# Strandebarm

Strandebarm is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The original municipality was large, spanning both sides of the central part of the Hardangerfjorden. It also included the island of Varaldsøy. Over time, the municipality was divided and by the time of its dissolution in 1965, it was 112 square kilometres (43 sq mi). The municipality included land in the present-day municipalities of Ullensvang, Kvam, and Kvinnherad. The administrative center of the municipality was the village of Bru, where Strandebarm Church is located.
One of the larger industries in the municipality was shipbuilding, centered at the village of Omastranda, where the company Fjellstrand A.S. is headquartered.
The Norwegian writer Hans E. Kinck lived in Strandebarm for many years, and is said to have used the village as setting and inspiration for his novel Den nye kapellanen ("The New Vicar").

## History

The parish of Strandebarm was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1863, most (but not all) of Strandebarm located on the eastern shore of the Hardangerfjorden (population: 1,663) was separated from Strandebarm to constitute the new municipality of Jondal. This left Strandebarm with 2,200 residents. Then on 1 January 1902, the southern district (population: 848) was separated to become the new municipality of Varaldsøy, leaving Strandebarm with a population of 1,661.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, Strandebarm municipality ceased to exist. The district of Kysnesstranda (population: 100) on the east side of the fjord was incorporated into Jondal Municipality. The rest of Strandebarm (population: 1,545) was incorporated into Kvam Municipality to the north.

### Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the local Strandebarmsbukta bay (Old Norse: Strandarbarmr). The first element is the genitive case of strǫnd which means "beach" or "shore". The last element is barmr which means "rim", here referring to the area along the bay.

## 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 Strandebarm was made up of 13 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:
Strandebarm heradsstyre 1960–1963 :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 2 |
| | Conservative Party (Høgre) | 1 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) | 2 |
| | Centre Party (Senterpartiet) | 3 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 5 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 13 |
Strandebarm heradsstyre 1956–1959 :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 2 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) | 3 |
| | Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 3 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 2 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 3 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 13 |
Strandebarm heradsstyre 1952–1955 :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 2 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) | 3 |
| | Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 2 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 5 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 12 |
Strandebarm heradsstyre 1948–1951 :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 2 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) | 3 |
| | Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgarlege Felleslister) | 7 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 12 |
Strandebarm heradsstyre 1945–1947 :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 3 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) | 2 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 7 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 12 |
Strandebarm heradsstyre 1938–1941* :
| Party name (in Nynorsk) | Party name (in Nynorsk) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) | 3 |
| | Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgarlege Felleslister) | 9 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 12 |
| 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 Strandebarm:
* 1838-1843: Niels Burggraf Tausan
* 1844-1850: Niels Landmark
* 1851-1853: Torbjørn Røyrvik
* 1854-1857: Caspar Kährs
* 1858-1858: Jens Andreas Holmboe
* 1858-1858: Niels Landmark
* 1858-1859: Nils T. Linge
* 1860-1861: Torbjørn T. Linge (V)
* 1862-1863: Mathias Bonsak Krogh Holst
* 1864-1867: Nils T. Linge
* 1868-1871: Torbjørn T. Linge
* 1872-1875: Nils T. Linge
* 1876-1882: Arne Berge (MV)
* 1882-1885: Lars Galtung
* 1886-1901: Amund Fosse
* 1902-1907: Thomas Enes
* 1908-1916: Johannes Ugletvedt
* 1917-1921: Haktor Dysvik
* 1921-1943: Håvard Berge
* 1943-1945: Peder Oma (NS)
* 1945-1945: Johannes Riise
* 1946-1955: Kristoffer Kolltveit (V)
* 1956-1959: Erling Bruhjell (Bp)
* 1960-1964: Kristoffer Kolltveit (V)

## Notable residents

* Jon Fosse, author, playwright and Nobel Laureate, grew up in Standebarm.