Country Norway County Rogaland Municipality ID NO-1138 Area 130 km² | Region Western Norway District Ryfylke Adm. Center Jelsa | |
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Jelsa is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The 130-square-kilometre (50 sq mi) municipality existed from 1838 until 1965. It encompassed area in the present-day municipalities of Suldal, Hjelmeland, and Finnøy that surround the Sandsfjorden. The administrative centre was the village of Jelsa, where Jelsa Church is located.
History
The parish of Jælse was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). In 1859, the municipality was split, with the northern district becoming the municipality of Sand. The split left Jelsa with a population of 2,606. On 1 January 1914, the eastern district was split off as the new municipality of Erfjord. This left Jelsa with 1,539 residents.
On 1 January 1965 the municipality of Jelsa was dissolved due to recommendations by the Schei Committee. The majority of Jelsa (population: 928) was merged with Erfjord, Sand, and Suldal to form a new, enlarged Suldal municipality. At the same time, the Buergårdene area (population: 8) on the island of Ombo was moved to Hjelmeland municipality, and the rest of the island of Ombo that belonged to Jelsa (population: 89) was moved to Finnøy.