Alver 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,

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

Nordhordland Nordhordland is a traditional district in the western part of Norway. The district consists of the northern portion of the old Hordaland county (now in Vestland county), north of the city of Bergen. It includes the municipalities Alver, Austr ...

. 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 is the village of

Knarvik Knarvik (or Knarrviki) is the administrative centre of the municipality of Alver in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the mainland, about straight north of Bergen at the confluence of four fjords: Osterfjorden (heading east), ...

. Other villages include Alversund, Alver, Isdalstø,

Lindås Lindås is a former municipality in the Nordhordland district in the old Hordaland county, Norway. It existed from 1838 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020 when it was merged into the new Alver Municipality. The administrative centre of the ...

, Ostereidet, Seim,

Manger __NOTOC__ A manger or trough is a rack for fodder, or a structure or feeder used to hold food for animals. The word comes from the Old French ''mangier'' (meaning "to eat"), from Latin ''mandere'' (meaning "to chew"). Mangers are mostly used in ...

, Askeland, Austmarka,

Bøvågen Bøvågen is a small village in Alver municipality, Vestland county, Norway. It's located on the northern part of the island of Radøy. From 1924 until 1964, it was the administrative centre of the former municipality of Hordabø. Hordabø Chu ...

, Haugland, Sæbø, Sletta,

Frekhaug Frekhaug is a village in Alver Municipality, located in Vestland county, Norway. The village sits at the southern tip of the island of Holsnøy. Prior to 2020, the village was the administrative centre of the old municipality of Meland. The v ...

Hjartås Hjartås is a village in Alver municipality, located in Vestland county, Norway. The village lies along the Herdlefjorden on the western coast of the island of Holsnøy. The village is a part of the urban area of Holme. The urban area of Holm ...

, Holme, Io,

Krossneset Krossneset is a village in Alver municipality, in Vestland county, Norway. The village sits on the island of Flatøy, about half-way between the villages of Frekhaug (to the west) and Knarvik (to the east). The village has a population (2019) ...

Meland Meland is a former municipality in the Nordhordland district in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1923 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020 when it was merged into the new Alver Municipality in Vestland county. ...

, and Rossland. The municipality is the 168th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Alver is the 37th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 29,593. 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 11% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality was established on 1 January 2020 when the three neighboring municipalities of

Radøy Radøy is a former municipality in the Nordhordland district of the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1964 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into the new municipality of Alver in Vestland county. The mun ...

, and

were merged into one large municipality.

Name

The name of the municipality comes from the old ''Alver'' farm ( non, Alviðra). The name has two parts ''"al"'' meaning "whole" and ''"viðra"'' meaning "weather", probably referring to the location which is exposed to the weather from all directions. mIt is the same root as the other local names like Alversund and Alverstraumen.

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 ...

was adopted in 2019 for use starting in 2020. The blue arms show a gray or white bridge and a boat passing beneath it. It symbolizes that the fact that bridges tie the municipality together and the boat has been a means of transportation in the area for centuries.

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 six parishes () within the municipality of Alver. It is part of the

Nordhordland prosti Nordhordland is a traditional district in the western part of Norway. The district consists of the northern portion of the old Hordaland county (now in Vestland county), north of the city of Bergen. It includes the municipalities Alver, Austr ...

(

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 ...

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Alver, 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 ...

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

representatives, which in turn elects 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 Alver is made up of 47 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:

Notable people

Carl Andreas Fougstad Carl Andreas Fougstad (2 March 1806 – 3 July 1871) was a Norwegian attorney, journalist, author and elected official. He served as mayor of Oslo. Biography Fougstad was born and grew up in Alverstraumen, today in Lindås municipality in Hor ...

(1806 in Alverstraumen – 1871) lawyer, journalist, author, Mayor of Oslo * Arne Bjørndal (1882 in Hosanger – 1965) a

hardingfele A Hardanger fiddle ( no, hardingfele) is a traditional stringed instrument considered to be the national instrument of Norway. In modern designs, this type of fiddle is very similar to the violin, though with eight or nine strings (rather than fo ...

fiddler, composer and folklorist *

Amund Rydland Amund Rydland (25 November 1888 – 16 February 1967) was a Norwegian stage and film actor and theatre director. Born in the village of Alversund, Lindås municipality in Hordaland, he made his stage debut at Det Norske Teatret in 1913, and se ...

(1888 in Alversund – 1967) a stage and film actor and theatre director IMDb Database
retrieved 07 December 2020 * Nils Hjelmtveit (1892 in Hopland – 1985) a Norwegian educator and politician *

Lars Amandus Aasgard Lars Amandus Aasgard (18 May 1907 – 4 November 1984) was a Norwegian politician for the Christian Democratic Party. He was born in Lindås. He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Hordaland in 1961, and was re-elected on one occasio ...

(1907 in Lindås – 1984) furniture factory manager, politician and Mayor of Lindås 1951 to 1963 *

Torolv Solheim Torolv Solheim (7 November 1907, Radøy – 23 May 1995) was a Norwegian educator, essayist, resistance member and politician. He was originally a politician for the Communist Party of Norway, later a member of the Norwegian Labour Party ...

(1907 in Radøy – 1995) an educator, essayist, resistance member and politician * Aslaug Låstad Lygre (1910 in Lindås – 1966) a Norwegian poet. *

Narve Bjørgo Narve Bjørgo (born 3 May 1936 in Meland, Nordhordland) is a Norwegian historian. He was born in Meland. He graduated from the University of Bergen in 1964, and worked as a research assistant until 1970. Then, for two years, he was a research fel ...

(born 1936 in Meland) a Norwegian historian and academic * Magnar Mangersnes (born 1938 in Radøy) a Norwegian organist and choral conductor *

Audun Sjøstrand Audun Sjøstrand (born 11 April 1950) is a Norwegian journalist, teacher and crime fiction writer. Biography Sjøstrand was born in Radøy on 11 April 1950. He has been a journalist for the newspaper ''Gula Tidend'', and taught in secondary sc ...

(born 1950 in Radøy) a Norwegian journalist, teacher and crime fiction writer

Sport

* Nils Sæbø (1897 in Radøy – 1985) an equestrian, competed at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

Lise Klaveness Lise Klaveness (born 19 April 1981) is a Norwegian lawyer and former footballer who played 73 matches for Norway's national team between 2002 and 2011. She is currently the president of the Norwegian Football Federation. Since assuming her lea ...

(born 1981 in Meland) a lawyer and footballer, 73 caps for the Norway women's football team *

Sindre Marøy Sindre Marøy (born 9 June 1982) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He hails from Hordabø and works as an engineer. He had several spells in Radøy/Manger and also played on higher levels for SK Brann S ...

(born 1982 in Hordabø) a Norwegian former professional footballer with over 100 club caps

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 ...

{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Municipalities of Vestland 2020 establishments in Norway