Karmøy is a

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

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. As of 1 January 2024, it had a population of 49 ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It is southwest of the town of Haugesund in the traditional district of

Haugaland Haugaland or Haugalandet is a traditional district situated on the western coast of Norway. Haugaland is one of the 15 traditional districts located within the Vestlandet region. Geographically, Haugaland is a peninsula between Bømlafjorden i ...

. The

administrative centre An administrative centre 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 the administrative language, such as Belgi ...

of the municipality is the town of Kopervik. Most of the municipality lies on the island of Karmøy. The island is connected to the mainland by the Karmøy Tunnel and the Karmsund Bridge. It is known for its industries, as well as for

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

. Karmøy is also well known in Norway for its beautiful heather moors and the white sand surfing beaches. The municipality is the 294th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Karmøy is the 25th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 42,903, making it one of the largest in the region. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

is and its population has increased by 4.3% over the previous 10-year period. The island itself is the 4th most populated island in all of Norway.

General information

The municipality of Karmøy is a recent creation. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee () was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a ...

. On 1 January 1965, Karmøy municipality was created upon the merger of two towns and parts of five municipalities into one large municipality with 23,217 residents. The areas that were merged were: *the town of Kopervik (population: 1,737) *the town of Skudeneshavn (population: 1,275) *the whole municipality of Skudenes (population: 3,583) *the whole municipality of Stangaland (population: 2,678) *the whole municipality of Åkra (population: 6,008) *the part of the municipality of

Avaldsnes Avaldsnes is a village in Karmøy municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located on the northeastern part of the island of Karmøy (island), Karmøy, along the Karmsundet strait, just south of the town of Haugesund (town), Hauge ...

located west of the Førresfjorden (population: 4,153) *most of the municipality of

Torvastad Torvastad is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until 1965. The administrative centre was the village of Haugesund (town), Haugesund (from 1838 until 185 ...

(population: 3,783), except for the island of Vibrandsøy which went to Haugesund Municipality

Name

The municipality is named after the island of Karmøy (), since the majority of the municipality is located on this island. The first element is derived from the word which means "bargeboard", likely in the sense of a "sheltering island". The last element, which means "

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

", was added later.

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 last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

was granted on 18 April 1975. The official

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

is ''"

Gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). Gules is portrayed in heraldic hatch ...

, a

fret A fret is any of the thin strips of material, usually metal wire, inserted laterally at specific positions along the neck or fretboard of a stringed instrument. Frets usually extend across the full width of the neck. On some historical inst ...

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

"'' (). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the ordinary is a

(a diamond interwoven with a cross). The ordinary has a

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The design is canting, as the central diamond shape stands for (which is Norwegian for a "frame"). The island forms a border (or frame) against the sea and protects the inland areas from its forces. The cross in the design symbolizes the local Avaldsnes Church that was the royal chapel here during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. The island is said to be a central location and medieval kings would often choose to stay there to be able to "get everywhere in haste" if needed. The arms were designed by Magnus Hardeland. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

has eight parishes () within the municipality of Karmøy. It is part of the Karmøy prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the 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 residence of ...

) in the

Diocese of Stavanger The Diocese of Stavanger () is a diocese in the Church of Norway. It covers all of Rogaland county in western Norway. The cathedral city is Stavanger, where the Stavanger Cathedral is located. The bishop is Anne Lise Ådnøy, who has held the p ...

History

There are several finds from the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

and

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

. Large burial mounds, stone monuments, and many other ancient monuments are found on the island. Karmøy is the site of the Storhaug, Grønhaug, and Flagghaugen burial mounds. Karmøy was known for sailing in the old times. The eddic poem ''

Grímnismál ''Grímnismál'' (Old Norse: ; 'The Lay of Grímnir') is one of the mythological poems of the '' Poetic Edda''. It is preserved in the Codex Regius manuscript and the AM 748 I 4to fragment. It is spoken through the voice of ''Grímnir'', one ...

'' says that

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

, the weather god, wades the Karmsundet strait every morning on his way to

Yggdrasil Yggdrasil () is an immense and central sacred tree in Norse cosmology. Around it exists all else, including the Nine Worlds. Yggdrasil is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'' compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and in t ...

, the tree of life. The ocean outside Karmøy is dangerous, filled with underwater currents and rocks. Thus the ships were forced into the narrow Karmsundet. Chieftains and kings controlled the ships passing up and down the coast and demanded taxes. The Karmsundet strait was also the source of the name of the kingdom, at the time when the first king of the unified Norway,

Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair (; – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from 872 to 930 and was the first Monarchy of Norway, King of Norway. Supposedly, two ...

, lived on Karmøy. (See

History of Norway The history of Norway has been influenced to an extraordinary degree by the terrain and the climate of the region. About 10,000 BC, following the retreat inland of the great ice sheets, the earliest inhabitants migrated north into the territor ...

is located on the northeastern coast of the island. King Augvald who has given his name to this ancient site is mentioned in the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

saga Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between ...

s as having his home here. Later the residence of

and other kings are mentioned. There is also a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

church, St. Olav's church of Avaldsnes, located on this coast. Visnes, a village in the northwest of Karmøy was once the site of an important

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

mine. This mine was source of the copper used for the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In the 18th century, two girls from Uyea in

Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

rowed to Haaf Gruney to milk some of the cows grazing there. Unfortunately, their return was marred by a strong storm, and eventually they found their tiny boat blown to Karmøy. The Uyea girls ended up marrying Karmøy men, and their descendants still live there. The Dyrland family of Karmoy are believed to be the family that the two girls married into after they arrived on Karmøy. Sivert Dyrland was a member of the Norwegian government in the early 20th century.

Geography

The majority of the municipality is located on the large island of Karmøy, but it also includes the mainland peninsula between the Karmsundet strait and Førresfjorden, plus the island of Feøy and several other small islands. The natural and cultural landscape is highly heterogeneous, encompassing chalk-white sands,

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of Habitat (ecology), habitat found in upland (geology), upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and the biomes of montane grasslands and shrublands, characterised by low-growing vegetation on So ...

, and several piers around the island. The landscape in the north is mainly agricultural, while large parts of the inland south are heather moors. The island has many white, sandy beaches facing the

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

, attracting surfers as one of the top spots for

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind-propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the Californian aerospace and surf culture. Windsurfing gain ...

in Norway. Towns and villages are mostly located along the coast. The three towns in Karmøy are all on the island, the administrative center Kopervik is on the east side, Åkrehamn is on the west side, while Skudeneshavn is on the southern tip. On the mainland part of Karmøy, the village of Norheim is contiguous with the neighboring town of

Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipalities of Norway, municipality and List of towns and cities in Norway, town on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. As of December 2023, the municipality of Haugesund has a population of 37,855. The vast majority of ...

. To the south of Norheim is the village of Vormedal while the village of Kolnes is in the northeastern part of mainland Karmøy. Other villages in Karmøy include

, Eike, Ferkingstad, Sævelandsvik, Sandve, Veavågen, and Visnes. Haugesund Airport is also located on the island rather than in the town of Haugesund proper. The Geitungen Lighthouse lies at the southern end of the municipality, marking the entrance to the Boknafjorden.

Climate

Karmøy has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(Cfb), also known as marine west coast climate, with rainy winters and warm or mild summers, and a long frost-free season for the latitude. The all-time high was recorded July 2019, and the all-time low was set in January 2010 (extremes since 2003). The wettest time of year is autumn and winter, while April–July is the driest season. Haugesund Airport is situated in Karmøy municipality and has been recording since 1975.

Districts

The municipality is divided into 79 circuits, grouped into 10 areas: * Åkra: Tjøsvoll, Tjøsvoll øst, Åkrehamn, Årvold, Grindhaug, Mosbron, Stong, Ådland,

Liknes Liknes is the administrative centre of Kvinesdal municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located along the river Kvina, about north of the mouth where it empties into the Fedafjorden. The village of Storekvina lies about to the no ...

: Kvalavåg, Visnes, Skeie, Velde, Fiskå, Utvik * Fastlandssiden: Norheimsvågen, Norheim, Norheimsskogen, Spanne, Røyksund,

Fosen Fosen is a traditional district in coastal Trøndelag county, Norway. The district consists of the municipalities Osen, Åfjord, Ørland, Indre Fosen, Orkland, Heim, Hitra, and Frøya. In colloquial speech, Fosen also refers to the Fosen ...

, Mykje, Aksnes, Eike, Moksheim, Bjøllehaugen, Trevarden, Vormedal * Ferkingstad: Stava, Stol/Ferkingstad, Langåker/Kvilhaug, Hemnes/Sandhåland * Håvik: Østrem, Bygnes, Skår, Sund, Vorå, Kolstø * Kopervik: Stokkastrand, Nordstokke, Stangeland, Liar, Kalvatre, Kopervik sentrum, Nordre side, Østremneset, Eide, Brekke * Sevland: Heiå, Mannes, Sevlandsvik, Varne * Skudenes: Vikra, Sandve, Syre, Breidablikk, Hålandshøgda, Vågen/Varden, Skudeneshavn, Vigevågen, Vik, Falnes, Hillesland, Hovdastad, Snørteland *

: Feøy, Hauge, Håland, Osnes, Litlasund,

Karmsund Karmsund is a strait located in Rogaland county, Norway. The long strait separates the island of Karmøy on the west and the mainland of Norway and island of Vestre Bokn in the east. The strait runs through the municipalities of Haugesund, ...

, Storesund, Nordbø, Bø * Vedavågen: Sævik, Østhus, Østhusneset, Munkejord,

Vea ''Vea'' was a Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican celebrity gossip magazine that was published weekly from 1969 to 2009. It was founded by Enrique Pizzi Galindo and Roberto García. As a periodical that reported on the lives and activities of many of the ...

Government

Karmøy Municipality is responsible for

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

(through 10th grade), outpatient

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

senior citizen Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

services,

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

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. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

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

economic development In economics, economic development (or 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 object ...

, and municipal

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

s and utilities. 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, borough cou ...

of directly elected representatives. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

indirectly elected An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting,'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office ( direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the o ...

by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Haugaland og Sunnhordland District Court and the

Gulating Court of Appeal The Gulating Court of Appeal () is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Bergen. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Vestland and Rogaland plus Sirdal Municipality in Agder county ...

Municipal council

The

() of Karmøy is made up of 45 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, 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 oft ...

Mayors

The

mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

() of Karmøy: * 1965–1968: Thomas Stange ( V) * 1969–1969: Bjarne Espeseth ( KrF) * 1970–1971: Kaare Wegner Stange ( Sp) * 1972–1973: Jakob Eng ( KrF) * 1974–1975: Kaare Wegner Stange ( Sp) * 1976–1981: Jakob Eng ( KrF) * 1982–1982: Godtfred Kristensen ( H) * 1983–1984: Jakob Eng ( KrF) * 1985–1989: Hans Sund ( H) * 1990–1991: Jostein Espeset ( KrF) * 1992–1993: Gunnar Mosbron ( Ap) * 1994–1995: Leif Malvin Knutsen ( KrF) * 1996–2011: Kjell Arvid Svendsen ( KrF) * 2011–2015: Aase Simonsen ( H) * 2015–2023: Jarle Nilsen ( Ap) * 2023-present: Leiv Arne Marhaug ( H)

Area attractions

* Skude Festival (''Skudefestivalen'') is an annual festival held during the first week of July in Skudeneshavn. It is the largest gathering of coastal culture in Western Norway with boats of all categories: vintage boats of all categories – old wooden boats, vintage boats, modern boats, sailing boats, tall ships. Craftsmen demonstrate handcrafts from olden days connected to sea and shipping. International and national artists entertain in the evenings. In 2004, Skudeneshavn was voted Norway's summer city by national TV viewers. * Viking Farm (''Vikinggarden'') is part of the Nordvegen History Centre, located close to Avaldsnes. The building and use of the farm is an ongoing experimental archaeological research and interpretation programme. The farm includes reconstructed houses. * Karmøy Museum of Fishing (''Karmøy Fiskerimuseum''), which opened in 1999 in Veavågen, presents the history of fishing in the region of Karmøy from the 1950s up to the present day. In addition to the main exhibitions there are salt-water aquariums showing the most common types of fish in the area. The Karmøy Fishery Museum is housed in a new building with unique architecture. * Mælandsgården Museum (''Museet i Mælandsgården'') is situated in the middle of the old, well preserved part of Skudeneshavn. A town model shows what old Skudeneshavn looked like in 1918. * Rogaland Fish Museum (''Rogaland Fiskerimuseum''), located in an old

herring Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...

salting factory in Åkrehamn, is fully restored to its former glory and housing new exhibitions about the history of this vibrant coastal community. This museum also richly depicts the contact enjoyed between Karmøy and North America. * Visnes Mining Museum (''Visnes Gruvemuseum'') provides the history of the rather special mining community that in the 1800s had 3,000 inhabitants. Visnes supplied the

for the

. * Ferkingstad, an area known for its archaeological finds, from the early Viking period to the late medieval era.

Industry

Norsk Hydro Norsk Hydro ASA (often referred to as just ''Hydro'') is a Norway, Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. It is one of the largest aluminium companies worldwide. It has operations in some 50 countries around th ...

is a large

aluminium smelter Aluminium smelting is the process of extracting aluminium from its oxide, alumina, generally by the Hall-Héroult process. Alumina is extracted from the ore bauxite by means of the Bayer process at an List of alumina refineries, alumina refinery. ...

operator located on the island of Karmøy. The power supply of this facility is done by three overhead power lines, which cross the Karmsundet strait on tall pylons. These pylons are the tallest electricity pylons in Norway. Bauer-Nilsen design and produce

high-pressure In science and engineering the study of high pressure examines its effects on materials and the design and construction of devices, such as a diamond anvil cell, which can create high pressure. ''High pressure'' usually means pressures of thousan ...

hydraulics Hydraulics () is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counterpart of pneumatics, which concer ...

located at Karmøy.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Karmøy has

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

agreements with the following places: * Mjölby,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

* Vinderup,

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Hankasalmi Hankasalmi is a municipality of Finland, located in the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Hankasal ...

, Finland

Notable people

* King Augvald (7th century AD), the semi-legendary king in Norway * King Ferking (7th century AD), the semi-legendary king in Norway * King

(c. 850—c. 932), the first king of a united Norway * Christen Bentsen Schaaning (ca.1611–1679), a clergyman and parish priest of Avaldsnes from 1635–1679 * Thormodus Torfæus (1636—1719), an Icelandic-born resident of Kopervik, the first Royal Historian of Norway * Endre Johannes Cleven (1874—1916), promoter of the settlement and culture of Norwegian immigrants in

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

* Asbjørn Sunde (1909—1985), a communist resistance fighter and leader of the Osvald Group * Jan Ivar Pedersen (born 1936), a Norwegian professor of nutrition * Jakob Eng (born 1937) a banker, politician, and Mayor of Karmøy in 1980s * Thorhild Widvey (born 1956), a

physical therapist Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease prevention ...

, politician, and government minister * Leif Johan Sevland (born 1961), a politician who was mayor of Stavanger from 1995 to 2011 *

Leif Ove Andsnes Leif Ove Andsnes (; born 7 April 1970) is a Norwegian pianist and chamber musician. Andsnes has made several recordings for Virgin and EMI. In 2012, he signed with Sony Classical, and recorded for the label the "Beethoven Journey" project, whi ...

(born 1970), a pianist and chamber musician * Jostein Grindhaug (born 1973), a former football player with 135 caps for

FK Haugesund Fotballklubben Haugesund (), usually referred to as FK Haugesund or FKH, is a professional association football, football club from the city of Haugesund that plays in the top tier of the Norwegian football league system. FK Haugesund previousl ...

and coach * Anne Margrethe Hausken (born 1976), an

orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that involve using a map and compass to navigation, navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specia ...

world champion who grew up in Karmøy * Bjørn Eriksen, (Norwegian Wiki) (born 1983), a videogame commentator («Addexio») on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

* Jesper Pedersen (alpine skier) (born 1999), Gold medalist, at the

Winter Paralympics The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete in snow and ice sports. The event includes athletes with mobility impairments, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. The ...

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway (, 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 year on its web site. All rele ...

*
Tourist information
– from the municipality

Mælandsgården

Karmøy Kulturopplevelser

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karmoy Municipalities of Rogaland 1965 establishments in Norway