# Skånevik

Skånevik is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The 588-square-kilometre (227 sq mi) municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1965. It included the land surrounding both sides of the Skånevikfjorden and its smaller branches: the Åkrafjorden and Matersfjorden in the present-day Etne Municipality and Kvinnherad Municipality. It also included the eastern part of the island of Halsnøya and stretched quite a ways inland all the way to the Folgefonna glacier. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Skånevik where Skånevik Church is located.

## History

The parish of Skonevig was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The spelling of the name was changed in the early 20th century to its present spelling of Skånevik. On 1 January 1965, the municipality of Skånevik was dissolved due to the recommendations of the Schei Committee during a period of many municipal mergers across Norway. The area of Skånevik situated south of the Skånevikfjord and Åkrafjorden, as well as the parts of Skånevik located north of the fjord and east of the village of Åkra (population: 1,493) were merged with the neighboring municipality of Etne to the south. The rest of Skånevik lying north of the fjord and west of Åkra (population: 1,189), became a part of the neighbouring municipality of Kvinnherad to the north.

### Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Skaanevik farm (Old Norse: Skǫðinarvik) since the first Skånevik Church was built there. The meaning of the first element is uncertain. It may be the plura form of the word skaði which means "harm" or "danger". The last element is vin which means "meadow" or "pasture". On 21 December 1917, a royal resolution enacted the 1917 Norwegian language reforms. Prior to this change, the name was spelled Skaanevik with the digraph "aa", and after this reform, the name was spelled Skånevik, using the letter å instead.

## Government

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.

### Municipal council

The municipal council (Heradsstyre) of Skånevik was made up of representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:
Skånevik heradsstyre 1960–1963 :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 5 |
| | Conservative Party (Høgre) | 3 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) | 4 |
| | Centre Party (Senterpartiet) | 2 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 3 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 4 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 21 |
Skånevik heradsstyre 1956–1959 :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 2 |
| | Conservative Party (Høgre) | 1 |
| | Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 3 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 1 |
| | List of workers, fishermen, and small farmholders (Arbeidarar, fiskarar, småbrukarar liste) | 2 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 12 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 21 |
Skånevik heradsstyre 1952–1955 :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 7 |
| | Conservative Party (Høgre) | 2 |
| | Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 3 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 2 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 22 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 36 |
Skånevik heradsstyre 1948–1951 :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 9 |
| | Conservative Party (Høgre) | 2 |
| | Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 4 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 2 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 19 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 36 |
Skånevik heradsstyre 1945–1947 :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 7 |
| | Conservative Party (Høgre) | 2 |
| | Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 2 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 3 |
| | List of workers, fishermen, and small farmholders (Arbeidarar, fiskarar, småbrukarar liste) | 2 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 20 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 36 |
Skånevik heradsstyre 1938–1941* :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 8 |
| | Conservative Party (Høgre) | 2 |
| | Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 3 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 5 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 18 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 36 |
| Note: Due to the German occupation of Norway during World War II, no elections were held for new municipal councils until after the war ended in 1945. |||