page_title: Balestrand
section_title: General information
hierarchical_section_title: Balestrand / General information
caption_attribution_description: Fjorden til høgre i biletet er ytre delen av Fjærlandsfjorden. Neset som går mellom han og Sognefjorden er Vengeneset. Der ser ein ferjestaden Dragsvik. Bak det går Esefjorden innover. På hi sida av Esefjorden ligg kommunesenteret i Balestrand, Holmen, der det store bygget ein kan skimte nede med fjorden er Kviknes hotell. Vegen som går frå Dragsvik og mot høgre er Riksveg 13, medan Riksveg 55 går frå Dragsvik og langs Esefjorden og gjennom Holmen og fortset utover langsmed Sognefjorden.
context_page_description: Balestrand is a former municipality in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It was located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center was the village of Balestrand. Other villages in the municipality included Ese, Kvamme, Låne, Sæle, Tjugum, and Vetlefjorden.
  The municipality was situated at the confluence of the Fjærlandsfjorden/Esefjorden and the main Sognefjorden. The major industries in the municipality were tourism and farming. Balestrand became popular early due to the interest of artists, such as Hans Gude, Kjartan Lauritzen, Alfred Heaton Cooper, Hans Dahl, and Johannes Flintoe. Their paintings of the scenery around Balestrand inspired visitors, and Balestrand maintains its connection with art. Other industries include made-to-order kitchen interiors, local apple juice, and Nesseplast which produces industrial plastic. The Norwegian County Road 13 runs through the municipality.
  At the time of its dissolution in 2020, the 430-square-kilometre municipality is the 231st largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Balestrand is the 370th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,272.
context_section_description: Balestrand was established as a municipality in 1850 when the three sub-parishes (sokn) of Vangsnes, Tjugum, and Mundal in the northwestern part of the large Leikanger municipality were separated to form the new municipality of Balestrand. The initial population of the municipality was 2,122. In 1861, the Mundal sub-parish was renamed Fjærland.
  During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964 the municipalities of Vik, Leikanger, and Balestrand changed their boundaries in a land trade. The sub-parish of Vangsnes (population: 189) was transferred from Balestrand to Vik, Balestrand gained the sub-parish of Kvamsøy (population: 389) from Vik, and Leikanger gained the Hella-Eitorn area (population: 31) from Balestrand. Balestrand had a population of 1,606 after the changes were completed.
  The Fjærland area of Balestrand had always been isolated from the rest of the municipality, and only accessible by boat. In 1995, the Frudal Tunnel was completed connecting Fjærland to neighboring Sogndal municipality (not to the rest of Balestrand). This caused discussions about Fjærland's municipal future. On 1 January 2000, the entire sub-parish of Fjærland in northern Balestrand was transferred to Sogndal municipality.
  On 1 January 2020, Balestrand Municipality ceased to exist. The far western Nesse area of Balestrand was transferred to the neighboring Høyanger Municipality and the rest of Balestrand was merged with the neighboring municipalities of Leikanger and Sogndal to form a much larger municipality called Sogndal.
caption: View of Balestrand village (left), the Esefjorden (center), and the Fjærlandsfjorden (right)
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