Stryn
Stryn is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Stryn. The municipality is located along the innermost part of the Nordfjorden. Some of the main villages in Stryn include Loen, Innvik, Utvik, Randabygda, Olden, and Flo.
Farming, forestry, fruit growing, animal breeding for furs, small manufacturing industries, tourism, and the service trades provide the main occupations. The wide river Stryneelva enters the village of Stryn from the east after meandering through the fertile Stryn Valley, from the large lake Oppstrynsvatn. The Jostedalsbreen National Park Centre is situated on the shore of this lake. At the east end of the lake, the road enters the narrower Hjelledalen and shortly zigzags up some to Ospeli and the entrance of the first of the three tunnels of the mountain highway leading to Geiranger and Grotli.
Stryn is known for its all year glacier skiing at Stryn Sommerski. It is also the home of the footballer-brothers Tore André Flo, Jarle Flo and Jostein Flo, who grew up in the village of Stryn, as well as their footballing-cousin Håvard Flo who is from the village of Flo.
The municipality is the 67th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Stryn is the 139th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 7,130. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 2.3% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
Innvik was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. The original municipality was identical to the Innvik parish with the sub-parishes of Oppstryn, Nedstryn, Loen, Olden, Innvik, and Utvik. In 1843, the sub-parishes of Loen, Oppstryn, and Nedstryn were separated from the municipality of Innvik and became a separate municipality named Stryn. The population of Stryn at this time was 2,401. On 10 January 1922, the area of Raksgrenda was transferred from Innvik to Stryn. The population in this area was 120 at that time.During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, a merger took place combining the following areas into a new Stryn municipality:
- the municipality of Innvik
- the municipality of Stryn
- the parts of Hornindal Municipality located east of the villages of Navelsaker and Holmøyvik
- the Hoplandsgrenda area in the municipality of Gloppen
On 1 January 1977, the parts of the old Hornindal Municipality that were merged with Stryn in 1965 were transferred back to the newly re-constituted Hornindal municipality. The population of Stryn was reduced by 1,202 in this transaction.
On 1 January 2019, the Maurset area in the southern part of the neighboring municipality of Hornindal was transferred from Hornindal to Stryn.
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 name originally belonged to the river of Stryneelva. The name is derived from strjónn which means " stream".Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 11 December 1987. The arms are green with a gold-colored linden branch with four leaves. The linden was chosen to represent the vast deciduous forests in the region and the four leaves were chosen to represent the four main village areas along the fjord.Churches
The Church of Norway has eight parishes within the municipality of Stryn. It is part of the Nordfjord prosti in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.| Parish | Church name | Location of the church | Year built |
| Oppstryn | Oppstryn Church | Oppstryn | 1863 |
| Nedstryn | Nedstryn Church | Nedstryn | 1859 |
| Loen | Loen Church | Loen | 1838 |
| Innvik | Innvik Church | Innvik | 1822 |
| Utvik | Utvik Church | Utvik | 1840 |
| Olden | Olden Church | Olden | 1934 |
| Olden | Old Olden Church | Olden | 1772 |
| Olden | Ljosheim Chapel | Mykløy in Oldedalen | 1924 |
| Randabygda | Randabygd Church | Randabygda | 1916 |
| Nordsida | Nordsida Church | Roset | 1973 |
Government
All municipalities in Norway, including Stryn, are responsible for primary education, outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor. The municipality falls under the Sogn og Fjordane District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.Municipal council
The municipal council of Stryn is made up of 25 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:Mayor
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 Stryn :- 2019-present: Per Kjøllesdal
- 2011-2019: Sven Flo
- 1999-2011: Nils Petter Støyva
- 1992-1999: Oddvin Drageset
Geography
Location
Stryn is located on the northern border of Vestland county. To the north, Stryn is bordered by the municicaplities of Volda and Stranda, to the east is Skjåk, to the southeast is Luster, to the southwest is Sunnfjord, and to the west is Gloppen and Stad.Nature
Stryn is known for its scenery, glaciers and the mountains running into the mirroring fjords and lakes. The glacier Briksdalsbreen lies in the Oldedalen valley. The Stryn area also has a number of other valley glaciers including Tindefjellbreen, Tystigsbreen, and Myklebustbreen. Most of the valley glaciers in Stryn are originating from the great Jostedal glacier between the Nordfjord and Sogn areas.Ramnefjellsfossen, the third highest free-falling waterfall in the world, is located in the municipality. Stryn also has the largest linden forest in Northern Europe. The largest lakes are Oppstrynsvatn, Lovatnet, and Oldevatnet. The mountains Skåla, Lodalskåpa, and Høgstre Breakulen are all located in Stryn.
Jostedal Glacier National Park
The Jostedalsbreen National Park has an area of approximately. Flora and fauna area is situated between the fjord and glacier. The museum Jostedalsbreen nasjonalparksenter is located in Oppstryn.Briksdal glacier
Visitors from all over the world come to see the Briksdalsbreen glacier outlet, which is situated amid waterfalls and high peaks. Briksdal glacier is a part of the Jostedal glacier ice field, which is the largest glacier on the European mainland. The highest point of the glacier lies at above sea level and in some places it measures in depth. It is located at the end of the Oldedalen valley.Lodalen–Kjenndalen
On two occasions, large rockslides from Ramnefjellet hit the lake below. The resulting flood wave wiped out the settlements of Nesdal and Bødal, killing 135 people.Wildlife
There are many bird species in this area including the golden eagle, rough-legged buzzard, and the white-backed woodpecker. Some of the larger mammals that live in this region are red deer, wolverines, and lynxes.National Tourist Route
The Gamle Strynefjellsvegen is a National Tourist Route. It goes from Grotli to Videseter, where a waterfall is, and on to the village of Stryn.Attractions
Stryn Center
The village of Stryn, a busy and developing small village at the tip of the most northernly of the three short branches at the inner end of Nordfjorden, is the local government and shopping centre for a large community and the junction of roads which connect inner Nordfjord with the rest of Norway.Oldedalen Valley
The southernmost of the three short branches at the inner end of Nordfjorden terminates at the village of Olden from which a lovely valley, Oldedalen, goes due south for about between slopes rising sharply to more than to the edge of the Jostedals glacier.Olden has two churches. The Old Olden Church in the village, was built in 1759 on the site of a Stave church dating from around 1300. Its pews, doors, and jambs are made from timbers of the Stave church. The "new" Olden Church, a short distance along the valley, was built in 1934 so that the old church could be preserved.