Etne is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland, although it is also sometimes considered to be part of the district of Haugaland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Etnesjøen. Other villages in the municipality include Skånevik and Fjæra. The two largest villages in the municipality are Etnesjøen with 1,159 residents and Skånevik with 594 residents (all figures from 1 January 2015). The 735 km2 municipality is the 154th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Etne is the 201st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 4,073. The municipality's population density is 5.8 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 0.8% over the previous 10-year period. Etne is situated south of the city of Bergen and it borders the municipalities of Kvinnherad, Ullensvang, Sauda, Suldal, and Vindafjord, the latter three are located in the neighboring county of Rogaland. A Norwegian motion picture called United was shot in Etne with local people as actors.

General information

Etne was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). Originally, Etne encompassed the area around the Etnefjorden and the surrounding valleys. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the neighboring municipality of Skånevik was dissolved and merged into its neighboring municipalities. All of Skånevik located south of the Åkrafjorden and east of the village of Åkra on the north side of the fjord (population: 1,493) was merged into Etne.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Etnefjorden. The name is likely derived from the old name for the river "Etneelvi", Atn or Etn. The meaning of the old river name may come from which means "to drive forward" or "to goad" or it might come from which means "to eat".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 16 December 1983. The official blazon is "Per pale dovetailed azure and argent". This means the arms have are divided with a vertical line that is dovetailed. The field (background) to the left of the line has a tincture of blue. To the right of the line, the field has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The design was chosen to represent the strong unity between the two former municipalities of Skånevik and Etne that were joined to form one municipality in 1965. The arms were designed by Magnus Hardeland and John Digernes. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway has two parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Etne. It is part of the Sunnhordland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Geography

Etne is situated south of the city of Bergen and it borders the municipalities of Kvinnherad and Ullensvang in Vestland county and the municipalities of Sauda, Suldal, and Vindafjord in Rogaland county. Etne has a varied landscape, extending from the Etnefjorden, Skånevikfjorden, and Åkrafjorden at sea level, through the villages up to the high mountains. In the far north, there is a barren and heavily eroded mountain glacier, Folgefonna, where the municipality's highest point rises 1638 m above sea level. Folgefonna National Park is partially located in Etne. In addition to that national park, Etne has three nature reserves: Brattholmen, Skåno, and Langebudalen. Lakes in the area include Løkjelsvatnet. The famous waterfall Langfossen is located in northern Etne.

Climate

History

Recent archeological findings indicate that the area was already inhabited around 500 BC.

Population

Government

Etne Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Haugaland og Sunnhordland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Etne is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors

The mayors of Etne (incomplete list):

Transportation

The European route E134 highway runs the length of the municipality connecting it to the city of Haugesund in the southwest and to Oslo in the east. The highway runs through Etnesjøen and then northeastwards along the Åkrafjorden before crossing into the neighboring municipality of Odda. There are many tunnels along the route, some quite long, including the Åkrafjord Tunnel, Fjæra Tunnel, Markhus Tunnel, and Rullestad Tunnel. The Eintveitbrua is a bridge in rural Etne that is not connected to the road network. It is considered to be a bridge to nowhere.

Notable people