Halsnøya or Halsnøy is an island in

Kvinnherad Kvinnherad is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland, along the Hardangerfjorden. The municipality was the 5th in size in former Hordaland county. The administrative centre of the mu ...

municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island lies between the

Hardangerfjorden The Hardangerfjord ( en, Hardanger Fjord) is the fifth longest fjord in the world, and the second longest fjord in Norway. It is located in Vestland county in the Hardanger region. The fjord stretches from the Atlantic Ocean into the mountain ...

and

Skånevikfjorden Skånevikfjorden is a fjord in Norway. The long fjord runs through Etne and Kvinnherad municipalities in Vestland county and in Vindafjord municipality in Rogaland county. The fjord is fed by several smaller fjords such as the Åkrafjorden, Etn ...

. The island has about 2,300 inhabitants (2008) and it is the most populated island in

municipality. Prior to 2008, it was the most populated island in Norway without a direct connection to land, but the Halsnøy Tunnel opened that year, finally connecting it to the mainland by road. There is a regular ferry connection from southern Halsnøy to the neighboring islands of Fjelbergøya and Borgundøya, located just south of Halsnøy.

History

The island was the site of the

Halsnøy Abbey Halsnøy Abbey (''Halsnøy kloster'') was a house of Augustinian Canons located on the island of Halsnøy on the Hardangerfjord at Kvinnherad in Vestland, Norway. History Halsnøy Abbey was one of the richest monasteries in medieval era Norway ...

(closed in 1536), which once was one of the richest monasteries in Norway. Today it is a highly popular tourist attraction. In 1896, one of the oldest boats recovered in Norway was found in the Toftevåg bay on the north side of the island. It was reconstructed to full-scale in 2006, and a monument was erected at the location of the recovery.

Urban areas and industry

Halsnøy is usually divided into two unofficial zones by its locals: "utøyo" (''the outer island'') and "innøyo" (''the inner island''). The "outer island" district consists of the villages of

Sæbøvik Sæbøvik is a village in Kvinnherad municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the narrow, western part of the island of Halsnøya, about west of the village of Høylandsbygd and immediately east of the village of Eids ...

and Eidsvik, located on the narrow northwestern part of the island. The "inner island" district is usually considered as the village area of

Høylandsbygd Høylandsbygd is a village in Kvinnherad municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the eastern part of the island of Halsnøya. It is one of the largest urban areas on the island, just after Sæbøvik and Eidsvik. Wh ...

and the larger, more rural, and rugged southeastern part of the island. Høylandsbygd is one of Western Norway's shipping capitals.

Tourism and places of interest

Halsnøy is a popular place for

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

s, especially from Germany and the Netherlands. Some of its most popular tourism attractions include Radiohola, the

, and the Høylandsbygd shipping mural.

Notable residents

Some famous people from Halsnøy include: * Tor Bjarne Bjelland, drummer for

Trucks A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

and Robert Post * Johannes Eide, shipping magnate and decorated local activist * Bjarte Agdestein, one of the creators of Oscar-winning short film The Danish Poet

References

External links