Moster is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1916 until 1963, when it was merged into the new, larger municipality of Bømlo. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Mosterhamn, where the Old Moster Church is located (the oldest surviving stone church in Norway). The 66 km2 municipality encompassed the southeastern part of the island of Bømlo and the island of Moster as well as many surrounding islets.

History

The municipality of Moster was established on 1 July 1916 when the old municipality of Finnås was split into the three new municipalities: Moster (population: 1,316), Bømlo (population: 1,217), and Bremnes (population: 3,411). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1963, the three municipalities of Moster (population: 1,834), Bømlo (population: 1,463), and Bremnes (population: 4,829) were merged into a new, larger Bømlo Municipality.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the island of Moster since the first Moster Church was built there. The meaning of the first element is uncertain. It may come from the word which means "mossy swamp", likely because the island is marshy. It could also come from the word mostr which means "pleased" or "large amount", possibly referring to the fact that the island is very hilly. Another possibility is that it comes from the word mǫn which means "mane".

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 Moster was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows: