Gulen
ⓘ is a municipality in the western part of Vestland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Eivindvik. Other villages in Gulen include Brekke, Byrknes, Dalsøyra, Dingja, Instefjord, Mjømna, Rutledal, and Ytre Oppedal.
Gulen Municipality
Gulen kommune | |
|---|---|
| Evindvig herred (historic name) | |
View of Eivindvik (photo: Bjarne Thune) | |
|
Flag | |
Vestland within Norway | |
Gulen within Vestland | |
| Coordinates: 61°01′27″N 05°07′10″E | |
| Country | Norway |
| County | Vestland |
| District | Sogn |
| Established | 1 Jan 1838 |
| • Created as | Formannskapsdistrikt |
| Administrative centre | Eivindvik |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2023) | May-Lynn Osland (Ap) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 599.42 km2 (231.44 sq mi) |
| • Land | 577.11 km2 (222.82 sq mi) |
| • Water | 22.31 km2 (8.61 sq mi) 3.7% |
| • Rank | #190 in Norway |
| Population (2023) | |
| • Total | 2,228 |
| • Rank | #265 in Norway |
| • Density | 3.9/km2 (10/sq mi) |
| • Change (10 years) | −3.3% |
| Demonym | Guling |
| Official language | |
| • Norwegian form | Nynorsk |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| ISO 3166 code | NO-4635 |
| Website | Official website |
The municipality of Gulen sits to the south of the Sognefjorden and it surrounds the Gulafjorden, which is considered to be the place where Norway's west-coastal Vikings met for the Gulating, a governing body. The area along the Gulafjorden called Flolid (just east of the village of Eivindvik) is now a national historic place, where an open-air theater and annual summer play commemorates the Vikings who gathered there 1000 years ago to accept Christianity.
The 599-square-kilometre (231 sq mi) municipality is the 190th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Gulen is the 265th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,228. The municipality's population density is 3.9 inhabitants per square kilometre (10/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 3.3% over the previous 10-year period.
In 2016, the chief of police for Vestlandet formally suggested a reconfiguration of police districts and stations. He proposed that the police station in Gulen be closed.