Лейкангер: бывшая община в Норвегии

Former municipality in Sogn og Fjordane, Norway
the municipality in Sogn og Fjordane, Norway

Leikanger is a former municipality in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It was located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center was the village of Hermansverk, which also was the administrative center of the old Sogn og Fjordane county. The Leikanger/Hermansverk urban area had 2,144 inhabitants (2019), about 90% of the municipal population. This urban area is often called Systrond, which is why a person from Leikanger is often called Systrending. The municipality is the 342nd largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Leikanger is the 302nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,331. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 8.1% over the last decade.

Leikanger was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The original municipality was large and it was identical to the old Leikanger parish (prestegjeld) with the six sub parishes (sokn) of Leikanger, Fresvik, Rinde, Vangsnes, Tjugum, and Mundal. In 1849, the sub parishes of Vangsnes, Tjugum, and Mundal were transferred into the newly created Balestrand parish (prestegjeld). The new parish was separated from Leikanger municipality in 1850 to form the new Balestrand Municipality. This split left Leikanger with 2,368 residents. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the Hella Eitorn area (population: 31) was transferred from Balestrand back to Leikanger. Also, the Tingstad area (population: 5) was transferred to neighboring Sogndal municipality. These changes left Leikanger with 2,680 residents. On 1 January 1992, the sub parishes of Leikanger lying south of the Sognefjorden, including Feios and Fresvik (total population: 572) were transferred to the municipality of Vik. This move left Leikanger with only one sub parish: Leikanger. On 1 January 2020, Leikanger was merged with the neighboring municipalities of Balestrand and Sogndal to form a much larger municipality called Sogndal.

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Leikanger farm since the first Leikanger Church was built there. The first element is leikr which means "game", "sports", or "contest". The last element is the plural form of vangr which means "field" or "meadow". Thus it means a meadow used for sports or games. Prior to 1889, the name was written Lekanger.

The coat of arms was granted on 5 September 1963. The official blazon is "Vert, two apples on a branch with three leaves Or" (På grøn botn to gull eple på kvist med tre lauv). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is an apple tree branch with two apples and three leaves attached. The charge has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The apple tree branch is a symbol for the many orchards in the municipality and thus for the local economy. The three leaves symbolised the three parishes (Leikanger, Feios, and Fresvik) that used to make up the municipality (before two of them were transferred to Vik Municipality in 1992). The arms were designed by K. Fotland. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

While it existed, this municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment, social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. 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. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Sogn og Fjordane District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

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

Leikanger is located on the north side of the Sognefjorden and to the east of the Fjærlandsfjorden. It is bordered on the north and east by the municipality of Sogndal, on the west by Balestrand, and on the south (across the Sognefjorden) by Vik.

East of Leikanger, there are the Sognefjord Spans, three powerline spans with length over , which are currently the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th longest spans in the world. In 1955, the first Sognefjord Span was built near Leikanger. It was the longest span in the world from 1955 until 1997.