Gulatinget - The millennium site for Sogn and Fjordane county in the municipality Gulen
This millennium site opened on 27 August 2005 in commemoration of Gulatinget, an annual parliamentary assembly which took place in Gulen from approx. 900-1300 AD, and one of the oldest and largest parliamentary assemblies in medieval Norway. Farmers came here to meet the king and pass legislation, discuss political matters and judge cases. The Gulatinget millennium site is a symbol of the representative Norwegian form of parliament, which dates back over a thousand years.
The Assembly Site
According to legend, the oldest assembly site was in Eivindvik. In the legend of Håkon Håkonsson, the king moved the assembly site to Guløy, a peninsula just outside Flolid, and the Gulatinget millennium site has been established in the area where it is thought the new assembly site lay. Later, Gulatinget was moved from Gulen to Bergen (around the year 1300), where it continued as the Gulatinget high court and is today purely a court of law. Initially, Gulatinget was an Allting or common assembly where "all free men fit to bear arms" had the right to participate.
The representation principle
The oldest legislative body of theGulatinget covered what are now the regions of Hordaland and Sogn og Fjordane. In later years, the regions of Rogaland, Agder, Sunnmøre, Valdres, Hallingdal and Setesdal also joined the Gulatinget domain, resulting in a conversion from Allting to Lagting or superior regional assembly. Each region appointed representatives for the assembly, and hereby the representation principle in the Norwegian system of government was founded.
Gulatingslova Legislation
The farmers at the Gulatinget passed all laws in direct negotiation with the king and the church. The legislation was memorised and communicated by word of mouth until writing was established. Men with knowledge of the law (known on Iceland as lovseiemenn or men with legal minds) had to memorise all the laws passed. In time, the legislation was written down and accumulated into a body of laws - known as the Gulatingslova. Gulatingslova is the oldest known body of laws in the Nordic countries.
Read more about Gulatinget in our pdf-brochure.