Odda Municipality

Odda Municipality
Odda kommune
View of the town of Odda
Hordaland within Norway
Odda within Hordaland
Coordinates: 60°04′00″N 06°32′46″E / 60.06667°N 6.54611°E / 60.06667; 6.54611
CountryNorway
CountyHordaland
DistrictHardanger
Established1 July 1913
 • Preceded byUllensvang Municipality
Disestablished1 Jan 2020
 • Succeeded byUllensvang Municipality
Administrative centreOdda
Government
 • Mayor (2015–2019)Roald Aga Haug (Ap)
Area
 (upon dissolution)
 • Total
1,615.89 km2 (623.90 sq mi)
 • Land1,475.43 km2 (569.67 sq mi)
 • Water140.46 km2 (54.23 sq mi)  8.7%
 • Rank#42 in Norway
Highest elevation
1,721.2 m (5,647 ft)
Population
 (2019)
 • Total
6,745
 • Rank#157 in Norway
 • Density4.2/km2 (11/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
 −4.4%
DemonymOdding
Official language
 • Norwegian formNeutral
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-1228

Odda (pronunciation) is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The 1,615.89-square-kilometre (623.90 sq mi) municipality existed from 1913 until its dissolution in 2020. The area is now part of Ullensvang Municipality in the traditional district of Hardanger in Vestland county. The administrative centre was the town of Odda, which was also the main commercial and economic centre of the entire Hardanger region. Other villages in the municipality included Botnen, Eitrheim, Håra, Røldal, Seljestad, Skare, and Tyssedal.

Prior to its dissolution in 2020, the 1,615.89-square-kilometre (623.90 sq mi) municipality was the 42nd largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Odda Municipality was the 157th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 6,745. The municipality's population density was 4.2 inhabitants per square kilometre (11/sq mi) and its population had decreased by 4.4% over the previous 10-year period.

It was located in southeastern Hordaland county, surrounding the southern end of the Sørfjorden. In 1927, Erling Johnson, working at Odda Smelteverk, invented a process to produce three-component, NPK fertilizers. This process is now known as the Odda process.