Formannskapsdistrikt

History

The establishment of self-governing municipalities in Norway was preceded by significant political strife. In the 1830s, the government attempted to decrease local self-governance. Following this, the peasants in parliament presented a radical decentralisation proposal that would have moved all local responsibilities over to new formannskap, that were to be governed by a mix of direct democracy and representative democracy. After negotiations with the government, all instances of direct democracy were removed and several responsibilities were moved to the central government. The moderated laws passed on 14 January 1837.

The introduction of self government in rural districts was a major political change. The Norwegian peasant culture that emerged came to serve as a symbol of nationalist resistance to the forced union with Sweden. The legislation of 1837 gave both the towns and the rural areas the same institutions: a minor change for the town, but a major advance for the rural communities. The significance of this legislation is hailed by a nationalistic historian, Ernst Sars: :"So great an advance in relation to the political development of the people that on that account it can almost be placed alongside the Constitution. By it the free constitution was given a broad basis to rest upon and be nourished from, and became related to the daily life and activity of the people in such a way that its principles could penetrate everywhere and be most effectively acquired... There was at that time scarcely any European state where local self-government was so well organized and so widely ramified as it became in Norway through the legislation of 1837."

In 1863, the land registration law superseded the formannsskapsdistrikt by introduction of a new designation: city municipality () and rural municipality ().

In 1936, almost a century later, a local self-government district law was enacted which created 682 rural municipalities (landkommuner) and 65 city municipalities (bykommuner) in Norway. Among the city municipalities, 43 had the status of market town () and 22 were recognized harbours for trade ( and ).

During the last half of the 20th century, the distinction between the different types of municipalities gradually vanished, and in 1995, legislation finally eliminated all distinctions.

List of districts

This is a list of the districts that were initially created on 1 January 1838. The original spellings have been used (many spellings have changed since that time. For a present list of current municipalities, see the List of municipalities of Norway.

References

References

1. (2024-06-18). "formannskapslovene". Store norske leksikon.
2. Gjerset, Knut. (1915). "History of the Norwegian People". The MacMillan Company.
3. Thorsnæs, Geir. (2024-11-25). "bykommune". Store norske leksikon.
4. Hansen, Tore. (2025-04-01). "formannskap". Store norske leksikon.
5. (2021-11-23). "Formannskapslovene av 1837".
6. Derry, T. K.. (1973). "A History of Modern Norway; 1814–1972". Clarendon Press, Oxford.
7. (1904). "Norges Historie for det norske folk". Verdens Gang.
8. Thorsnæs, Geir. (2024-11-25). "herredskommune". Store norske leksikon.
9. Derry, T. K.. (1960). "A Short History of Norway". George Allen & Unwin.
10. Store norske leksikon. "Herred".
11. (1992). "Kommune- og fylkesinndelingen i et Norge i forandring". Statens forvaltningstjeneste, Seksjon Statens trykking.