Gaular Municipality

Gaular Municipality
Gaular kommune
Indre Holmedal herred  (historic name)
View of the Brekkefossen waterfall
Sogn og Fjordane within Norway
Gaular within Sogn og Fjordane
Coordinates: 61°20′02″N 05°47′20″E / 61.33389°N 5.78889°E / 61.33389; 5.78889
CountryNorway
CountySogn og Fjordane
DistrictSunnfjord
Established1 Jan 1838
 • Created asFormannskapsdistrikt
Disestablished1 Jan 2020
 • Succeeded bySunnfjord Municipality
Administrative centreSande
Government
 • Mayor (2011–2019)Mathias Råheim (H)
Area
 (upon dissolution)
 • Total
581.81 km2 (224.64 sq mi)
 • Land539.56 km2 (208.33 sq mi)
 • Water42.25 km2 (16.31 sq mi)  7.3%
 • Rank#191 in Norway
Highest elevation
1,359 m (4,459 ft)
Population
 (2019)
 • Total
3,027
 • Rank#263 in Norway
 • Density5.2/km2 (13/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
 +9.8%
DemonymGaulværing
Official language
 • Norwegian formNynorsk
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-1430

Gaular is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The 582-square-kilometre (225 sq mi) municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020. The area is now part of Sunnfjord Municipality in the traditional district of Sunnfjord in Vestland county. The administrative centre was the village of Sande. Other villages in the municipality included Bygstad, Hestad, and Vik. Gaular was sometimes referred to as Fosselandet (the land of the waterfalls) because it was home to 28 large and small waterfalls. The municipality was centered on the river Gaula.

Prior to its dissolution in 2020, the 581.81-square-kilometre (224.64 sq mi) municipality was the 191st largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Gaular Municipality was the 263rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 3,027. The municipality's population density was 5.2 inhabitants per square kilometre (13/sq mi) and its population had increased by 9.8% 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 Gaular be closed.