Etne is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland, although it is also sometimes considered to be part of the district of Haugaland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Etnesjøen. Other villages in the municipality include Skånevik and Fjæra. The two largest villages in the municipality are Etnesjøen with 1,159 residents and Skånevik with 594 residents. The municipality is the 154th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Etne is the 200th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 4,062. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 4.6% over the previous 10-year period. Etne is situated south of the city ofBergen and it borders the municipalities of Kvinnherad, Ullensvang, Sauda, Suldal, and Vindafjord, the latter three are located in the neighboring county of Rogaland. A Norwegian motion picture called United was shot in Etne with local people as actors.
General information
Etne was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. Originally, Etne encompassed the area around the Etnefjorden and the surrounding valleys. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the neighboring municipality of Skånevik was dissolved and merged into its neighboring municipalities. All of Skånevik located south of the Åkrafjorden and east of the village of Åkra on the north side of the fjord was merged into Etne.
Name
The municipality is named after the Etnefjorden. The fjord is probably named after an old river name Etna.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 16 December 1983. The arms are blue on the left and silver/white on the right with a dovetailed line vertically down the middle. They represent the strong unity between the two former municipalities of Skånevik and Etne that were joined together to form one municipality in 1965.
Etne is situated south of the city of Bergen and it borders the municipalities of Kvinnherad and Ullensvang in Vestland county and the municipalities of Sauda, Suldal, and Vindafjord in Rogaland county. Etne has a varied landscape, extending from the Etnefjorden, Skånevikfjorden, and Åkrafjorden at sea level, through the villages up to the high mountains. In the far north, there is a barren and heavily eroded mountain glacier, Folgefonna, where the municipality's highest point rises above sea level. Folgefonna National Park is partially located in Etne. In addition to that national park, Etne has three nature reserves: Brattholmen, Skåno, and Langebudalen. Lakes in the area include Løkjelsvatnet. The famous waterfall Langfossen is located in northern Etne.
History
Recent archeological findings indicate that the area was already inhabited around 500 BC.
