Hyllestad is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center is the village of Hyllestad. Other villages in the municipality include Sørbøvågen and Leirvik. Hyllestad municipality has existed since 1862 when it was created from parts of the neighboring municipalities of Askvoll and Lavik. Hyllestad is located on the north side of the Sognefjorden, near the mouth of the fjord.
The municipality is the 280th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Hyllestad is the 311th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,290. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 11.7% over the previous 10-year period.
In 2016, the chief of police for Vestlandet formally suggested a reconfiguration of police districts and stations. He proposed that the police station in Hyllestad be closed.
In the fourth quarter of 2020, there were more than 400 employees at Noryard, a shipyard.
General information
Hyllestad was created as a municipality in 1862. Two sub-parishes () from the Askvoll parish (Øn and Hyllestad) and one sub-parish () from the Lavik og Brekke parish (Bø) were merged to form a separate municipality which was named Hyllestad. The population at that time in Hyllestad was 2,475. On 1 January 1888, the Krakken farm (population: 17) on the northeastern corner of the island of Sula was transferred from Hyllestad to the neighboring municipality of Utvær. The municipal boundaries have not changed since that time.
On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly created Vestland county after Sogn og Fjordane and Hordaland counties were merged.
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Hyllestad farm () since the first Hyllestad Church was built there. The first element comes from Hylli, the old uncompounded name of the nearby Hyllestadfjorden. This name is likely derived from the word which means "quiet", "friendly", or "benevolent". The last element is the plural form of which means "abode" or "town".
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 10 March 1989. The official blazon is "Azure, three millstones in bend argent" (). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a set of three millstones lined up diagonally. The charge 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 millstones were chosen because the production of millstones is the oldest industry in the municipality and has been very important to the life of the community. The arms were designed by Hans Berge. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.
Churches
The Church of Norway has one parish () within the municipality of Hyllestad. It is part of the Sunnfjord prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.
Government
All municipalities in Norway are 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 falls under the Sogn og Fjordane District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.
Municipal council
The municipal council of Hyllestad is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:
Mayors
The mayor of a municipality in Norway is a representative of the majority party of the municipal council who is elected to lead the council. The mayors of Hyllestad:
1861-1861: Andreas Jacobsen Salbue
1862-1865: Henrik Johannesen Sørebøe
1866-1893: Johan Henrik Wolff
1894-1916: Johannes Ottesen
1917-1919: Olai Haugland
1920-1928: Jonas Sørefjord
1929-1934: Andreas Gjertsen
1935-1937: Sivert Holten
1938–1955: Hans A. Risnes
1956-1959: Magnus Lundeland (Ap) 1960-1966: Olav Bruknap (Sp) 1966-1967: Sigurd Giil (Sp) 1968-1971: Leif Hatlem (Sp) 1972-1979: Bendik Systad (Sp) 1980-1981: Ingemar Nordstrand (V) 1982-1985: Per Bygnes (Sp) 1986-1987: Hans Berge (H) 1988-1993: Håkon Giil (Sp) 1993-1995: Astrid Waage (Sp) 1995-2007: Harry Mowatt (Ap) 2007-2011: Tore Bråstad (Sp) 2011-2015: Jan Olav Gjerde (Ap) 2015–2019: Morten Askvik (Sp) 2019-present: Kjell Eide (Ap)