luster

Luster, Norway

Luster (spelled Lyster before 1918) is a municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative centre is Gaupne.

Luster centers around the inner branch of the Sognefjord, which is called the Lustrafjord. Luster is one of the largest municipalities by area in all of southern Norway. It is a fascinating part of Norway with breathtaking fjords, steep mountains, water-abundant waterfalls, blue glaciers, and luxuriant valleys.

General information

Name

The name (Old Norse Lústr) originally belonged to the fjord (now Lustrafjorden). The name was derived from the word ljóss which means "light" or "bright" - referring to the bright color of the water from the glaciers. Until 1917 the name was written Lyster.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from 1990, but is inspired by an old woodcarving from the Urnes stave church. It shows a rounded tilia twig.

Background

Lyster was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The original municipality was identical to the Lyster parish (prestegjeld) with the sub-parishes (sokn) of Fortun, Dale, Nes, and Gaupne. In 1917, Lyster was re-named Luster.

On 1 January 1963, the neighboring municipalities of Hafslo and Jostedal were merged with Luster. After the merger, Luster had 5,854 residents.

Since the consolidation of the three municipalities of Hafslo, Jostedal and Luster in 1963, the area has been characterized by scattered rural settlements and large distances between these settlements. Luster is the largest municipality in Sogn og Fjordane county.

Churches

The Church of Norway has 12 churches within the municipality of Aurland. It is part of the Diocese of Bjørgvin and the Rural Deanery (Prosti) of Indre Sogn.

Churches in Luster
Parish (Prestegjeld)	Sub-Parish (Sogn)	Church Name	Year Built	Location of the Church
Hafslo Parish	Hafslo	Hafslo kyrkje	1878	Hafslo
	Hafslo	Veitastrond kapell	1928	Veitastrond
	Solvorn	Solvorn kyrkje	1883	Solvorn
	Solvorn	Urnes stavkyrkje	1130	Urnes
Jostedal Parish	Fet og Joranger	Fet kyrkje	1894	Fet
	Fet og Joranger	Joranger kyrkje	1660	Joranger
	Gaupne	Gaupne kyrkje	1908	Gaupne
	Gaupne	Gaupne gamle kyrkje	1647	Gaupne
	Jostedal	Jostedal kyrkje	1660	Jostedal
Luster Parish	Dale	Dale kyrkje	1250	Luster
	Fortun	Fortun kyrkje	1879	Fortun
	Nes	Nes kyrkje	1909	Nes

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Luster, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Luster is made up of 29 representatives that are elected to every four years. For 2007–2011, the party breakdown is as follows:

Mayor

The mayor (ordførar) of a municipality in Norway is usually a representative of the majority party of the municipal council who is elected to lead the council. Torodd Urnes of the Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) was re-elected mayor for the 2007-2011 term.

Geography

Location

Luster, one of the largest municipalities in southern Norway, is located in the glacial mountains where the Sognefjord begins its path to the North Sea. The fjord is fed by many large glaciers such as the Nigard glacier, Bergset glacier, Austerdal glacier and Fåbergstøl glacier.

It is bordered by five municipalities in Sogn og Fjordane county: Stryn to the north, Jølster and Balestrand to the west, and by Sogndal and Årdal to the south. It is also bordered by three municipalities in Oppland county: Skjåk to the northeast and by Lom and Vang to the east.

Mountains

Store Skagastølstind (or Storen) is the third highest mountain peak in Norway at 2,405 meters (7,890 feet) high. It is located on the southern border of Luster and Årdal. It is part of the Hurrungane mountain range which contains some of the most alpine peaks in Norway. There are many beautiful lakes (such as Veitastrondsvatnet, Austdalsvatnet, Tunsbergdalvatnet, and Hafslovatnet) as well as many big waterfalls such as the Feigumfoss waterfall (218 meters tall).

Jostedalsbreen Glacier and Nigardsbreen, is the biggest glacier in continental Europe. It is located in Jostedal nearby Gaupne in the Jostedalsbreen National Park, much of which is located in the municipality of Luster.

Mountains of Luster over 2000 meters
Mountain	Height	Mountain	Height
Store Skagastølstind	2405 metres	Store Ringstind	2124 metres
Jervvasstind	2351 metres	Tverrådalskyrkja	2088 metres
Store Raudalseggi	2168 metres	Lodalskåpa	2083 metres
Store Raudalstind	2157 metres	Store Soleiebotntind	2083 metres
Uranostind	2157 metres	Søre Dyrhaugstind	2072 metres
Store Dyrhaugstind	2147 metres	Fannaråken	2068 metres
Mjølkedalstind	2137 metres	Stetind i Jotunheimen	2020 metres

Economy

The inhabitants of Luster make their living by farming, growing berries and fruit, tourism, and Hydroelectricity. Jøstedal and Fortun have large hydroelectric power stations. Summer tourism is quite busy. Tourist activities include mountain climbing, skiing, fishing, hiking, and hunting.

Attractions

Feigumfoss waterfall

With a vertical drop of 218 meters, the Feigumfoss Waterfall is one of the highest in Scandinavia.

Historic churches

Urnes stave church

Urnes stave church was built around 1150 and is Norway's oldest Stave church. The Church lies majestically on the top of Urnes. The Stave church is one of four Norwegian Churches on UNESCO`s list of the most precious cultural monuments in the world.

The Stave churches are constructions of high quality, richly decorated with carvings. In virtually all of them the door frames are decorated from top to bottom with carvings. This tradition of rich ornamentation appears to go back to the animal carvings of the Viking age. The dragons are lovingly executed and transformed into long-limbed creatures of fantasy, here and there entwined with tendrils of vine, with winding stems and serrated leaves. The elaborate designs are executed with supreme artistic skill. The stave church doorways are, therefore, among the most distinctive works of art to be found in Norway. However, it is difficult to connect them with the Christian gospel.

Gaupne old church

This magnificent church was built in 1647 on a hill directly opposite Gaupne centre.

Dale church

This church is a stone church that was built in gothic style in the year 1250.

Breheim center

The Breheim center contains a comprehensive exhibition. A journey through 20,000 years - from the Ice age to the present day, an audio/visual show takes visitors inside the glacier. Glacier boat M/S "Jostedalsrypa" crosses the Nigard Glacier Lake. There are internationally approved guides, glacier and climbing courses, and ski-trips.