Jelsa is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1965. The area is now divided between Hjelmeland Municipality, Stavanger Municipality, and Suldal Municipality in the traditional district of Ryfylke. The administrative centre was the village of Jelsa, where Jelsa Church is located.
Prior to its dissolution in 1965, the municipality was the 392nd largest by area out of the 525 municipalities in Norway. Jelsa Municipality was the 482nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 21.7% over the previous 10-year period.
The parish of Jælse (later spelled Jelsa) was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1859, the municipality was divided in two: the northern district (population: 1,600) became the new Sand Municipality and the southern district (population: 2,606) remained as a smaller Jelsa Municipality.
On 1 January 1914, Jelsa Municipality was divided again: the eastern district (population: 617) became the new Erfjord Municipality and the western district (population: 1,539) remained as a smaller Jelsa Municipality.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, Jelsa Municipality was dissolved. The BuergÃÂ¥rdene area (population: 8) located on the island of Ombo was moved from Jelsa Municipality to Hjelmeland Municipality, and the rest of Jelsa Municipality located on the island of Ombo (population: 89) was transferred to Finnøy Municipality. On the same date, the rest of Jelsa Municipality was merged with the following areas were merged to form a new, larger Suldal Municipality:
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Jelsa farm () since the first Jelsa Church was built there. The meaning of the name is uncertain, but it is probably the old name for the Jelsafjorden. It is possible that the name comes from the word which means "noise". Another possibility is that it comes from the Shetland word which means "scream" or "screech" (particularly referring to the noise a seagull makes). Historically, the name was spelled Jælse.
The Church of Norway had one parish () within Jelsa Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Jelsa prestegjeld and the Ryfylke prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger.
The municipality was located along the Sandsfjorden including land on the Ropeid peninsula and on the mainland. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Grytenuten, a tripoint on the border of Imsland Municipality, Vikedal Municipality, and Jelsa Municipality. Imsland Municipality was located to the north, Sand Municipality was located to the northeast, Erfjord Municipality was located to the southeast, Hjelmeland Municipality was located to the south, Sjernarøy Municipality was located to the southwest, Nedstrand Municipality was located to the west, and Vikedal Municipality was located to the northwest.
While it existed, Jelsa Municipality was 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 was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Ryfylke District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.
The municipal council of Jelsa Municipality was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.