Ølen

Ølen kommune
Former municipality
View over Ølensjøen and Ølensvåg
Coat of arms Rogaland within Norway
Ølen within Rogaland
Coordinates: 59°38′59″N 05°38′13″E / 59.64972°N 5.63694°E / 59.64972; 5.63694Coordinates: 59°38′59″N 05°38′13″E / 59.64972°N 5.63694°E / 59.64972; 5.63694
Country	Norway
County	Rogaland
District	Haugalandet
Established	1 Jan 1916
Disestablished	1 Jan 2006
Administrative centre	Ølensjøen
Government
• Mayor (2004–2006)	Arne Bergsvåg (Sp)
Area
• Total	181 km2 (70 sq mi)
	*Area at municipal dissolution.
Population  (2006)
• Total	3,426
• Density	19/km2 (49/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Ølsbu[1]
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	NO-1159
Official language form	Nynorsk[2]
Preceded by	Fjelberg in 1916
Succeeded by	Vindafjord in 2006
Data from Statistics Norway

Ølen is a former municipality in the Vestlandet region of Norway. The municipality existed from 1916 until 2006, and originally it was a part of Hordaland county, but in 2002 it was transferred to Rogaland county prior to its dissolution in 2006. The 181-square-kilometre (70 sq mi) municipality was located on the south side of the and east of the . The administrative center of Ølen was the village of Ølensjøen. The municipality of Ølen makes up the northern part of the present-day Vindafjord Municipality in Rogaland county.^[3]

History[]

Map of Ølen in Hordaland county prior to 2002 when it was transferred to Rogaland county

The parish of Ølen was established as a municipality on 1 July 1916 when it was split off from the large municipality of Fjelberg. Initially, Ølen had 1,715 residents. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the neighboring municipality of Vikebygd was dissolved and the eastern half of it (population: 578) was merged into the municipality of Ølen.^[4]

On 1 January 2002, the municipality of Ølen was transferred administratively from Hordaland county to Rogaland county. On 1 January 2003, the people of Ølen and the neighboring municipality of Vindafjord held a merger referendum which was successful. On 1 January 2006, Ølen and Vindafjord merged, forming a larger municipality called Vindafjord. Before the merger, Ølen had a population of 3,426. The coat of arms of the new Vindafjord municipality bears the design of the old Ølen arms and the colours of the old Vindafjord arms.^[3]

Government[]

All municipalities in Norway, including Ølen, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elects a mayor.^[5] The municipality fell under the Haugaland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council[]

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Ølen was made up of 21 representatives that were elected to four-year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council of Ølen was as follows:

See also[]

• List of former municipalities of Norway

References[]