Øygarden is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Vestland Vestland is a county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the city of Bergen, where t ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. It is an island municipality located in the traditional district of Midhordland, stretching along the west coast of the county. The village of Straume is the

administrative centre An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

of the municipality. Other villages in the municipality include

Alveim Alveim is a village in Øygarden municipality in northwestern Vestland county, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northern ...

Blomvåg Blomvåg is a village in Øygarden municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located in the central part of the island of Blomøyna, surrounding inner part of the Blomvågen fjord. The Blomvåg Church was built in this village in 1 ...

Vikavågen Vikavågen is a village in Øygarden municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village lies on the southeastern coast of the island of Toftøyna. The village has a population (2019) of 656 and a population density Population density (in ag ...

Ågotnes Ågotnes is a village in Øygarden municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The industrial village is located on northern part of the island of Store Sotra, about west of the city of Bergen. The village of Landro (and Landro Church) lies abou ...

Fjell Fjell is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Midhordland. The municipality consisted of several islands west of the city of Bergen, the major ones being Litlesotra, the northern p ...

Foldnes Foldnes is a village in Øygarden municipality in Vestland county, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion ...

Knappskog Knappskog is a village in Øygarden municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village lies along the northeastern coast of the island of Sotra, about halfway between the villages of Ågotnes (to the north) and Kolltveit (to the south). The i ...

Knarrevik Knarrevik or Knarrvika is a village in Øygarden municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located along the Byfjorden on the eastern coast of the island of Litlesotra, just north of the village of Straume. The western end of the Sotra B ...

Kolltveit Kolltveit is a village in Øygarden municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village lies on the eastern shore of the island of Sotra. The island of Bildøyna lies about east of the shore in Kolltveit. National Road 555 reaches Kolltveit ...

, Landro,

Sekkingstad Sekkingstad is a village in Øygarden municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is situated on the west side of the island of Store Sotra. Sekkingstad is the site of a fish factory, which exports fish to countries such as Russia and Japan. The ...

Skogsvåg Skogsvågen or Skogsvåg is a village in Øygarden municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the eastern coast of the island of Sotra in the northern part of the municipality, just northeast of the village of Hammarsland ...

Klokkarvik Klokkarvik is a village in Øygarden municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the southeastern part of the island of Sotra, approximately 40 minutes outside the city of Bergen. It lies along the coast of Sotra, at the ...

, Tælavåg,

Kausland Kausland is a village in Øygarden municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the southern part of the island of Sotra Sotra or Store Sotra is the name of a large island in Øygarden Municipality in Vestland county, No ...

, and

Hammarsland Hammarsland () is a village in Øygarden municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the island of Sotra, just east of the village of Skogsvåg. The village has a population (2019) of 929 and a population density Populat ...

. The municipality consists of a chain of islands to the north and west of the city of

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

. Øygarden is connected to the mainland by a series of bridges and a single road running across the islands. Some of the major islands include

Litlesotra Litlesotra, or sometimes Lille Sotra, is an island in Øygarden Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is part of the Sotra island group which makes up the southern part of a larger archipelago of islands from Fedje south through Øygarden. ...

Store Sotra Sotra or Store Sotra is the name of a large island in Øygarden Municipality in Vestland county, Norway, located just west of the city of Bergen. It is part of a pair of islands called 'Sotra' and 'Litlesotra' ('small Sotra') that are part of a ...

, Bildøy,

Bjorøy Bjorøyna or Bjorøy is an island in Øygarden Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island is located south of the island of Litlesotra, west of the Bergen Peninsula, north of the island of Tyssøyna, and east of the island of Sotra. Bj ...

Misje Misje is an island (and village) in Øygarden Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island lies just south of the island of Toftøyna and north of the large island of Sotra. Almost all of the 257 inhabitants (as of 2009) live on the eas ...

Turøy Turøyna or Turøy is an island in Øygarden Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island lies just west of the islands of Toftøyna and Misje. Prior to 1964, the island was part of the old municipality of Herdla. Then from 1964 until 202 ...

Seløyna Seløyna or Seløy is an island in Øygarden municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island is the northernmost of the large populated islands in the Øygarden archipelago. It is connected to the island of Alvøyna by a short bridge over ...

, Alvøyna, Ona,

Blomøyna Blomøyna, or Blomøy, is an island in the municipality of Øygarden in Vestland county, Norway. The island is the second largest island in the municipality. The island lies north of the island of Rongøyna and south of the island of Ona. The ...

, Rongøyna, and

Toftøyna Toftøyna or Toftøy is an island in Øygarden municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island is the southernmost of the main islands of Øygarden. It is connected by bridge to the island of Rongøy (to the north), to the small island of ...

. The municipality is the 260th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Øygarden is the 27th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 39,032. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

is and its population has increased by 16.3% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Øygarden was established on 1 January 1964. It was created by a merger that was set in motion by the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee ( no, Schei-komitéen) was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II. It convened in 1946, and its formal name was (The 1946 Committee on Municip ...

. The newly created Øygarden was made up of all of the old municipality of

Hjelme Hjelme is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county in Norway. The municipality was located within the northern part of the present-day municipality of Øygarden. It existed from 1910 until 1964. The administrative centre was located a ...

(population: 956) and almost all of the municipality of

Herdla Herdla is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1871 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality encompassed a large group of about 2,000 islands and skerries covering about of land area ...

(population: 2131) that was located west of the

Hjeltefjorden Hjeltefjorden is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. The long fjord runs north–south between many islands leading from the open ocean to the city of Bergen. It passes through the municipalities of Fedje, Øygarden, Alver, and Askøy. Its name ...

(except for the islands of

and

which went to the neighboring municipality of

). On 1 January 2020, the three neighboring municipalities of

, Sund, and Øygarden were merged into one large island municipality called ''Øygarden''. The

of Øygarden has changed three times over the years. From 1964 until 2009, it was located at the village of Tjeldstø. From 2009 through 2019, it was located in the village of

Rong Rong or RONG may refer to: Places China *Rong County, Guangxi, Yulin, Guangxi, China *Rong County, Sichuan, Zigong, Sichuan, China Nepal *Rong, Ilam, a rural municipality in Ilam District, Nepal Norway *Rong, Norway, a village in Øygarden m ...

. In 2020, the

was moved to the large village of Straume after a large municipal merger.

Name

The name was created in 1964 for the new municipality. The name is the finite form of ''øygard'' which means "row (fence) of

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

s". The first element is ''øy'' means "island" and the last element is ''gard'' which means "

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

were adopted in 2020 and they were based on the arms for the old Sund Municipality which had recently been merged with Øygarden. The arms of Sund were granted on 23 March 1988. They show a blue

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

on a white or silver background. This symbolized the importance of the sea and the alertness of the local population. The previous arms were in use from 1966 until 1988 and the new 1988 arms were a simplified version of the old arms. The previous arms were blue with a black and white lighthouse on an island surrounded by waves. Before 2020, Øygarden had a

that was granted in 1966, shortly after the establishment of the municipality. The arms showed a black and gray reference sea

cairn A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...

sitting on an islet on a blue background. The municipality consists of a number of islands and is dependent on the sea for its development. Hence the importance of sea cairns,

buoy A buoy () is a floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents. Types Navigational buoys * Race course marker buoys are used for buoy racing, the most prevalent form of yac ...

s and

s for safety in the municipality. Øygarden komm -2019.svg, Arms from 1966 until 2020 Øygarden komm.svg, Arms since 2020

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...

has four parishes () within the municipality of Øygarden. It is part of the Vesthordland prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

) in the

Diocese of Bjørgvin The Diocese of Bjørgvin ( no, Bjørgvin bispedømme) is one of the 11 dioceses that make up the Church of Norway. It includes all of the churches located in the county of Vestland in Western Norway. The cathedral city is Bergen, Norway's second ...

Geography

The municipality is made up of many islands. The main islands are (from north to south):

(), Alvøyna (), Ona (),

(), Rongøyna (),

(),

, Turøyna

Sotra Sotra or Store Sotra is the name of a large island in Øygarden Municipality in Vestland county, Norway, located just west of the city of Bergen. It is part of a pair of islands called 'Sotra' and 'Litlesotra' ('small Sotra') that are part of a ...

Geitung Geitanger or Geitung is an island in Øygarden Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island is entirely car-free, and the population of the island is very low. See also *List of islands of Norway This is a list of islands of Norway sort ...

, Bildøyna,

Algrøyna Algrøyna or Algrøy is an island in Øygarden Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island lies just west of the large island of Sotra and north of the small island of Lokøyna. There are a series of bridges connecting it to the islan ...

, Lokøyna, Syltøyna,

Toftøya Toftøya or Toftarøyna is an island in Øygarden Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. Geography The island lies just south of the large island of Sotra, along the northern side of the Korsfjorden. The village of Klokkarvik lies abou ...

Lerøyna Lerøyna or Lerøy is an island in Øygarden Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island lies at the south end of the Raunefjorden, between the mainland Bergen Peninsula and the large island of Sotra. The smaller island of Bjelkarøyna ...

, Bjelkarøyna, Tyssøyna, Risøy, Vardøy, Golten, and Viksøy. Besides these larger islands, the municipality consists of hundreds small islands, islets, and reefs. Some of the other islands include

Hernar Hernar is an island in Øygarden municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is one of the northernmost islands in the Øygarden archipelago. The island is rocky and barren. Most of the settlement is in one cluster on the southwestern part of ...

in the far north and Førehjelmo. The landscape is low and relatively flat. Several smaller lakes are located on the islands. The west side of the islands is an important nesting site for birds. The

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

lies to the west of the islands and the

. Tjeldstø Marka on Alvøyna has been a protected nature reserve since 1995. It is one of the largest wetland reserves in Hordaland. The ''Ormhilleren friluftsområde'' is another nature reserve surrounding the Rongesundet strait.En liten perle i Øygarden
small pearl in Øygarden/ref>

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Øygarden, are responsible for

primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wiktionary:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physical and menta ...

, senior citizen services,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for Work (human activity), w ...

and other

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

zoning Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...

, and municipal

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

s. The municipality is governed by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

of elected representatives, which in turn elect a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

. The municipality falls under the Hordaland District Court and the

Gulating Court of Appeal The Gulating Court of Appeal ( no, Gulating lagmannsrett) is one of six Court of appeal (Norway), courts of appeal in the Norway, Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Bergen (city), Bergen. The court has jurisdiction over the cou ...

Municipal council

The

() of Øygarden is made up of 45 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...

breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Øygarden (incomplete list): *2019–present: Tom Georg Indrevik ( H) *2015-2019: Børge Haugetun ( LL) *2015-2015: Åse Gunn Husebø ( Ap) *2011-2014: Otto Harkestad (Ap) *2000-2011: Olav Martin Vik ( LL) *1995-1999: Rolv Svein Rougnø (H) *1990-1995: Otto Harkestad (Ap)

Economy

The municipality has a significant

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

industry, primarily with salmon, cod, and shellfish.

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

is limited in the municipality and is largely a part-time occupation, with most farmers have another profession too. The type of agriculture in Øygarden is dominated by raising livestock (sheep, cattle, and chickens). Since 1988, petroleum activities have become a major industry in Øygarden. The transportation of oil from the Oseberg oil field through a pipeline to Sture on Alvøyna was the start of the oil boom. In 1996, a

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

processing plant at

Kollsnes Kollsnes is a natural gas processing plant operated by Equinor on the southern part of the island of Oøy in Øygarden Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It processes the natural gas from the Troll, Kvitebjørn, and Visund gas fields. Kol ...

on the island of Ona was completed.

Notable residents

Martin Rasmussen Hjelmen Martin Rasmussen Hjelmen (24 January 1904 – 30 May 1944) was a Norwegian sailor and communist activist. He was from Øygarden, born in Herdla. He went to work at sea from the age of fifteen, and was based in Australia in the 1920s. Upon re ...

(1904 in Øygarden – 1944), a Norwegian sailor and communist activistUklart om likvidasjoner
/ref> *

John Alvheim John Ingolf Alvheim (21 May 1930 – 5 December 2005) was a Norwegian politician for the Progress Party. He was a nurse anesthetist by profession, and served as aid worker in several developing countries during the 1970s. Alvheim was highly respe ...

(1930 in Øygarden – 2005) nurse anaesthetist, aid worker and politician *

Lars Arne Nilsen Lars Arne Nilsen (born 6 April 1964) is a Norwegian football coach who is the head coach of 1. divisjon club Aalesunds FK. Nilsen is from Sotra in Fjell municipality. He played for Stord Sunnhordland FK as a young player and was the club's to ...

(born 1964 in Sotra) a Norwegian football manager *

Alexander Dale Oen Alexander Dale Oen (; 21 May 198530 April 2012) was a Norwegian swimmer. He represented the clubs Vestkantsvømmerne (1995–2010) and Bærumsvømmerne (2011–2012). Dale Oen's gold at the 2008 European Championships made him the first Norwegi ...

(1985 in Øygarden – 2012) swimmer on the Norwegian national team, silver medallist at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Gallery

File:Spjeld Storelva Norway Travel Landscape Photography (119111997).jpeg, Spjeld Storelva File:Sotra.jpg, Fjord landscape, Sotra File:Nordra Straumsundet Norway Landscape Photography (140004361).jpeg, Nordra Straumsundet File:Bukken.jpg, Bukken

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every yea ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oygarden Municipalities of Vestland 1964 establishments in Norway Archipelagoes of Norway Landforms of Vestland