in Luster – 1922), a military officer, sportsman, writer, skiing pioneer, and the first Norwegian delegate to the International Olympic Committee
  • Sylfest Lomheim (born 1945 in Hafslo), a philologist, academic, and politician
  • Tor Bremer (born 1955 in Luster), a farmer and politician
  • Kurt Heggestad (born 1982 in Veitastrond), a former professional footballer
  • Stine Pettersen Reinås (born 1994 in Hafslo), a football defender with over 150 club caps and eight for the Norway women's national football team

Twin cities/towns

Luster has sister city agreements with the following places:

  • Viroqua, Wisconsin, United States

<gallery mode="packed" heights="160px">

File:Bilde-Lodalskåpa 1.jpg|Lodalskåpa, a peak in the northeast part of Jostedalsbreen

File:Feigumfoss i Lyster i Sogn022.jpg|Feigumfossen

File:Hafslovatnet Norway.jpg|Hafslovatnet lake with the Sognefjord in the background

File:Lustrafjorden.JPG|Lustrafjorden

File:Urnes Stave Church 1.jpg|Urnes Stave Church

File:2005 07 18 Sognefjell 05.jpg|Sognefjell

File:Skjolden, Luster.JPG|Skjolden at Lustrafjorden in Luster, Norway

File:Nigardsbreen-Norway-glacier-hiking.jpg|Several groups of people are glacier hiking on the glacier Nigardsbreen

</gallery>

References

  • Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
  • Urnes Stave Church