Nærbø (municipality)

Nærbø is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Nærbø where the Old Nærbø Church is located. The municipality was located in the district of Jæren inside the northern part of the present-day municipality of Hå. The municipality existed from 1894 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality of Nærbø was established in 1894 when the old municipality of Hå was split in half into Varhaug and Nærbø. Initially, Nærbø had 1,806 residents. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the three neighboring municipalities of Nærbø (population: 3,926), Varhaug (population: 3,454), and Ogna (population: 1,470) were merged to form the new Hå Municipality (resurrecting the name of the old municipality that was dissolved in 1894). The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Nærbø farm (Neðribœr) since the Old Nærbø Church was built there. The first element is neðri which means "lower". The last element is bœr which means "farm" or "farmstead". While it existed, this municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment, social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Nærbø was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms.