Gloppen is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sandane.
Gloppen Municipality is generally subdivided into three areas: Hyen in the west, Gloppen in the center, and Breim in the east. Each of the areas have their own main service centres. Sandane, the administrative centre of the municipality, is the largest with about 2,500 inhabitants. Sandane, Vereide, and Sørstranda are centered on the Gloppefjorden in Gloppen in the central part of the municipality. The villages of Byrkjelo, Re, Kandal, and Egge are centered on the lake Breimsvatnet in the Breim area in the east. The villages of Hyen, Eimhjellen, and Solheim are located around the Hyefjorden in Hyen in the west.
The municipality is the 112th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Gloppen Municipality is the 165th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 5,936. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 4.1% over the previous 10-year period.
The whole municipality sits on the southern side of the large Nordfjorden. The European route E39 highway runs through the municipality before crossing the Nordfjorden on a car ferry. The Sandane Airport, Anda is located along the E39 highway, just north of Vereide.
The parish of Gloppen was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The original municipality included the sub-parishes () of Gimmestad, Breim, and Vereide. On 1 January 1886, Gloppen Municipality was divided. The eastern part of the municipality (population: 1,823) was separated to form the new Breim Municipality. This left Gloppen Municipality with 2,970 residents.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Breim Municipality (population: 1,731) was merged back into Gloppen Municipality. After the merger, the population of Gloppen Municipality was 5,702. On 1 January 1965, the Hoplandsgrenda area (population: 42) of Gloppen Municipality (on the northern shore of the Nordfjorden) was transferred to neighboring Stryn Municipality. On 1 January 1992, the Lote area of Gloppen Municipality (also on the north side of the Nordfjorden) was transferred to Eid Municipality. The remaining land of Gloppen Municipality was then only located south of the Nordfjorden.
Historically, this municipality was part of the old Sogn og Fjordane county. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became a part of the newly-formed Vestland county (after Hordaland and Sogn og Fjordane counties were merged).
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the local Gloppefjorden () since it is one of the central geographical features of the municipality. The name is probably derived from the word which means "narrow opening" or "mountain gorge".
The coat of arms was granted on 19 December 1986. The official blazon is "Azure, a horse passant argent" (). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a fjord horse. The horse has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The design depicts the Norwegian fjord horse which is a relatively small, but very strong, horse breed from the mountainous regions of Western Norway. The arms were designed by Petter Eide. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.
The Church of Norway has four parishes () within Gloppen Municipality. It is part of the Nordfjord prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.
Gloppen Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Sogn og Fjordane District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.
The municipal council of Gloppen Municipality is made up of 27 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
The mayor () of Gloppen Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position:
The municipality is located southern shores of the Nordfjorden. To the north is Stad Municipality, to the east is Stryn Municipality, to the south is Sunnfjord Municipality, and to the west is Kinn Municipality and Bremanger Municipality. There are two fjords that branch off the main fjord into Gloppen: Hyefjorden and Gloppefjorden.
Gloppen has a natural landscape with virtually unspoiled nature ranging from sea level up to high-alpine mountains of some height. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Snønipa, located at the Myklebustbreen glacier. The lakes Breimsvatnet and Eimhjellevatnet are, respectively, the first and second largest lakes in Gloppen. There are also some large glaciers such as àlfotbreen, Gjegnalundsbreen, and Myklebustbreen. The river Gloppeelva runs from the lake Breimsvatnet to the Gloppefjorden.
Gloppen has a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb in the Köppen climate classification), also known as a marine west coast climate. The wettest season is autumn and winter, with December as the wettest month. The driest season is April - August. The driest month May gets about a third of the average precipitation in December. The average date for the last overnight freeze (low below ) in spring is 27 April and average date for first freeze in autumn is 15 October giving a frost-free season of 170 days (1981-2010 average). In January 1987, Sandane recorded a low of ), and June 2020 recorded a high of ). In October 2005, Sandane recorded ), which was new October record for Vestland province. The Sandane weather station started recording in June 1957. There is also a weather station at Sandane Airport, showing similar temperatures. Up on the àlfotbreen glacier, partly in the municipality, precipitation is estimated to be around annually.
The dominant trades and industries in Gloppen are agriculture and farming. The Firda Upper Secondary School is located in Sandane. The municipal centre Sandane was also home to a college of secondary education and a branch of Sogn og Fjordane University College which specialized in music therapy (this school closed in 2005).
Gloppen Municipality is the site of Karnils tumulus burial mound () from the Old Norse word haugr meaning mound or barrow. Karnilshaugen or Tinghaugen pÃÂ¥ Hauge is located on the Hauge farm west of Sandane. Karnilshaugen is probably one of the ten largest mounds in Nordfjord. The burial mound was built on top of Tinghaug, the site of a Thing (assembly). Tinghaug was a place of public gathering, for cultural events and religious actions.