| Austevoll | |
| Former Name: | Austevold herred |
| Former Name1: | Østervold herred |
| Idnumber: | 4625 |
| County: | Vestland |
| District: | Midhordland |
| Capital: | Storebø |
| Established: | 1 Jan 1886 |
| Preceded: | Sund Municipality |
| Demonym: | Austevolling |
| Language: | Nynorsk |
| Flag: | Flag of Austevoll.gif |
| Coatofarms: | Austevoll komm.svg |
| Webpage: | www.austevoll.kommune.no |
| Mayor: | Bente Kari Sletten Taranger |
| Mayor Party: | H |
| Mayor As Of: | 2023 |
| Area Rank: | 323 |
| Area Total Km2: | 117.22 |
| Area Land Km2: | 114.27 |
| Area Water Km2: | 2.95 |
| Area Water Percent: | 2.5 |
| Population As Of: | 2023 |
| Population Rank: | 177 |
| Population Total: | 5297 |
| Population Density Km2: | 46.4 |
| Population Increase: | 9.5 |
| Coordinates: | 60.0378°N 5.2683°W |
| Utm Zone: | 32V |
| Utm Northing: | 6661498 |
| Utm Easting: | 0292174 |
| Geo Cat: | adm2nd |
Austevoll is a municipality and an archipelago in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Midthordland in Western Norway. The administrative centre is the village of Storebø on the island of Huftarøy. Other villages include Årland, Austevollshella, Bakkasund, Bekkjarvik, Birkeland, Haukanes, Husavik, Kolbeinsvik, Otterå, Våge, and Vinnes.
The municipality consists of hundreds of islands located southwest of the city of Bergen. The municipality is considered to be among the ports in the world with the largest ocean-going fishing trawler fleet. Since the 1980s, the offshore oil industry and fish farming industry have both grown to be important industries in Austevoll.
The 117km2 municipality is the 323rd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Austevoll is the 177th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 5,297. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 9.5% over the previous 10-year period.[1] [2]
The municipality of Austevoll was established on 1 January 1886 when it was separated from the municipality of Sund. The initial population for the new municipality of Austevoll was 2,396.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the southern part of the islands of Selbjørn and Huftarøy (population: 696) was transferred from Fitjar Municipality to Austevoll. This put the whole Austevoll archipelago in the municipality of Austevoll.[3]
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Austevoll farm (Norse, Old: Austrvǫllr) since the first Austevoll Church was built there. The farm is now part of the village of Austevollshella. The first element is which means "east". The last element is which means "meadow" or "field". The municipality has changed the spelling of its name three times.[4] Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Østervold or Østevold. In 1889, the spelling was changed to Austevold. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Austevoll.[5]
The coat of arms was granted on 30 November 1984. The official blazon is "Azure, four herrings argent in bend 1-2-1" (Norwegian: På blå bunn fire kvite silder på skrå oppover, 1-2-1). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a set of four herring swimming diagonally up to the left. The charg has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The shoal of herring was chosen for the arms since herring fishing is a very important part of the local economy. The arms were designed by John Digernes. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[6] [7] [8]
The Church of Norway has one parish (Norwegian: sokn) within the municipality of Austevoll. It is part of the Fana prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.
| Austevoll | Austevoll Church | Storebø | 1890 |
| Bekkjarvik Church | Bekkjarvik | 1895 | |
| Hundvåkøy Church | Austevollshella | 1990 | |
| Møkster Church | Stolmen | 1892 | |
| Store-Kalsøy Chapel | Bakkasund | 1975 |
Austevoll consists of 667 islands off the west coast of Western Norway. The municipality has a total land area of and a coastline of . It lies south of the Korsfjorden, west of the Bjørnafjorden, and north of the Selbjørnsfjorden.[9] The highest point in Austevoll is the mountain Loddo, reaching above sea level. The Marstein Lighthouse lies in the northwestern part of the municipality.
The island municipality shares water borders with the municipality of Øygarden to the north, Bergen and Bjørnafjorden municipalities to the northeast, Tysnes municipality to the east, and Fitjar and Bømlo municipalities to the south. The North Sea lies to the west of Austevoll.
Of the 667 islands, only eight are populated year-round. About 29% of the inhabitants live in densely populated areas. About 28% of the inhabitants are under the age of 17, which is 4.4% over the national average. About 4.7% of the inhabitants are 80 years or older.
| Rank | Village | Village Population (2005)[10] | District Population (2001)[11] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Storebø | 1,032 | 1,341 | |
| 2 | Bekkjarvik | 355 | 489 | |
| 3 | Kolbeinsvik | 481 | ||
| 4 | Vinnes | 378 | ||
| 5 | Haukanes | 235 |
| Rank | Island | Area (km2) | Population | Density (/km2) | Largest settlement | Highest point | Elevation (m) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huftarøy | 50.4 | 2,435 | 48.3 | Storebø | Loddo | 244 | |
| 2 | Selbjørn | 25 | 956 | 38.24 | Bekkjarvik | Kongsafjellet | 185 | |
| 3 | Hundvåkøy | 10.7 | 554 | 51.7 | Austevollshella | 61 | ||
| 4 | Stolmen | 7.9 | 206 | 26.0 | Våge | Såta | 60 | |
| 5 | Storekalsøy | 6 | 167 | 27.0 | Bakkasund | Mjuken | 57 | |
| 6 | Møkster | 65 | ||||||
| 7 | Litlekalsøy | 26 |
Fishing is the most important industry in Austevoll, as it has been for centuries. Traditionally, fishing has taken place in coastal areas, not far off shore. After decades of overfishing, the herring disappeared in the 1950s. This forced a restructuring of the fishing fleet. Since the 1960s, the shipping companies built bigger ships, and went further out into the seas, and they began fishing for other fish species, not just herring. The overfishing of herring also forced better research on fishing, resulting in the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research. Austevoll is the home of the Austevoll Aquaculture Research Station.
Since the early 1980s, the offshore supply industry has emerged in the wake of the offshore Norwegian oil industry. The offshore shipping company DOF, which is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, has its headquarters at Storebø.
There are five primary schools and one middle school in Austevoll, all run by the municipality. There is also one secondary school, teaching mainly fishing and nautical subjects. This is operated by the Hordaland County Municipality.
Austevoll has car ferry connections from Hufthammar on the north tip of Huftarøy to Krokeide in Bergen, and from Husavik on the south tip of Huftarøy to Sandvikvåg in Fitjar. The municipality is also connected by express boats to Bergen in the north, and Stord, Haugesund, and Stavanger in the south. All express boat routes are operated by Norled, and ferry routes are operated by Fosen Namsos.
The islands of Huftarøy and Selbjørn, Selbjørn and Stolmen, and Hundvåkøy and Storekalsøy are connected with bridges. A fourth bridge, connecting Huftarøy and Hundvåkøy, was opened on 17 November 2007. This bridge, which in fact consists of two bridges and two stone fillings, bears the name "Austevollsbrua".
Austevoll Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.[12] The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Hordaland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.
The municipal council (Norwegian: Kommunestyre) of Austevoll is made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four year terms.
From 1995 to 1999 the Socialist Left Party held one seat. In the 1999–2003 election period an all-party female electoral list held one seat in the council. In the 2003-2007 election period The Liberal Party was represented in the municipal council and held one seat. From 2011 to 2015, a coalition of the Progress Party and Center Party held power in the council. The coalition also consisted of the Christian Democratic Party before 2011. In 2011, the coalition won 12 of the 21 seats in the municipal council and had an electoral and political cooperation. The Conservative Party, Labour Party, and Christian Democratic Party make up the opposition.
The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
The mayors (Norwegian Nynorsk; Nynorsk, Norwegian: ordførar) of Austevoll:[13] [14]
| # | Name | Office | Political Party | Occupation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ole Olsen Strømme | 1886–1901 | Church bell ringer | |||
| Peder Olai Kleppe | 1902–1919 | Fisherman | |||
| Olai Naustheller | 1920–1925 | Farmer | |||
| Mikkel Nilsen Birkeland | 1926–1935 | Farmer | |||
| Magnus Larssen | 1935–1937 | School teacher | |||
| Salomon O. Fagerbakke | 1938–1945 | Fisherman | |||
| Salomon V. Kalvenes | 1946–1959 | Fisherman | |||
| Rikard S. Storebø | 1960–1969 | Liberal Party | Social security manager | ||
| Peder Kalve | 1970–1975 | Conservative Party | Maritime pilot | ||
| Magnus Stangeland | 1976–1981 | Centre Party | School principal | ||
| Knut K. Kalvenes | 1982–1985 | Conservative Party[15] | Retailer | ||
| Hallvard Møgster | 1986–1989 | Christian Democratic Party | Captain | ||
| Inge Bjarne Storebø | 1990–2001 | Conservative Party | Bank manager | ||
| Olav P. Årland | 2001–2003 | Christian Democratic Party | Shipmaster | ||
| Helge André Njåstad | 2003–2011 | Progress Party | Student | ||
| Renate Møgster Klepsvik | 2011–2015 | ||||
| Morten Storebø | 2015–2023 | Conservative Party | Politician | ||
| Bente Kari Sletten Taranger | 2023-present | Conservative Party |
. Norske gaardnavne: Søndre Bergenhus amt . 1910 . W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri . 11 . Kristiania, Norge . 251–252 . no . Oluf Rygh.