# Evanger

Evanger is a former municipality in the Voss district of the old Hordaland county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1885 until 1964 when it was dissolved and its lands split between two municipalities. The 590-square-kilometre (230 sq mi) municipality included the eastern part of the Eksingedalen valley, the area surrounding the lake Evangervatnet, and the Bergsdalen valley.
The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Evanger where Evanger Church is located. Evanger Church served the central part of the municipality. Nesheim Church and Eksingedal Church served the northern part of Evanger and Bergsdalen Church served the southern part of the municipality.

## History

The municipality was established on 1 January 1885 when the western district of the large municipality of Voss (population: 2,045) was separated from Voss to become the new municipality of Evanger. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the municipality of Evanger was dissolved. The Bergsdalen and Eksingedalen valleys (population: 251) were merged with parts of the municipalities of Bruvik and Modalen to create the new Vaksdal Municipality. The rest of Evanger, with 1,075 inhabitants, was merged into the neighboring Voss Municipality.

### Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Evanger farm (Old Norse: Ævangir) since the first Evanger Church was built there. The first element comes from the word æja which means "to rest and eat" or "to rest and feed". The last element is the plural form of vangr which means "field" or "meadow". The name probably means something like "a place where one lets horses graze while on a journey". Historically, the name was spelled Ævanger until the early 20th century.

## 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 Evanger was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:
Evanger heradsstyre 1960–1963 :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 4 |
| | Conservative Party (Høgre) | 1 |
| | Centre Party (Senterpartiet) | 7 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 5 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 17 |
Evanger heradsstyre 1956–1959 :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 4 |
| | Conservative Party (Høgre) | 1 |
| | Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 8 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 4 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 17 |
Evanger heradsstyre 1952–1955 :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 4 |
| | Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 6 |
| | Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgarlege Felleslister) | 6 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 16 |
Evanger heradsstyre 1948–1951 :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 4 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) | 3 |
| | Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 6 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 3 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 16 |
Evanger heradsstyre 1945–1947 :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 4 |
| | Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 6 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 6 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 16 |
Evanger heradsstyre 1938–1941* :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 4 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 12 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 16 |
| 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. |||

### Mayors

The mayors (Nynorsk: ordførar) of Evanger:
* 1885–1887: Gulleik Horvei
* 1888–1897: Anders Kvilekvaal
* 1898–1898: Johannes Horvei (V)
* 1899–1913: Nils B. Mugaas (V)
* 1914–1916: Johannes Horvei (V)
* 1917–1928: Nils B. Mugaas (V)
* 1929–1937: Olav B. Rongen (V)
* 1938–1941: Gustav A. Hantveit (V)
* 1942–1945: Lars B. Horvei (NS)
* 1945–1946: Gustav A. Hantveit (V)
* 1946–1947: Magne Hjørnevik (Bp)
* 1948–1963: Ivar Bjørgo (Bp)

## Notable people

* Knute Nelson (1843–1923), a United States Senator
* Bjørn Rongen (1906–1983), a novelist and children's book writer
* Viking Mestad, a politician for the Norwegian Liberal Party