Editing Voss (section)

==Municipal history==
[[File:Skulestadmo.jpg|thumb|left|View of the Skulestadmo area]]
The [[prestegjeld|parish]] of Voss was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see [[formannskapsdistrikt]] law). On 1 January 1867, a small area in northern Voss (population 28) was transferred to the municipality of [[Hosanger]]. On 1 January 1868, the municipality's northern district (population 2,009) was separated to form the new municipality of [[Vossestrand]]. This left 7,592 residents in Voss. On 21 August 1868, an unpopulated area of northern Voss was transferred to Vossestrand. On 1 January 1885, the western district of Voss (population 2,045) was separated to form the new municipality of [[Evanger]]. This left Voss with 5,403 residents.<ref name="Dag" />

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the [[Schei Committee]]. On 1 January 1964, the municipality of Voss (population 10,575), the municipality of [[Vossestrand]] (population 1,573), and most of the municipality of [[Evanger]] (population 1,075) were all merged into a new, larger municipality of Voss. (The rest of Evanger was merged into the new municipality of [[Vaksdal]].)<ref name="Dag">{{Cite book |last=Jukvam |first=Dag |url=http://www.ssb.no/emner/00/90/rapp_9913/rapp_9913.pdf |title=Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen |publisher=[[Statistics Norway|Statistisk sentralbyrå]] |year=1999 |isbn=9788253746845 |language=no}}</ref>

On 1 January 2020, the neighboring municipality of [[Granvin]] merged with Voss, creating a larger Voss municipality. Before the merger, it was known as ''Voss kommune'', but afterward it was called ''Voss herad'', using the title ''herad'' which Granvin formerly had used.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ein ny kommune |url=http://vossherad.no/nyevoss/innbyggjar/ein-ny-kommune |access-date=2017-10-24 |language=no}}</ref>

===Name===
The municipality (originally the [[prestegjeld|parish]]) is named after the [[Traditional districts of Norway|traditional district]] of ''Voss'' ({{langx|non|Vǫrs}}).  The name is likely derived from the word {{lang|non|vǫrr}} which means "water" (likely the old district name was originally used as the name for the lake [[Vangsvatnet]].<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=527 |language=no |authorlink=Oluf Rygh}}</ref>

===Coat of arms===
[[File:Voss komm.svg|thumb|left|100px|Arms from 1977 to 2019]]
[[File:Voss herad.svg|thumb|left|100px|Current arms since 2020]]
The original [[coat of arms]] was granted on 8 July 1977 and was in use until 1 January 2020, when the municipality was enlarged. The official [[blazon]] is ''"[[Gules (heraldry)|Gules]], a deer stag [[argent]]"'' ({{langx|no|På raud grunn ein opprett kvit hjort}}). This means the arms have a red [[field (heraldry)|field]] (background) and the [[charge (heraldry)|charge]] is a deer [[stag]] with antlers. The charge 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 based on the seal of Peter, who was the owner of the farm ''Finne'' in Voss, one of the largest farms in [[Western Norway]] during the [[Middle Ages]]. He used a silver deer on a red background as his personal coat of arms in 1303. His son also used a deer on his seals, as did most of their relatives until 1460. The shape and position of the deer varied, but it always was the main figure. The arms were designed by [[Hallvard Trætteberg]]. The municipal flag was nearly the same design as the coat of arms, the main difference was the placement of the deer legs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen |url=https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Voss |access-date=2023-05-20 |publisher=Heraldry of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Voss, Hordaland |url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/no-12-35.html |access-date=2023-05-20 |website=Flags of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Voss kommune, flagg |url=https://foto.digitalarkivet.no/fotoweb/archives/5003-Kommunev%C3%A5pen/Kart%20og%20tegninger%20og%20segl/he10081205030671.tif.info#c=%2Ffotoweb%2Farchives%2F5003-Kommunev%25C3%25A5pen%2F%3Fq%3Dvoss |access-date=2023-05-21 |website=Digitalarkivet |publisher=Arkivverket |language=no}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=NAME kommune, våpen |url=https://foto.digitalarkivet.no/fotoweb/archives/5003-Kommunev%C3%A5pen/Kart%20og%20tegninger%20og%20segl/he10081205030670.tif.info#c=%2Ffotoweb%2Farchives%2F5003-Kommunev%25C3%25A5pen%2F%3Fq%3Dvoss |access-date=2023-05-21 |website=Digitalarkivet |publisher=Arkivverket |language=no}}</ref>

A new [[coat of arms]] was granted in 2019 for use starting on 1 January 2020 after the merger of Voss and [[Granvin]]. The decision was made to blend the old municipalities' previous arms, so the design from Granvin and the colors from Voss were chosen for the new arms. The official [[blazon]] is ''"[[Gules]], a fiddle [[argent]] in [[bend sinister]]"'' ({{langx|no|På raud grunn ei sølv fele, skråstilt venstre-høgre}}). This means the arms have a red [[field (heraldry)|field]] (background) and the [[charge (heraldry)|charge]] is a [[Hardingfele|hardanger fiddle]] ({{langx|no|Hardingfele}}), a Norwegian folk instrument. The fiddle has a tincture of argent. The area has an active [[Music of Norway|folk-music tradition]]. The arms were designed by Øyvind Kvamme. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Voss herad, våpen |url=https://foto.digitalarkivet.no/fotoweb/archives/5003-Kommunev%C3%A5pen/Kart%20og%20tegninger%20og%20segl/VossHerad_kommunev%C3%A5pen.tif.info#c=%2Ffotoweb%2Farchives%2F5003-Kommunev%25C3%25A5pen%2F%3Fq%3Dvoss |access-date=2023-05-21 |website=Digitalarkivet |publisher=Arkivverket |language=no}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen |url=http://www.ngw.nl/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Granvin |access-date=2014-05-19 |publisher=Heraldry of the World}}</ref>

===Churches===
The [[Church of Norway]] has seven parishes ({{lang|no|sokn}}) in Voss. 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 Voss'''''
!Parish ({{lang|no|sokn}})!!Church name!!Location!!Year built
|-
|Evanger||[[Evanger Church]]||[[Evanger (village)|Evanger]]||1851
|-
|Granvin||[[Granvin Church]]||Granvin||1726
|-
|Oppheim||[[Oppheim Church]]||[[Oppheim]]||1871
|-
|Raundalen||[[Raundalen Church]]||[[Raundalen]]||1921
|-
|Vinje||[[Vinje Church (Hordaland)|Vinje Church]]||[[Vinje, Hordaland|Vinje]]||1871
|-
|Voss||[[Voss Church]]||[[Vossevangen]]||1277
|}