Bokn 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 go ...

in Rogaland 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 the ...

. It is located 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 in ...

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of

Føresvik Føresvik (sometimes called ''Bokn'') is the administrative centre of Bokn municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located on the northeastern shore of the island of Vestre Bokn, along the rather narrow Boknasundet strait whic ...

, the only urban area in Bokn. Other villages in Bokn include Arsvågen, Trosnavåg, and Loten. The island municipality is mostly located on the three islands of

Ognøya Ognøya or Ogn is an island in Bokn municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The island lies between the mainland and the islands of Austre Bokn and Vestre Bokn. The islands are connected by a series of bridges as part of the European route ...

Vestre Bokn Vestre Bokn is an island in Bokn municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The island is the main island of the municipality. It lies on the northern side of the Boknafjorden at the southern end of the Karmsundet strait. Vestre Bokn lies betwe ...

, and

Austre Bokn Austre Bokn is an island in Bokn municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The island lies on the northern side of the Boknafjorden between the islands of Ognøya and Vestre Bokn. It's connected to the other two islands and to the mainland by ...

. All three main islands are connected to the mainland via a network of bridges. The municipality is the 348th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Bokn is the 342nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 855. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...

is and its population has increased by 0.5% over the previous ten-year period.

General information

The municipality of Bokn (historically spelled ''Bukken'') was established in 1849 when it was separated from the large municipality of

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 ...

. Initially, Bokn had 1,035 residents. The borders of Bokn have not changed since that time.

Name

The municipality is named after the islands of

and

( non, Bókn). The name is probably very old and its meaning is unknown. Before 1889, the name was written ''"Bukken"''.

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 8 August 1986. The arms are blue with six silver/white circles in the shape of a triangle. The blue background represents the sea and the 6 circles represent silver coins, which symbolize the richness from the sea since it is an island municipality and therefore dependent on fishing and sailing.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish () within the municipality of Bokn. 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) 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 ...

Buildings and structures

There is a tall guyed mast for FM-/TV-broadcasting at located at .

Geography

The island municipality of Bokn is located on the northern side of the

Boknafjorden Boknafjord or Boknafjorden ( en, Bokna Fjord) is a fjord located in Rogaland county, Norway. The huge fjord lies between the cities of Stavanger and Haugesund and dominates the central part of the county. The main part of the fjord is shared ...

, at the southern end of the

Karmsundet Karmsund is a strait located in Rogaland county, Norway. The long strait separates the Karmøy (island), 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 ...

strait. 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 ...

lies to the west and the mainland of

Tysvær Tysvær is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is part of the Haugalandet region. The municipality is located on the Haugalandet peninsula on the northern side of the Boknafjorden, just east of the towns of Kopervik and Haugesund. Th ...

is located to the northeast. The 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 ...

lies south of Bokn and the island municipality of

Rennesøy Rennesøy is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It was merged into Stavanger municipality on 1 January 2020. It was located in the traditional district of Ryfylke. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of ...

lies to the southeast of Bokn. Bokn is one of the smallest municipalities in Rogaland, consisting of three main islands:

, and

. There are also some smaller, uninhabited islands surrounding the main islands. The islands are rugged with many small hills with small lakes in the

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

s. The hills are largely covered with heather, but bushes and trees are increasingly competing, especially

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains ...

. The highest point is the high Boknafjellet, a small mountain on

island.

Climate

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Bokn, are responsible for primary education (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 during the refere ...

and other social services,

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 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 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

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.

Municipal council

The

() of Bokn is made up of 17 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 featur ...

breakdown is as follows:

Transportation

The three islands of Bokn are now linked via bridges to

municipality on the mainland. These bridges are part of the European route E39 highway and they are part of the main coastal highway between the cities of Stavanger and

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 o ...

. There is a ferry connection southward across the

which is connected by road to Stavanger. The planned

Rogfast Rogaland Fixed Link or simply the Rogfast is a project, constructing a sub-sea road tunnel between the municipalities of Randaberg (near the city of Stavanger) and Bokn in Rogaland county, Norway. The tunnel will be called the Boknafjord tunne ...

undersea tunnel An underwater tunnel is a tunnel which is partly or wholly constructed under the sea or a river. They are often used where building a bridge or operating a ferry link is unviable, or to provide competition or relief for existing bridges or ferry li ...

will directly connect both sides of the Boknafjorden from Stavanger to Bokn, with a planned completion date of 2023.

Economy

Apart from a factory producing various tanks made of glassfiber-reinforced plastic (Bokn Plast), there is no industry on the islands other than some

fish farming upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye">mariculture.html" ;"title="Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture">Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland Fish farming or ...

. People have traditionally lived off

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 ...

and

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...

, but more recently, some work has been in the

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

petroleum industry The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The large ...

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

is likely to play a bigger part in the future.

Notable people

Asbjørn Kloster Asbjørn Kloster (21 December 1823 – 18 January 1876) was an educator, social reformer and leader of the Norwegian temperance movement in the 19th century. Background Asbjørn Olsen Kloster was born in Vestre Bokn in Tysvær, Rogaland, Nor ...

(1823 in Vestre Bokn – 1876) social reformer, minister, teacher, publisher and leader of the Norwegian temperance movement * Lars Elisæus Vatnaland (1892 in Bokn – 1983) a Norwegian politician, Mayor of Bokn municipality 1925 to 1934

References

External links

* *
Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway {{use dmy dates, date=June 2020 Municipalities of Rogaland 1849 establishments in Norway