Sveio is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. Sveio is a border district that is sometimes considered to be located in the traditional district of Haugalandet since it is located on the Haugalandet peninsula, but it is also considered to be in the traditional district of Sunnhordland since it is located in southern Hordaland county. 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 village of Sveio. Other villages in the municipality include Auklandshamn, Førde, Våga, and

Valevåg Valevåg is a village in Sveio municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the northern end of the Sveio peninsula, along the southern shore of the Hardangerfjorden. Historically, Valevåg was the administrative centre of ...

. The municipality is the 290th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Sveio is the 165th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 5,775. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 10.5% over the previous 10-year period. Sveio is the site of the Ryvarden Lighthouse which marks the western entrance to the Hardangerfjorden. The lighthouse is automated and the old keepers house and building have now been converted into art galleries, the ''Flókemuseum'', and a cafe. The composer Fartein Valen lived much of his life in

in northern Sveio. ''Valenheimen'', the house he lived in is open to the public and the Fartein Valen Festival is held annually in Sveio. The

Triangle Link The Triangle Link ( no, Trekantsambandet) is a fixed link with three branches that connects the islands of Stord and Bømlo to each other and to the mainland at Sveio, Norway. It consists of the underwater Bømlafjord Tunnel from Sveio to the i ...

bridge-tunnel network is based in northern Sveio, connecting the islands to the north to the mainland. The southern entrance to the

Bømlafjord Tunnel The Bømlafjord Tunnel ( no, Bømlafjordtunnelen) is a subsea road tunnel under Bømlafjorden which connects the island of Føyno in Stord Municipality to the mainland at Dalshovda in Sveio Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The tunnel is ...

is located along the

European route E39 European route E39 is the designation of a north–south road in Norway and Denmark from Klett, just south of Trondheim, to Aalborg via Bergen, Stavanger and Kristiansand. In total, there are nine ferries, more than any other single road in Eu ...

highway, just south of the village of

General information

The municipality of Sveio was established in 1865 when the part of

Finnås Finnås is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality, which existed from 1838 until 1916, was located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. Originally, the municipality encompassed all of the island of ...

municipality located south of the Bømlafjorden (population: 2,227) and the

Vikebygd Vikebygd is a village in Vindafjord municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located along the Ålfjorden, about straight west of the village of Ølensvåg. The village was the administrative centre of the former municipality o ...

part of the municipality of

Fjelberg Fjelberg is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until 1965 when it was dissolved. In 1965, the municipality covered , mostly islands and a small area on the mainland. It encompassed part ...

(population: 1,062) were joined as the new municipality of ''Sveen'' (later the spelling was changed to ''Sveio''). On 1 January 1902, the

area (population: 1,092) was separated from Sveio to form its own municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Sveio (population: 1,697) was merged with the neighboring municipality of

Valestrand Valestrand is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1868 until its dissolution in 1964. It was located on a peninsula on the southern shore of the Bømlafjorden inside the present-day municipa ...

(population: 1,216), the western half of the municipality of

(population: 471), and a small part of the municipality of Skjold (population: 24). The part of Skjold was transferred from

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 to Hordaland county on the same date.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old ''Sveio'' farm ( non, Sviða), since the first

Sveio Church Sveio Church ( no, Sveio kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Sveio Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Sveio. It is the church for the Sveio parish which is part of the Sunnhordland prosti (d ...

was built there in the Middle Ages. The name is identical with the word ''sviða'' which means a "clearing made by burning". Before 1912, the name was written ''Sveen''.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 19 February 1982. The arms show a white or silver fleur-de-lis on a red background. The arms are derived from the historic arms of Jon Gauteson from Sveio, who lived around the year 1500. His family became

Norwegian nobility Aristocracy of Norway refers to Modern history, modern and Medieval Ages, medieval Aristocracy (class), aristocracy in Norway. Additionally, there have been economical, political, and military elites thatrelating to the main lines of History of N ...

in 1591, and he was the first in his family to use this symbol as part of his arms.

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 two parishes () within the municipality of Sveio. It is part of the

Sunnhordland prosti Sunnhordland is a traditional district in the western region of Norway. The district consists of the southern coastal regions of the old Hordaland county (now part of Vestland county). It includes the areas that surround the mouth of the Hardang ...

(

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 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 ...

Geography

The municipality is located on the mainland of Norway on the western coast of the county on the Haugalandet peninsula, facing the North Sea to the west. The entrance to the Hardangerfjorden lies along the northern side of the municipality, and the smaller Ålfjorden lies along the eastern border of the municipality. Sveio's southern border is also the county border, bordering 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 ...

and the municipality 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 ...

to the south, the municipality of Vindafjord to the east (across the Ålfjorden), and the island municipalities of Bømlo and Stord to the north (across the Hardangerfjorden). The lakes Vigdarvatnet and Stakkastadvatnet lie in the southern part of the municipality, crossing into the neighboring municipalities. The Ryvarden Lighthouse is located on a small point, along the Hardangerfjorden.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Sveio, 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 Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wiktionary:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physical and menta ...

, senior citizen services, unemployment 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, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor. 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 municipal council () of Sveio is made up of 25 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Sveio (incomplete list): *2015–present: Jorunn Skåden ( Ap) *2011-2015: Ruth Grethe Eriksen ( FrP) *2003-2011: Jorunn Skåden (Ap) *1999-2003: Olav Haugen ( KrF) *1992-1999: Magnus Skåden (Ap) May Britt Vihovde (bilde 01)

Notable residents

Einar Økland Einar Økland (born 17 January 1940) is a Norwegian poet, playwright, essayist and children's writer. He was born in Sveio, and educated psychologist. He made his literary debut in 1963, with the poetry collection ''Ein gul dag''. He was awarded ...

(born 1940 in Sveio) a Norwegian poet, playwright, essayist and children's writer *

May Britt Vihovde May Britt Vihovde (born 15 September 1958 in Sveio) is a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party. She was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Hordaland in 1997, but was not re-elected in 2001. She served in the position of deputy represen ...

(born 1958 in Sveio) a politician and former Member of Parliament * Sigbjørn Apeland (born 1966) scientist and musician, plays organ and harmonium; raised in Sveio * Bjørn Berge (born 1968 in Sveio) a Norwegian guitarist and blues artist *

Grutle Kjellson Kjetil Tvedte Grutle, better known as Grutle Kjellson (born 24 December 1973 in Sveio, Hordaland, Norway), is the bassist and vocalist of the Norwegian progressive black metal band Enslaved. Together with Ivar Bjørnson, they are the founding an ...

(born 1973 in Sveio) bassist and vocalist in the

progressive black metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...

band Enslaved *

Agnes Ravatn Agnes Ravatn (born 8 February 1983, in Ølen) is a Norwegian novelist, columnist and journalist. She debuted in 2007 with the novel ''Veke 53'' ('Week 53'). Ravatn is a columnist and journalist for Nynorsk newspaper ''Dag og Tid''. A series of es ...

(born 1983) author,

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (newspaper), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the fo ...

and journalist; lived in Valevåg * Cecilie Pedersen (born 1990 in Førde) a Norwegian football striker

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 ...

Welcome to SveioSveio kommune website
{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Municipalities of Vestland 1865 establishments in Norway