Askøy 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 ...

Vestland Vestland is a Counties of Norway, 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 cit ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, 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 ...

. The island municipality is located in the Midhordland district of the county, sitting in a large group of islands immediately northwest of the city of

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, secon ...

. 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 urban village of

Kleppestø Kleppestø is the administrative centre of the municipality of Askøy in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the southern coast of the island of Askøy. The village of Florvåg lies just north of Kleppestø and the village of S ...

on the southeastern shore of the island of Askøy. The municipality is the 328th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Askøy is the 36th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 29,816. 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 RosenberPopu ...

is and its population has increased by 13.8% over the previous 10-year period. Since the opening of the Askøy Bridge connecting it to the mainland of Bergen in 1992, the population has increased rapidly. Its population growth among the highest in Norway. Most of the population growth is due to migration from Bergen and the surrounding districts 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 ...

and Midhordland.

General information

The parish of ''Askøen'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () is the name for Norwegian local self-government districts that were legally enacted on 1 January 1838. This system of municipalities was created in a bill approved by the Parliament of Norway and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 Janu ...

law). In 1879, a small area of the neighboring municipality of Fana (population: 18) was transferred to Askøen. On 1 January 1904, a small area near the village of Hanevik (population: 32) was transferred from Askøen to the neighboring municipality of

Alversund Alversund is a village in Alver municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the mainland of the Lindås peninsula, along the shore of the Alverstraumen strait. The village sits between the villages of Alverstraumen (a ...

. On 1 July 1918, the southern (mainland) portions of Askøy (population: 6,957) were separated from the municipality to form the new municipality of

Laksevåg Laksevåg is a borough of the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. The borough is located in the western part of the municipality. Historically, the area was called ''Laxevaag'', and it was a separate municipality until 1972 when it wa ...

. This split left Askøy with 4,822 residents. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across 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 Munici ...

. On 1 January 1964, the Hanevik area (population: 193) on the island of Askøy was transferred to Askøy from the municipality of Meland. Also on that date, the old municipality of

Herdla Herdla is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1871 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality encompassed a large group of about 2,000 islands and skerries covering about of land area ...

was dissolved. The parts of Herdla on the island of Askøy and the island of

(population: 1,564) were also transferred to Askøy. This boundary adjustment put the entire island of Askøy, the island of Herdla, and many tiny surrounding islands in the municipality of Askøy.

Name

The first element is the name "Askøy" came from the old '' Ask'' farm ( non, Askr) and the last element is ''øy'', meaning "island". The name of the farm is identical with the word ''askr'', meaning "

ash tree ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45–65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous, though a number of subtropical species are evergr ...

". Until 1918 the name was written as ''"Askøen"''.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

was granted on 28 September 1961. The arms are a

canting ' (IPA: , VOS Spelling: ''tjanting'', jv, ꦕꦤ꧀ꦛꦶꦁ, Tjanting) is a pen-like tool used to apply liquid hot wax ( jv, ) in the batik-making process in Indonesia, more precisely ''batik tulis'' (lit. "written batik"). Traditional '' ...

showing an

''(ask)'' on an island ''(øy)'' with waves of the sea in the base of the shield.

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 ...

has five parishes () within the municipality of Askøy. It is part of the Vesthordland prosti

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 reside ...

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 ...

Culture

Askøy is home to several sports teams. Askøy Fotballklub is an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club, formed in 1999 by the merger of Florvåg Idrettsforening and Kleppestø Fotball. The club has a large number of teams, of which the majority are junior football teams. The men's senior team plays in the Norwegian third division . The oldest sports club on the island is Ask Idrettslag, mainly an

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

club, founded in 1928. The music festival Lost Weekend is held on the island every summer in Kollevågen. The festival, first held in August 2001, attracts a large number of minor Norwegian bands. The festival has been threatened by economic trouble several times. In the village of

Strusshamn Strusshamn is an urban village in the municipality of Askøy in Vestland county, Norway. The village lies along the Byfjorden on the southern coast of the island of Askøy, just west of the large urban village of Kleppestø. Strusshamn is one of ...

are old wooden houses, dating back to the early 19th century. Strusshamn then served as a quarantine harbour for

. Today, Strusshamn is one of the cultural capitals of Askøy, with a lot of activities and a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make th ...

of its own showing life on Askøy in earlier times.

Geography

Askøy is an island municipality including the main island of Askøy and the minor island of

as well as many small surrounding islands. The municipality is surrounded by three

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icel ...

Hjeltefjorden Hjeltefjorden is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. The long fjord runs north–south between many islands leading from the open ocean to the city of Bergen. It passes through the municipalities of Fedje, Øygarden, Alver, and Askøy. Its na ...

to the west and north, Byfjorden to the east, and

Herdlefjorden Herdlefjorden is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. The long fjord runs between the islands of Holsnøy (in Alver Municipality) and Askøy (in Askøy Municipality). The fjord connects with the Salhusfjorden and the Byfjorden on the southe ...

to the northeast. The municipality borders Alver to the northeast,

to the southeast, and

Øygarden Øygarden is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is an island municipality located in the traditional district of Midhordland, stretching along the west coast of the county. The village of Straume is the administrative centre of the ...

to the west. Askøy has one of the fastest growing populations in Norway due to an influx of new inhabitants from the Bergen, Midhordland and

after the opening of the Askøy Bridge in 1992. North of Askøy lies the island of

, a popular recreational area on the site of the disused German Herdla Airport from

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The densely populated part of the municipality is on the south and eastern coasts.

and

are located on the southern coast and Florvåg is on the east coast. Florvåg was connected to downtown

for many decades via ferries. The northern and western parts of the island are thinly populated. There is a large lake on the southeast part of the island, called Askevatnet. The tallest mountain on the island is Kolbeinsvarden. The recreation area of Kollevågen lies in the western part of the island.

Settlements

;Ask

Ask is a village in the eastern part of Askøy. Due to its pleasant climate and its convenient location to Bergen, Ask was the location of a ''kongsgård'' (lit. "royal farm"); the very old Ask Church and churchyard was also located in Ask. The location where the church was situated from about 1200 until 1741 is today marked by a stone cross. Ask is the

saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, from the Super NES to th ...

location for a famous dispute over inheritance between

Egill Skallagrímsson Egil Skallagrímsson (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ; 904 995) was a Viking Age war poet, sorcerer, berserker, and farmer.Thorsson, 3 He is known mainly as the anti-hero of '' Egil's Saga''. ''Egil's Saga'' historically narrates a period fro ...

and Berg-Önundr. The local dialect of the village also reflects the close ties to Bergen, with the dialect being more similar to that of Bergen than that of the rest of Askøy except the dialect of Florvåg; the connection was reinforced into modern times as the wealthy merchants and other residents of Bergen spent their summer there. Ask has had famous residents up to recent times.

Fridtjof Nansen Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 186113 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, and humanitarian. He led the team t ...

lived in a house near Kongshaugen in a short period. Amalie Skram lived at Lien at Ask from 1876 to 1878. ;Other settlements Some of the other notable settlements in Askøy include Abbedisso, Erdal, Hanevik,

, Skjelviki, and Tveitevåg.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Askøy, 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 ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

, senior citizen 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 during the refe ...

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 adminis ...

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 ...

, 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 o ...

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 counc ...

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 ...

. The municipality falls under the Hordaland District Court and the

Gulating Court of Appeal The Gulating Court of Appeal ( no, Gulating lagmannsrett) 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 Muni ...

Municipal council

The

() of Askøy is made up of 35 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 featu ...

breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Askøy (incomplete list): *2019–present: Siv Høgtun ( H) *2015-2019: Terje Mathiassen ( Ap) *2011-2015: Siv Høgtun (H) *2007-2011: Knut Hanselmann ( FrP) *1999-2007: Kari Manger (Ap) *1994-1999: Øyvind Fluge ( KrF) *1990-1993: Oddvard Nilsen (H) *1988-1989: Øyvind Fluge (KrF)

Industry and trade

Askøy is well known for the tasty

strawberries The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

from Ask. The seafood industry is also well settled at Askøy. Askøy also houses several boat building companies; the most famous of which are Viksund Yachts of Norway situated in

, Viknes situated in Bakarvågen, Selby situated in

and NB Marine situated at

. Askøy houses some big industrial facilities such as Hanøytangen, Mjølkeviksvarden, and Storebotn.

Notable people

* Knut Robberstad (1899 in Askøy – 1981) a Norwegian jurist, philologist and academic *

Halldor Espelid Halldor Espelid (6 October 1920 – 29 March 1944), known as "Harold" was a Norwegian Supermarine Spitfire pilot who was taken prisoner during the Second World War. He is notable for the part he took in the 'Great Escape' from Stalag Luft III in ...

(1920 in Askøy – 1944) a Norwegian

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Gri ...

pilot, escaped from

Stalag Luft III Stalag Luft III (german: Stammlager Luft III; literally "Main Camp, Air, III"; SL III) was a ''Luftwaffe''-run German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II, prisoner-of-war (POW) camp during the Second World War, which held captured Allies of World ...

, re-captured and shot by the Gestapo * Ingrid Espelid Hovig (1924 in Askøy – 2018) a television chef and author of cook books * Arne Tumyr (born 1933) a former journalist, newspaper editor and politician, grew up in Ask * Geir Magnus Nyborg (1951 in Askøy – 2018) a Norwegian media scholar and theologian

Sport

* Trygve Andersen (born 1934 in Askøy) retired footballer, 27 caps for

* Martin Jensen (1942 in Askøy – 2016) a Norwegian triple jumper * Frode Syvertsen (born 1963 in Askøy) a speed skater, competed at the

1988 Winter Olympics The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games (french: XVes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Calgary 1988 ( bla, Mohkínsstsisi 1988; sto, Wîchîspa Oyade 1988 or ; cr, Otôskwanihk 1998/; srs, Guts� ...

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 ye ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Askoy Municipalities of Vestland 1838 establishments in Norway