Austevoll 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 ...

and an

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

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,

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 located in the traditional district of

Midthordland Midhordland or Midthordland is a traditional district in the Vestlandet region of Norway. It consists of the central-west portion of the old Hordaland county (now part of Vestland county), mostly including the islands and coastal fjord areas sur ...

Western Norway Western Norway ( nb, Vestlandet, Vest-Norge; nn, Vest-Noreg) is the region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrativ ...

. 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 ...

is the village of Storebø on the island of

Huftarøy Huftarøy is the largest island in the municipality of Austevoll in Vestland county, Norway. The island lies in the Austevoll archipelago, just west of the Bjørnafjorden, south of the Korsfjorden, east of the Mokstrafjorden, and north of the ...

. Other villages include

Årland Årland is a village in Austevoll 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 ...

Austevollshella Austevollshella or Austevoll is a village in Austevoll municipality, Norway. Austevollshella is located on the southeastern coast of the island of Hundvåko. The Austevoll Bridge, which connects Hundvåko and Huftarøy islands, is located at Aus ...

Bakkasund Bakkasund is a village in Austevoll 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 portio ...

Bekkjarvik Bekkjarvik is a village in Austevoll municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the northeastern coast of the island of Selbjørn. The village has a population (2019) of 577 and a population density of . The village is ...

, Birkeland,

Haukanes Haukanes is a village in Austevoll municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the northeastern coast of the island of Huftarøy Huftarøy is the largest island in the municipality of Austevoll in Vestland county, Norway. ...

, Husavik,

Kolbeinsvik Kolbeinsvik is a village in Austevoll municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the western shores of the island of Huftarøy, about northwest of the villages of Vinnes Vinnes is a village in Austevoll municipality in ...

Otterå Oterå or Otterå is a farm in Austevoll municipality in Vestland county, Norway. Location The farm is located on the eastern coast of the island of Huftarøy, the largest island in Austevoll municipality. The farm is located along a strait, acr ...

, Våge, and

Vinnes Vinnes is a village in Austevoll municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on Vestre Vinnesvåg area on the southeastern shore of the island of Huftarøy Huftarøy is the largest island in the municipality of Austevoll in ...

. The municipality consists of hundreds 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 located southwest 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 ...

. The municipality is considered to be among the ports in the world with the largest ocean-going

fishing trawler A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate Trawling, fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing ...

fleet. Since the 1980s, the offshore oil industry and

fish farming upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye">mariculture.html" ;"title="Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture">Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland Fish farming or ...

industry have both grown to be important industries in Austevoll. The municipality is the 323rd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Austevoll is the 175th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 5,283. 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 10.2% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

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 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 ...

. On 1 January 1964, the southern part of the islands of Selbjørn and

(population: 696) was transferred from

Fitjar Municipality Fitjar () is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The municipality is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. Fitjar municipality includes the northern part of the island of Stord and the hundreds of surrounding islands, most ...

to Austevoll. This put the whole Austevoll archipelago in the municipality of Austevoll.

Name

The municipality is named after the old ''Austevoll'' farm ( non, Austrvǫllr), since this was the old site of the

Austevoll Church Austevoll Church ( no, Austevoll kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Austevoll Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Storebø. It is one of the five churches for the Austevoll parish which is par ...

. The farm is now part of the village of

. The first element is ''austr'' which means "east" and the last element is ''vǫllr'' which means "

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifi ...

". The municipality has changed the spelling of its name three times. Before 1889 the name was written ''"Østevold"'' or ''"Østervold"''. From 1889 to 1917, it was spelled ''"Austevold"'', and since 1918 it has been spelled ''"Austevoll"''.

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 granted on 30 November 1984. The arms are blue with four silver-colored fish swimming up to the left. The

shoal In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. It ...

herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...

was chosen for the arms since herring fishing is a very important part of the local economy.

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 one parish () within the municipality of Austevoll. It is part of the

Fana prosti Fana is a borough of the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. The borough makes up the southeastern part of the municipality of Bergen. The borough was once part of the historic municipality of Fana which was incorporated into Bergen in ...

(

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

Austevoll consists of 667 islands off the west coast of

. The municipality has a total land area of and a coastline of . It lies south of the Korsfjorden, west of the

Bjørnafjorden Bjørnafjorden is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. It runs through the municipalities of Austevoll, Bjørnafjorden, and Tysnes. The large island of Tysnesøya (and many small, surrounding islands such as Reksteren) lie along the south side ...

, and north of the

Selbjørnsfjorden Selbjørnsfjorden is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. The long fjord flows east-west between the municipalities of Austevoll, Fitjar, and Bømlo. It is a wide fjord that starts at the Slåtterøy Lighthouse at the North Sea in the west and f ...

. The highest point in Austevoll is the mountain

Loddo Loddo or Løddo is a mountain in the municipality of Austevoll in Hordaland county, Norway. The tall mountain is located on the island of Huftarøy and it is the highest point in the municipality of Austevoll. The mountain is located near the s ...

, reaching above sea level. The

Marstein Lighthouse Marstein Lighthouse ( no, Marstein fyrstasjon) is an active lighthouse in the municipality of Austevoll, in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the small island of Store Marstein just west of the island of Stora Kalsøy on the south side o ...

lies in the northwestern part of the municipality.

Largest islands

# Selbjørn # Hundvåko #

Stolmen Stolmen is an island in Austevoll municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island lies in a large archipelago just north of the Selbjørnsfjorden. The island of Selbjørn lies to the east, the islands of Huftarøy and Hundvåko lie to th ...

# Storekalsøy # Møkster

Neighbours

The island municipality shares water borders with the municipality of

Øygarden Øygarden is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. 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 of the ...

to the north,

and

municipalities to the northeast,

Tysnes Tysnes () is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. The administrative centre is the village of Uggdal. Other population centres in Tysnes include the villages of Våge and Onarhei ...

municipality to the east, and

Fitjar Fitjar () is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The municipality is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. Fitjar municipality includes the northern part of the island of Stord and the hundreds of surrounding islands, most ...

and

Bømlo Bømlo is a municipality in the southwestern part of Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Svortland. Other villages in Bømlo includ ...

municipalities to the south. 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 Austevoll.

Demographics

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.

Villages

Inhabited islands

Gallery

File:Bekkjarviksundet.JPG, Bekkjarviksundet, between Selbjørn and

. File:Marstein lighthouse.JPG,

File:Stolmasundet.JPG, Stolmasundet, between

and Selbjørn. File:Olav fra Austevold kirke.jpg,

Olaf II of Norway Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title ''Rex Perpet ...

from

, Storebø.

Industry

Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

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 Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in th ...

, the

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 The Norwegian Institute of Marine Research ( no, Havforskningsinstituttet) is a national consultative research institute which is owned by the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs. The institute performs research and provides advisory service ...

. 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 Oslo Stock Exchange ( no, Oslo Børs) (OSE: OSLO) is a stock exchange within the Nordic countries and offers Norway’s only regulated markets for securities trading today. The stock exchange offers a full product range including equities, deriv ...

, has its headquarters at Storebø.

Education

There are five

primary schools A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

and one

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

in Austevoll, all run by the municipality. There is also one

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

, teaching mainly fishing and nautical subjects. This is operated by the

Hordaland County Municipality Hordaland County Municipality ( no, Hordaland fylkeskommune) was the regional governing administration of the old Hordaland county in Norway. The county municipality was established in its most recent form on 1 January 1976 when the law was change ...

Transportation

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

. The municipality is also connected by express boats to Bergen in the north, and

Stord Stord is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. Stord is sometimes called "Norway in miniature" since it has such a variety of landscapes: coastline, fjords, forests, agricultural ...

Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipality on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. While the population is greater in the neighboring Karmøy municipality, the main commercial and economic centre of the Haugaland region in northern Rogaland and southern ...

, and

Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...

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".

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Austevoll, 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,

senior citizen Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

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 Hordaland District Court ( no, Hordaland tingrett) is a district court (Norway), district court located in Vestland county, Norway. This court is based at two different courthouses which are located in Bergen and Lofthus, Vestland, Lofthus. The co ...

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 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 __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...

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 The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, Labour Party, and Christian Democratic Party make up the opposition. 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 following is a list of mayors of Austevoll:

Notable residents

* Abelone Møgster, (Norwegian Wiki) (1883 in Austevoll - 1975)

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

and

Norwegian resistance The Norwegian resistance (Norwegian: ''Motstandsbevegelsen'') to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms: *Asserting the legitimacy of the exiled government, ...

fighter *

Magnus Stangeland Magnus Stangeland (born 17 March 1941 in Austevoll) is a Norwegian politician for the Centre Party. He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Hordaland in 1985, and was re-elected on two occasions. He had previously served in the position ...

(born 1941 in Austevoll) politician,

of Austevoll and

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

* Knut Fagerbakke (born 1952) a Norwegian politician,

Deputy Mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor, assistant mayor, or mayor ''pro tem'') is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many, but not all, local governments. Duties and functions Many elected dep ...

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

* Ole Rasmus Møgster (1958 – 2010) a Norwegian businessperson with

Austevoll Seafood Austevoll Seafood ASA is a major Norwegian seafood company. Austevoll Seafood trades publicly on the Oslo Stock Exchange. The company is a majority owner of Norwegian seafood company Lerøy. The company is a majority owner of Peruvian seafood ...

* Jan Bertin Østervold, (Norwegian Wiki) (born 1966 in Skien) known as ''Jan Thomas'', stylist and actor *

Claus Lundekvam Claus Lundekvam (born 22 February 1973) is a Norwegian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a centre-back. Lundekvam began his career with SK Brann, Brann before moving to English side Southampton F.C., Southampton ...

(born 1973) former footballer with 410 club caps and 40 for

Helge André Njåstad Helge André Njåstad (born 5 June 1980) is a Norwegian politician for the Progress Party. He was elected to the Parliament of Norway from Hordaland in 2013 where he serves as the chair of the Standing Committee on Local Government and Public Adm ...

(born 1980) a Norwegian politician, Mayor of Austevoll 2003 to 2013

1920 Summer Olympics sailors

* Ole Olsen Østervold (1872–1936) * Halvor Olai Møgster (1875–1950) * Jan Olsen Østervold (1876–1945) * Henrik Østervold (1878 in Austevoll – 1957) * Kristian Olsen Østervold (1885–1960) * Rasmus Ingvald Birkeland (1888–1972) * Halvor Olai Birkeland (1894–1971)

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 ...

The gavl-boat "Notmann" sailing under the Selbjørn bridge

3-mountain hike in Austevoll in 10 minutes

Kayaking in Austevoll

Diving in Austevoll
*AustevollGuide - TourInfo - http://www.austevollguide.no {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2013 Municipalities of Vestland 1886 establishments in Norway Fishing communities in Norway