Fusa () is a former municipality in the old

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Munici ...

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 existed from 1856 until its dissolution in 2020. It was located east of the city of

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 ...

in the

Midhordland Midhordland or Midthordland is a traditional district in the Vestlandet region of Norway. It consists of the central-west portion of the old Hordaland county (now part of Vestland county), mostly including the islands and coastal fjord areas sur ...

region. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Eikelandsosen. Other villages in the municipality include Fusa,

Holdhus Holdhus is a village in Bjørnafjorden municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located about east of the village of Eikelandsosen. The village was the administrative centre of the old municipality of Hålandsdal which existed fr ...

Holmefjord Holmefjord is a village in the municipality of Bjørnafjorden in Vestland county, Norway. It is located near the shore along the Samnangerfjorden about northwest of the village of Eikelandsosen. Holmefjord is a small typical western Norwegian v ...

, Vinnes, Strandvik, and Sundvord. The Frank Mohn company's Fusa marine division is headquartered here, with almost 500 employees. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the new

Bjørnafjorden Municipality Bjørnafjorden is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. It runs through the municipalities of Austevoll, Bjørnafjorden, and Tysnes. The large island of Tysnesøya (and many small, surrounding islands such as Reksteren) lie along the south side ...

Vestland Vestland is a 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 city of Bergen, where t ...

county. Prior to its dissolution in 2020, the municipality was the 247th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Fusa was the 234th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 3,895. 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 3.9% over the last decade.

General information

The district of Fusa was separated from the municipality of Os in 1856 to become a separate municipality. Initially, Fusa had 3,173 residents. On 1 January 1903, the municipality of Fusa was divided into three separate municipalities: Hålandsdal in the east (population: 647), Strandvik in the south (population: 1,876), and a much smaller Fusa in the west (population: 1,072). 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 Municip ...

. On 1 January 1964, there were two changes to Fusa municipality. The Bogstrand area of Fusa, located on the west side of the Fusafjorden (population: 28) was transferred to the municipality of Os. Also on that date, the municipalities of Hålandsdal (population: 528) and Strandvik (population: 2,053) were merged with Fusa (population: 1,466) to form a much larger municipality of Fusa. On 1 January 2020, the neighboring municipalities of Os and Fusa were merged to form the new

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old ''Fusa'' farm ( non, Fúsar), since the first Fusa Church was built there. The name may be derived from the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

word ''fúss'' which means "eager" (possibly referring to a strong stream). The name may instead have been derived from the old verb ''fusa'', which had some meaning referring to running water. Until 1918, the name was written ''Fuse''.

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 27 September 1991. The arms show three blue spirals on a gray background. They symbolise the strong

current Currents, Current or The Current may refer to: Science and technology * Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas ** Air current, a flow of air ** Ocean current, a current in the ocean *** Rip current, a kind of water current ** Current (stre ...

s in the Fusafjorden and

Bjørnafjorden Bjørnafjorden is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. It runs through the municipalities of Austevoll, Bjørnafjorden, and Tysnes. The large island of Tysnesøya (and many small, surrounding islands such as Reksteren) lie along the south side ...

. The spirals also symbolise the many

giant's kettle A giant's kettle, also known as either a giant's cauldron, moulin pothole, or glacial pothole, is a typically large and cylindrical pothole drilled in solid rock underlying a glacier either by water descending down a deep moulin or by gravel r ...

s ''(jettegryte)'' in the municipality, which were created by the water in the rocks.

Churches

The Church of Norway had one parish () within the municipality of Fusa. It is part of the Hardanger og Voss prosti ( deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Geography

Fusa was located at the inner end of the

and its small arm, the Fusafjorden. The municipality of Os was located across the fjord to the west, Samnanger Municipality was to the north,

Kvam Municipality Kvam is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The municipality is located along the Hardangerfjorden in the traditional district of Hardanger. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Norheimsund. Other larger settl ...

was to the east, and

Kvinnherad Municipality Kvinnherad is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland, along the Hardangerfjorden. The municipality was the 5th in size in former Hordaland county. The administrative centre of the m ...

was to the south. Lakes in Fusa included Gjønavatnet, Skogseidvatnet, and Henangervatnet.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Fusa, 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 Bergen District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

of Fusa was made up of 21 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 featur ...

breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

Mayor

In 2007, Fusa participated in a trial where the mayor was directly elected. The sitting mayor, Hans S. Vindenes, won the election with 51.8% of the votes.

References

External links

* *
Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway {{Authority control Bjørnafjorden Former municipalities of Norway 1856 establishments in Norway 2020 disestablishments in Norway