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) / ''fylke'' ( Nynorsk ); until 1918 known as ''amt'', pl. ''amter'' / ''amt''). The counties form that primary first-level Subdivisions Of Norway and are further divided into 431 Municipalities (''kommune'', pl. ''kommuner'' / ''kommunar''). The capital Oslo is considered as both a county and a municipality. There is some political disagreement on whether counties are a practical, economical or even necessary level of administration. See Politics Of Norway for more information. List of counties Below is a list of the Norwegian counties as they have been since , which follows the coastline from the Swedish border in the southeast to the Russian border in the northeast. The number 13 was omitted from the system when the city of Bergen (county no. 13) was merged into Hordaland (county no. 12) in 1972 .
History During King Sverre 's reign ( 1184 - 1202 ) the hereditary chieftains (in Norwegian ''herser'') were replaced by ''lendermænd'', who were appointed by the king, but exercised the same power (and in many instances were originally from the old aristocracy). – 1028 ) showing areas under the control of hereditary chieftains ( Petty Kingdoms ).]] The ''lendermænd'' had military and police responsibilities for their districts. By the reign of Magnus Lagabøte ( 1263 – 1280 ) the ''lendermænd'' had become dependent upon the king’s authority for their authority in their ''lend'' or ''len''.1 ''Len'' Formerly the term ''len'' (plural ''len'') in Norway signified an administrative region roughly equivalent to today's Counties . The historic ''len'' was an important administrative entity during the period of Dano-Norwegian unification after their Amalgamation as one state, which lasted for the period 1536 Christian III , king of Denmark-Norway, carried out the Protestant Reformation in Norway in 1536.– 1814 . At the beginning of the 1500s the political divisions were variable, but consistently included four main ''len'' and approximately 30 smaller sub-regions with varying connections to a main ''len''. Up to 1660 the four principle ''len'' were headquartered at the major fortresses Bohus Fortress , Akershus Fortress , Bergenhus Fortress and the fortified city of Trondheim 2. The sub-regions corresponded to the church districts for the Lutheran church in Norway. ''Len'' in 1536
These four principal ''len'' were in the 1530s divided into approximately 30 smaller regions. From that point forward through the beginning of the 1600s the number of subsidiary ''len'' was reduced, while the composition of the principle ''len'' became more stable. Len on Norwegian Wiki site ] ''Len'' in 1660 From 1660 Norway had nine principle ''len'' comprised of 17 subsidiary ''len'':
''Len'' written as ''län'' continues to be used as the administrative equivalent of county in Sweden to this day. Each ''len'' was governed by a ''lenman''. 3 ''Amt'' With the royal decree of ''Amt'' in 1671 After 1671 Norway was divided into four principle ''amt'' or ''stiftsamt'' and there were nine subordinate ''amt'':
''Amt'' in 1730 From 1730 Norway had the following ''amt'':
At this time there were also two counties controlled by Count s, together forming what is now Vestfold county:
''Fylke'' From 1919 each ''amt'' was renamed a ''fylke'' (plural ''fylker'') (county) and the ''amtmann'' was now titled ''fylkesmann'' (county governor). References & notes See also
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