Breim is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Nordfjord in the eastern part of the present-day Gloppen Municipality which is now in Vestland county. The 359-square-kilometre (139 sq mi) municipality existed from 1886 until 1964. The administrative center was the village of Reed (sometimes called Re).

Breim municipality was located to the east of Gloppen, south of Stryn and the Utvik mountains, west of the Jostedalsbreen glacier, and north of Jølster. The municipality was centered on the lake Breimsvatn. Many of the inhabitants lived on the shores of the lake or in the large river valley extending east from the lake. The main church for the municipality was Breim Church, located in Reed.

Schools

The area of Breim was divided into two school districts: Byrkjelo, with the Byrkjelo school and Reed with the Reed school. Both schools were primary schools. After 8th grade students had to travel to the Gloppen ungdomskule (secondary school) in Sandane.

History

On 1 January 1886, Gloppen Municipality was split into two municipalities: Gloppen (population: 2,970) and Breim (population: 1,823). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the small Førde farm (population: 38) at the southern end of the lake Breimsvatnet was administratively transferred to Jølster Municipality to the south. On the same date, the rest of Breim (population: 1,731) was merged (back) into Gloppen Municipality.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old name for the area (Old Norse: Breiðefni). The first element is breiðr which means "broad". The last element is efni which means "state" or "condition". Throughout the centuries, the name changed through misunderstandings and corruptions of the word and it changed to Breiheim or Breidem, where the second element of the name became like the old word heimr meaning "home". The current spelling of the name was settled upon by the 1800s.

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.

Mayors

The mayors of Breim:

Municipal council

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

See also

• List of former municipalities of Norway