Editing Leikanger (section)

==General information==
[[File:Systrond.JPG|thumb|left|View of Systrond]]
[[File:Kvinnafossen.jpg|thumb|left|View of the Kvinnafossen in western Leikanger]]
[[File:Skagasete.jpg|thumb|left|View of a small mountain farm]]
Leikanger was established as a [[List of municipalities of Norway|municipality]] on 1 January 1838 (see [[formannskapsdistrikt]] law). The original municipality was large and it was identical to the old Leikanger [[Church of Norway|parish]] ''([[prestegjeld]])'' with the six sub-parishes ({{lang|no|sokn}}) of Leikanger, [[Fresvik]], [[Feios|Rinde]], [[Vangsnes]], [[Tjugum]], and [[Fjærland|Mundal]]. In 1849, the sub-parishes of Vangsnes, Tjugum, and Mundal were transferred into the newly created [[Balestrand]] parish ''(prestegjeld)''. The new parish was separated from Leikanger municipality in 1850 to form the new [[Balestrand Municipality]]. This split left Leikanger with 2,368 residents.<ref name="Dag">{{Cite book |last=Jukvam |first=Dag |year=1999 |title=Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen |url=http://www.ssb.no/emner/00/90/rapp_9913/rapp_9913.pdf |publisher=[[Statistics Norway|Statistisk sentralbyrå]] |language=no |isbn=9788253746845}}</ref>

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the [[Schei Committee]]. On 1 January 1964, the Hella-Eitorn area (population: 31) was transferred from [[Balestrand]] back to Leikanger. Also, the Tingstad area (population: 5) was transferred to neighboring [[Sogndal]] municipality. These changes left Leikanger with 2,680 residents. On 1 January 1992, the sub-parishes of Leikanger lying south of the [[Sognefjorden]], including [[Feios]] and [[Fresvik]] (total population: 572) were transferred to the municipality of [[Vik, Sogn|Vik]]. This move left Leikanger with only one sub-parish: Leikanger.<ref name="Dag" /><ref name="em">{{Cite web |last=Natvik |first=Oddvar |date=9 February 2005 |title=Some historical data on the 26 Kommunes |url=http://www.emigration.no/sff/emigration3.nsf/0/326D0346278A5909C1256F570048962C?OpenDocument |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080613141425/http://www.emigration.no/sff/emigration3.nsf/0/326D0346278A5909C1256F570048962C?OpenDocument |archive-date=13 June 2008 |access-date=23 June 2008}}</ref>

On 1 January 2020, Leikanger was merged with the neighboring municipalities of [[Balestrand]] and [[Sogndal]] to form a much larger municipality called Sogndal.

===Name===
The municipality (originally the [[prestegjeld|parish]]) is named after the old ''[[Leikanger (village)|Leikanger]]'' farm ({{langx|non|Leikvangir}}) since the first [[Leikanger Church]] was built there. The first element is {{wikt-lang|non|leikr}} which means "[[game]]", "[[Sport|sports]]", or "contest". The last element is the plural form of {{wikt-lang|non|vangr}} which means "[[Field (agriculture)|field]]" or "[[meadow]]". Thus it means a meadow used for sports or games. Prior to 1889, the name was written ''Lekanger''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rygh |first=Oluf |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lN1LAQAAIAAJ |title=Norske gaardnavne: Nordre Bergenhus amt |date=1919 |publisher=W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri |edition=12 |location=Kristiania, Norge |page=124 |language=no |authorlink=Oluf Rygh}}</ref>

===Coat of arms===
The [[coat of arms]] was granted on 5 September 1963. The official [[blazon]] is ''"[[Vert (heraldry)|Vert]], two apples on a branch with three leaves [[Or (heraldry)|Or]]"'' ({{langx|no|På grøn botn to gull eple på kvist med tre lauv}}). This means the arms have a green [[field (heraldry)|field]] (background) and the [[charge (heraldry)|charge]] is an [[Apple|apple tree]] branch with two apples and three leaves attached. The charge has a [[tincture (heraldry)|tincture]] of [[Or (heraldry)|Or]] which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The apple tree branch is a symbol for the many orchards in the municipality and thus for the local economy. The three leaves symbolised the three parishes (Leikanger, Feios, and Fresvik) that used to make up the municipality (before two of them were transferred to [[Vik, Sogn|Vik Municipality]] in 1992). The arms were designed by K. Fotland. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen |url=https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Leikanger |access-date=2023-06-20 |publisher=Heraldry of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Leikanger, Sogn og Fjordane (Norway) |url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/no-14-19.html |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=Flags of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1963-09-05 |title=Godkjenning av våpen og flagg |url=https://lovdata.no/dokument/LFO/forskrift/1963-09-05-10 |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=Lovdata.no |publisher=Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet |language=no}}</ref> 

===Churches===
The [[Church of Norway]] had one parish ({{lang|no|sokn}}) within the municipality of Leikanger. It was part of the [[Sogn prosti]] ([[deanery]]) in the [[Diocese of Bjørgvin]].

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ style="font-size:medium"|'''''Churches in Leikanger'''''
!Parish ({{lang|no|sokn}})!!Church name!!Location of the church!!Year built
|-
|Leikanger||[[Leikanger Church]]||[[Leikanger (village)|Leikanger]]||1166
|}