Utsira () is the smallest

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 ...

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 ...

. The island municipality is located in northwestern

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 A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

, just off the western coast of Norway. Utsira 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 municipality consists of the main island of

Utsira Utsira () is the smallest List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. The island municipality is located in northwestern Rogaland Counties of Norway, county, just off the western coast of Norway. Utsira is part of the Districts of ...

as well as several small, uninhabited outlying islands. Utsira is located in 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 ...

, about west of the town of

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 ...

. All of the 206 residents () live on the main island of

, where 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 ...

and

Utsira Church Utsira Church ( no, Utsira kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Utsira Municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located on the small island of Utsira. It is the church for the Utsira parish which is part of the Haugaland ...

are located. The municipality is the 355th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway, making it the second smallest municipality in Norway after the nearby island municipality of

Kvitsøy Kvitsøy is an island municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. At only , it is the smallest municipality in Norway by area and one of the smallest by population. Kvitsøy is located in the traditional district of Ryfylke. The administrative c ...

. Utsira is the 356th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 188, making it the smallest municipality in Norway by population. 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 decreased by 13.8% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Utsira was established on 1 July 1924 when it was separated from 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 1855 ...

. Initially, Utsira had 414 residents. The municipal borders have not changed since that time.

Name

The municipality was named after the island of

which makes up the vast majority of the municipality. The

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is 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 of Scandinavia and t ...

forms of the island's name was just ''Síri'' (nominative) or ''Síra'' (genitive). The first element ''ut'' was added in the 16th century (''ut'' means "out" or "offshore"; compare the "

Out Skerries The Out Skerries are an archipelago of islets, some inhabited, in Shetland, Scotland, and are the easternmost part of Shetland. Locally, they are usually called Da Skerries or just Skerries. Geography The Out Skerries lie about northeast of ...

" in

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...

). The inhabitants still call the island ''Sira'' (leaving off the ''ut'' prefix) and an inhabitant of the municipality is called a ''sirabu''. The meaning of the name ''Sira'' is unknown (maybe "strong stream"). ( Sira is also the name of the border river between Rogaland and

Agder Agder is a county (''fylke'') and traditional region in the southern part of Norway. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder counties were merged. Since the early 1900s, the term Sørlandet ("south ...

counties.) The

Norwegian language Norwegian ( no, norsk, links=no ) is a North Germanic language spoken mainly in Norway, where it is an official language. Along with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a dialect continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regio ...

has had several spelling reforms during the 19th and 20th centuries. Before 1875, the name was written ''"Udsire"'', from 1875 to 1924 it was spelled ''"Utsire"'', and since 1925 it has used the spelling ''"Utsira"''.

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 ...

, granted on 23 July 1982, represents the

light beam A light beam or beam of light is a directional projection of light energy radiating from a light source. Sunlight forms a light beam (a sunbeam) when filtered through media such as clouds, foliage, or windows. To artificially produce a light ...

s emerging from the local

Utsira Lighthouse Utsira Lighthouse ( no, Utsira fyr) is a coastal lighthouse in Rogaland county, Norway. It sits on the western side of the island of Utsira (island), Utsira in the municipality of Utsira. History The lighthouse was first lit in 1844, and listed ...

. The lighthouse was founded in 1844 and is one of the main landmarks on the municipality.

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 Utsira. It is part of the

Haugaland prosti This list of churches in Rogaland is a list of the Church of Norway churches in Rogaland county, Norway. The churches are all part of the Diocese of Stavanger. The diocese is based at the Stavanger Cathedral in the city of Stavanger. The list ...

(

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 Stavanger The Diocese of Stavanger ( no, Stavanger bispedømme) 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 Li ...

Transportation

The island municipality is only accessible by boat. There are roads on the island. A car ferry operated by

Rutebåten Utsira Rutebåten Utsira AS is a company that operates the ferry MS ''Utsira'' from Haugesund to Utsira, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the w ...

runs four round-trips per day connecting the island to the town of

on the mainland. The trip takes about 70 minutes each way. There are ferry docks on the north and south side of the island. The northern port is more often used because the southern route takes a little longer; the southern is used if the weather demands. An ambulance helicopter can land at the football field in medical emergencies.Sykepleieren som må gjøre alt
/ref>

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Utsira, 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

Haugaland og Sunnhordland District Court Haugaland og Sunnhordland District Court ( no, Haugaland og Sunnhordland tingrett) is a district court located in Vestland and Rogaland counties in Norway. This court is based at two different courthouses which are located in Haugesund and Leir ...

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 Utsira is made up of 11 representatives that are elected to four year terms. Currently, 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 is as follows:

History

There are remains from the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...

on the island. It has been populated since that time. Historically, the island was governed by

, based on the mainland, but on 1 July 1924 the island was separated and it was established as a separate municipality. At that time, a new municipal council was to be elected. It was intended that the twelve men on the interim council would be elected, but the official list of candidates listed eleven women and a man. This was not known to even the people involved until the day of the election and by then it was too late. Despite a legal challenge the twelve were elected and

Aasa Helgesen Aasa Helgesen born Aasa Røinesdal (11 February 1877 – 29 April 1968) was a Norwegian midwife and politician. She served as mayor of Utsira from 1926 to 1928, and was the first female mayor in Norway. She worked as a midwife in Utsira from 1 ...

, the local midwife, was elected the first Mayor of Utsira and the first female mayor in Norway. Helgesen was a successful Mayor until 1928. In 2004,

Norsk Hydro Norsk Hydro ASA (often referred to as just ''Hydro'') is a 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 the world a ...

installed a combined wind-hydrogen utility on Utsira. It is a full scale pilot project for energy self-sufficiency for a remote community. In periods when there is surplus wind energy, the excess power will be used for generating

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...

electrolysis In chemistry and manufacturing, electrolysis is a technique that uses direct electric current (DC) to drive an otherwise non-spontaneous chemical reaction. Electrolysis is commercially important as a stage in the separation of elements from n ...

. The hydrogen is stored, and is available for power generation in periods where there is little wind. Additional to this an energy storing

flywheel A flywheel is a mechanical device which uses the conservation of angular momentum to store rotational energy; a form of kinetic energy proportional to the product of its moment of inertia and the square of its rotational speed. In particular, ass ...

exists to help out when for a short time more power is needed.

Climate

Utsira has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

( Cfb) with short, cool summers and long, chilly winters with lots of rainfall. The island has significant seasonal lag with February–March typically being the coldest months of the year while August is the warmest. The maritime position also renders low diurnal variation in temperature between day and night.

Shipping forecast

Utsira (under the spelling ''Utsire'') gives its name to "North Utsire" and "South Utsire", two of the sea areas of the British

Shipping Forecast The Shipping Forecast is a BBC Radio broadcast of weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the coasts of the British Isles. It is produced by the Met Office and broadcast by BBC Radio 4 on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. ...

Notable people

(1877–1968) a Norwegian midwife and politician. She served as Mayor of Utsira from 1926 to 1928, and was the first female mayor in Norway. She worked as a midwife in Utsira from 1903 to 1942.

Attractions

is the highest

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

light in Norway at

above mean sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. Utsira fyr3.jpg, View of Utsira Lighthouse The lighthouse on Utsira.jpg, Lighthouse tower Utsira fyr78 2m.JPG, Utsira lighthouse sign

Birding

Utsira is known as the best birding site in Norway. There have been 317 different species recorded on Utsira, of which 23 are new to Norway.

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 ...

Municipality web site

Birding on Utsira
{{use dmy dates, date=June 2020 Municipalities of Rogaland 1924 establishments in Norway