Kopervik is the largest

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

on the island of

Karmøy Karmøy is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is southwest of the town of Haugesund in the traditional district of Haugaland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kopervik. Most of the municipality lies on t ...

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, Vestfold og Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. In 2020, it had a population of 47 ...

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 also 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 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 ...

. It is part of 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 in ...

. The town was also an independent municipality from 1866 until 1965. The town has a population (2019) of 11,561 and a

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 ...

of . The municipality of Karmøy has about 42,000 inhabitants, so this means Kopervik is home to about 25% of the municipal population. Kopervik is one of three towns in

(the others are

Åkrehamn or Åkrahamn (commonly known as simply ''Åkra'') is a small town in Karmøy municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The town is located on the west side of the island of Karmøy in the traditional district of Haugaland. The town sits about ...

and

Skudeneshavn (also known as Skudeneshamn or simply Skudenes) is a town in Karmøy municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located on the southernmost tip of the island of Karmøy at the entrance to the Boknafjorden and Karmsundet strait. The town is ...

). Kopervik is a transportation hub for scheduled boats going north to

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 ...

and south to

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 ...

. The main industries are

aluminium smelting 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. ...

and

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 ...

. Kopervik contains

's municipal government buildings as well as a lot of the commercial development in the municipality.

Kopervik Church Kopervik Church ( no, Kopervik kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Karmøy Municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the town of Kopervik on the eastern shore of the island of Karmøy. It is the church for the K ...

has been located in the town for a long time. The previous church building was destroyed by fire in 2010, and its replacement was completed in 2016.

History

The village of Kopervik was declared a ladested (town) on 16 August 1866, and since towns could not be part of a rural municipality, it was separated from 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, along the Karmsundet strait, just south of the town of Haugesund. The village was an ancient ...

to form an urban municipality of its own. Initially, Kopervik had a population of 737 and it encompassed . On 1 January 1965, there were many big municipal mergers in 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 ...

, and on that date the town of Kopervik was merged with the neighboring municipalities of

, Stangaland,

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 1855 ...

Skudenes Skudenes is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It was part of the traditional district of Haugaland. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1965. The administrative centre was the town of Skudeneshavn (whi ...

, and

Åkra Åkra is a former municipality in the traditional district of Haugaland in Rogaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1892 until 1965 and it encompassed the central part of the western coast of the island of Karmøy. The administ ...

and with the nearby town of

. Together these municipalities formed the new, large municipality of

. Prior to the merger, Kopervik had 1,737 residents. Kopervik lost its status as a "town" upon merging into Karmøy municipality. In 1996, due to some changes in the laws on towns, Karmøy municipality declared Kopervik to be a town once again. According to legend, King

Sverre I of Norway Sverre Sigurdsson ( non, Sverrir Sigurðarson) (c. 1145/1151 – 9 March 1202) was the king of Norway from 1184 to 1202. Many consider him one of the most important rulers in Norwegian history. He assumed power as the leader of the rebel party ...

ordered the construction of a wooden castle on the headland at the entrance to the harbour where Kopervik is located today. A part of Kopervik is therefore called ''Treborg'', literally meaning "wooden castle". There is however no evidence of its existence. Kopervik was also home to Tormod Torfæus, appointed as the official Royal Norwegian historian to the Danish king during the

Kingdom of Denmark-Norway Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

Government

From 1866 through 1963, Kopervik was an independent municipality that was 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 was 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 ...

Municipal council

The

of Kopervik was made up of representatives that were 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 final municipal council was as follows:

Notable residents

* Jan Kjell Larsen, footballer *

Svein Munkejord Svein Magnus Munkejord (born 26 September 1948) is a Norwegian politician for 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 ...

, Former fisheries minister *

Asbjørn Sunde Asbjørn Edvin Sunde (12 December 1909 – 23 April 1985) was a Norwegian politician for the Communist Party of Norway, communist partisan during the Spanish Civil War, saboteur against the Nazi occupation of Norway during the Second World W ...

(1909-1985), Saboteur against the

Nazi occupation of Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until th ...

* Tormod Torfæus (1636—1719), Icelandic-Norwegian historian *

Øyvind Vaksdal Øyvind Vaksdal (born 19 October 1955 in Kopervik) is a Norwegian politician for the Progress Party. He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Rogaland in 1997, and has been re-elected on two occasions. He had previously served in the pos ...

, Politician

References

External links

Kopervik.infoHistoricVideoKopervik MapKopervik Videregående SkoleKopervik Weather forecastKopervik MapKopervik IL (football club)Kopervik VolleyballklubbByen Vår KopervikAnne Beth Hagen Tekstilkunstner Kopervik Kulturhus
{{use dmy dates, date=July 2020 Karmøy Former municipalities of Norway Cities and towns in Norway Populated places in Rogaland 1866 establishments in Norway 1965 disestablishments in Norway 1996 establishments in Norway