Editing Odda (section)

==General information==
[[File:Odda norge.jpg|thumb|left|View of some houses in Odda]]
[[File:Trolltunga 2.jpg|thumb|left|[[Trolltunga]] cliff]]
[[File:Røldal Stave Church.jpg|thumb|left|View of [[Røldal Stave Church]]]]
The municipality of Odda was established on 1 July 1913 when the southern district of [[Ullensvang]] was separated out to form its own municipality. Initially, Odda had 3,077 residents. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the [[Schei Committee]]. On 1 January 1964, the neighboring municipality of [[Røldal (municipality)|Røldal]] (population: 676) was merged into Odda, bringing the total population of the new municipality to 10,163 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>

On 1 January 2020, the three neighboring municipalities of [[Jondal]], Odda, and [[Ullensvang]] were merged. The new municipality is called ''Ullensvang'' and its [[administrative centre]] is the town of [[Odda (town)|Odda]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ullensvang kommune - den nye kommune i Hardanger |url=http://ullensvang.kommune.no/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203100555/https://ullensvang.kommune.no/ |archive-date=2020-02-03 |access-date=2017-10-24 |language=no}}</ref>

===Name===
The municipality (originally the [[prestegjeld|parish]]) is named after the old ''[[Odda (town)|Odda]]'' farm ({{langx|non|Oddi}}) since the first [[Odda Church]] was built there. The name is identical with the word {{wikt-lang|non|oddi}} which means "[[headland]]".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rygh |first=Oluf |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ud5LAQAAIAAJ |title=Norske gaardnavne: Søndre Bergenhus amt |date=1910 |publisher=W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri |edition=11 |location=Kristiania, Norge |page=443 |language=no |authorlink=Oluf Rygh}}</ref>

===Coat of arms===
The [[coat of arms]] was granted on 8 October 1982 and it was in use until 1 January 2020 when the municipality was dissolved. The official [[blazon]] is ''"[[Azure (heraldry)|Azure]], an arrowhead [[argent]]"'' ({{langx|no|På blå grunn ein opprett sølv pilodd}}). This means the arms have a blue [[field (heraldry)|field]] (background) and the [[charge (heraldry)|charge]] is an [[arrowhead]] ({{langx|no|pilodd}}) that is pointing upwards. The arrowhead has a [[tincture (heraldry)|tincture]] of [[argent]] which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The arms are somewhat [[canting arms]] since the name of the municipality means [[headland]] or point. However, the arrowhead was also chosen because it symbolises power and movement. This is seen as reflecting the strength of will of the community and also the production of hydroelectric power and the important industries based on it. The colors are interpreted as representing the white of the [[Folgefonna]] glacier and the snowcapped mountains surrounding Odda and the blue of the fjord cutting deep into the landscape to reach the municipality. The arms were designed by [[Hallvard Trætteberg]]. 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=Odda |access-date=2023-06-28 |publisher=Heraldry of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Odda, Hordaland (Norway) |url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/no-12-28.html |access-date=2023-06-28 |website=Flags of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1982-12-04 |title=Godkjenning av våpen og flagg |url=https://lovdata.no/dokument/LFO/forskrift/1982-10-08-1506 |access-date=2023-06-28 |website=Lovdata.no |publisher=Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet |language=no}}</ref>

===Churches===
The [[Church of Norway]] had four parishes ({{lang|no|sokn}}) within the municipality of Odda. It is part of the [[Hardanger og Voss prosti]] ([[deanery]]) in the [[Diocese of Bjørgvin]].

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ style="font-size:medium"|'''''Churches in Odda'''''
!Parish ({{lang|no|sokn}})!!Church name!!Location of the church!!Year built
|-
|Odda||[[Odda Church]]||[[Odda (town)|Odda]]||1870
|-
|Røldal||[[Røldal Stave Church]]||[[Røldal]]||c. 1250
|-
|Skare||[[Skare Church]]||[[Skare]]||1926
|-
|Tyssedal||[[Tyssedal Church]]||[[Tyssedal]]||1965
|}