# Hafslo

Hafslo is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The 538-square-kilometre (208 sq mi) municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1963. It is located in the present-day Luster Municipality (in Vestland county) in the traditional district of Sogn. The former municipality included the villages of Kinsedalen, Ornes, and Kroken on the east side of the Lustrafjorden. It also included the villages of Solvorn, Hafslo, Joranger, and the whole Veitastrond valley on the west side of the Lustrafjorden. The municipality surrounded the lakes Hafslovatnet and Veitastrondvatnet. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Hafslo, where Hafslo Church was located.

## History

Hafslo was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1963, the municipality of Hafslo (population: 2,384) was merged with the neighboring municipalities of Luster (population: 2,674) and Jostedal (population: 796) to form the new, larger municipality of Luster.

### Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Hafslo farm (Old Norse: Hafrsló) since the first Hafslo Church was built there. The first element is the old male name Hafr, the name is identical with the word hafr which means "male goat". The last element is ló which means "clearing" or "meadow", probably due to the excellent farming areas nearby.

## 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.

### Mayors

The mayors of Hafslo:
* 1838-1839: Ola Trondsen Lid
* 1840-1859: Einar Joranger
* 1860-1860: Samuel M. Bugge
* 1861-1861: C. Aars
* 1862-1862: Ola I. Fet
* 1863-1877: Samuel M. Bugge
* 1878-1881: Einar Joranger
* 1882-1885: Samuel M. Bugge
* 1886-1895: Ola I. Hillestad
* 1896-1898: Anders J. Tørvi
* 1899-1904: Erik Nitter Walaker
* 1905-1907: Samuel O. Moe
* 1908-1910: Erik Nitter Walaker
* 1911-1919: Ola I. Joranger
* 1920-1922: Wilken Nitter Walaker
* 1923-1928: Ivar O. Hillestad
* 1929-1931: Torstein Molland
* 1932-1937: J.W. Fraas
* 1938-1942: Torstein Molland
* 1942-1944: Amund Bremer
* 1945-1945: Torstein Molland
* 1946-1947: Ola Sjøtun
* 1948-1961: Einar Kjos
* 1961-1963: Hans H. Sjøtun

### Municipal council

The municipal council (Heradsstyre) of Hafslo was made up of 21 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:
Hafslo heradsstyre 1960–1963 :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 7 |
| | Conservative Party (Høgre) | 2 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) | 3 |
| | Centre Party (Senterpartiet) | 5 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 3 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 1 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 21 |
Hafslo heradsstyre 1956–1959 :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 7 |
| | Conservative Party (Høgre) | 3 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) | 3 |
| | Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 5 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 3 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 21 |
Hafslo heradsstyre 1952–1955 :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 9 |
| | Conservative Party (Høgre) | 5 |
| | Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 8 |
| | Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgarlege Felleslister) | 6 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 28 |
Hafslo heradsstyre 1948–1951 :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 4 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) | 1 |
| | Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 2 |
| | List of workers, fishermen, and small farmholders (Arbeidarar, fiskarar, småbrukarar liste) | 5 |
| | Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgarlege Felleslister) | 6 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 10 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 28 |
Hafslo heradsstyre 1945–1947 :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 4 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 2 |
| | List of workers, fishermen, and small farmholders (Arbeidarar, fiskarar, småbrukarar liste) | 9 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 13 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 28 |
Hafslo heradsstyre 1938–1941* :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 6 |
| | Conservative Party (Høgre) | 1 |
| | Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 7 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 4 |
| | List of workers, fishermen, and small farmholders (Arbeidarar, fiskarar, småbrukarar liste) | 1 |
| | Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgarlege Felleslister) | 4 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 5 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 28 |
| 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. |||

## Media gallery

* The Hafslo village area in the central part of the municipality
* The Ornes area in eastern Hafslo municipality
* The Veitastrondsvatnet lake and the Jostedalsbreen glacier (northern end of the municipality
* Hafslo Church

## Notable people

* Sylfest Lomheim (born 1945), a Norwegian linguist
* Jens Sterri (born 1923), a civil servant
* Kjellfred Weum (born 1940), a hurdler