Vikebygd is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1902 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now divided between Sveio Municipality (in Vestland county) and Vindafjord Municipality (in Rogaland county) in the traditional district of Sunnhordland in Vestland county. The administrative centre was the village of Vikebygd.
Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the municipality was the 518th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Vikebygd Municipality was the 602nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 7.6% over the previous 10-year period.
Historically, the parish of Vikebygd was a part of the old Fjeldberg Municipality. In 1865, Vikebygd parish became a part of the new Sveen Municipality. On 1 January 1902, Sveen Municipality was divided as follows: the eastern part (population: 1,092) became the new Vikebygd Municipality and the western part (population: 1,977) remained as a smaller Sveen Municipality.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Vikebygd Municipality of Vikebygd was dissolved and its lands were divided:
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Vik farm (). The first element is the plural genitive case which means "bay" or "cove". The last element was added as a suffix. It comes from the word which means "settlement" or "inhabited area".
The Church of Norway had two parishes () within Vikebygd Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Sveio prestegjeld and the Søndre Sunnhordland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.
It was located along the eastern and western shores of the ÃÂ lfjorden, a small branch off the main Hardangerfjorden. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Trollafjellet. Valestrand Municipality was located to the northwest, ÃÂlen Municipality was located to the east, Vats Municipality was located to the southeast, Skjold Municipality was located to the southwest, and Sveio Municipality was located to the west.
While it existed, Vikebygd 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 Sunnhordland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.
The municipal council of Vikebygd 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.
The mayor () of Vikebygd Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position: