The municipality of Vaksdal was created on 1 January 1964 after a major municipal restructuring after the Schei Committee's recommendations. Vaksdal was formed from the following places:
The rest of the Eksingedalen valley that was located in the municipality of Modalen
Name
The municipality was named after the village of Vaksdal, one of the main villages in the municipality. The Old Norse form of the name was probably Vágsdalr. The first element is the genitive case of vágr which means "bay" and the last element is dalr which means "valley" or "dale". Alternately, the first part of the name could be derived from a local river name spelled Vaxa or Veksa which would mean the valley of the river Vaxa/Veksa.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 16 November 1990. It shows three black shuttles for weaving on a yellow background. The shuttles were chosen to represent the textile industry of the municipality. The Dale of Norway company is based here and it is an international company renowned for its wool sweaters.
The municipality is mountainous, and stretches along both sides of the Veafjorden with adjacent valleys. It includes part of the island Osterøy. The Kallestadsundet Bridge connects the mainland of Vaksdal to the island of Osterøy. In the north, it includes the valleys of Eksingedalen and Bergsdalen, with its borders extending into the mountains. Major lakes in the municipality include Askjelldalsvatnet and Skjerjavatnet. The main centers of population are Dale, Vaksdal, and Stanghelle. Dale and Vaksdal are industrial villages that arose around factories utilising the hydro-electric power resources provided by the mountainous terrain and rainy climate. The Bergensbanenrailway line between Norway's two largest cities Oslo and Bergen, and the main road between the same two cities, European route E16, run through Vaksdal municipality. The Bergensbanen railway line has the following stations in Vaksdal: Bogegrend Station, Dale Station, Stanghelle Station, and Vaksdal Station
History
Vaksdal was created as a new municipality on 1 January 1964 after the merger of parts of Bruvik, Evanger, and Modalen municipalities. During the German invasion of Norway during World War II, from 19 April to 24 April, there was heavy fighting within the borders of the present municipality, with German forces advancing along the railway line from Bergen towards Voss. The heaviest fighting was for the village of Vaksdal itself, from 19 to 23 April. Further fighting took place at Stanghelle and Dalseid on 23 and 24 April. Three Norwegian soldiers and one civilian, and a larger, but unknown, number of German soldiers fell in Vaksdal.
The municipal council of Vaksdal is made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:
