Askøy is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Vestland Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. The county is located in Western Norway, and its administrative centre is Bergen, where the executive and political leadership is based. The County governor (Norway), County Governor is based in ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The island municipality is located in the

Midhordland Midhordland or Midthordland is a Districts of Norway, 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 coa ...

district of the county, sitting in a large group of islands immediately northwest of the city of

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

, which is the country's second most populous. The

administrative centre An administrative centre 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 the administrative language, such as Belgi ...

of the municipality is the urban village of

Kleppestø Kleppestø is the administrative centre of the municipality of Askøy in Vestland Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. The county is located in Western Norway, and its administrative centre is Bergen, where the executive and po ...

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 29,989. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

is and its population has increased by 11.8% over the previous 10 years. Since the opening of the

Askøy Bridge The Askøy Bridge () is a suspension bridge that crosses the Byfjorden (Hordaland), Byfjorden between the municipalities of Bergen and Askøy in Vestland county, Norway. It is long and has a main span of . Its span was the longest for any suspen ...

connecting it to the mainland of Bergen in 1992, the population has increased rapidly. Its population growth is 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, Aus ...

and

General information

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

formannskapsdistrikt () was the name of a Norwegian self-governing municipality. The name was used from the establishment these municipalities in 1838 until the name fell out of use in 1863. The municipalities had their legal basis from two laws enacted on 14 Jan ...

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 Hanevik is a village in the municipality of Askøy in Vestland county, Norway. It is located along the Herdlefjorden, on the northeastern shore of the island of Askøy. The lake Askevatnet lies just southeast of the village. History Hanevik wa ...

(population: 32) was transferred from Askøen to the neighboring municipality of Alversund. 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 was ...

. 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 () was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a ...

. On 1 January 1964, the

area (population: 193) on the island of

Askøy Askøy is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county, Norway. 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, which i ...

was transferred to Askøy from the municipality of

Meland Meland is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the Nordhordland district in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1923 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020 when it was merged into the ne ...

. 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 are ...

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 municipality (originally the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

) is named after the island of

. The first element is named after the old '' Ask'' farm () since the first

Ask Church Ask Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Askøy Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Ask, on the eastern coast of the island of Askøy. It is the church for the Ask parish which is part of t ...

was built there. The name is identical to the word which means "

ash tree ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae, and comprises 45–65 species of usually medium-to-large trees, most of which are deciduous trees, although some subtropical species are evergr ...

". The last element is which means "

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled ''Askøen''. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to ''Askøy'', removing the definite form ending ''-en''. The letter ''y'' was added to the end of the word to "Norwegianize" the name ( is the Danish word for "island" and is the Norwegian word).

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 last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

was granted on 28 September 1961. The

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

is ''"Argent, an

on an island vert"'' (). This means the arms have a field (background) has a

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

is a large

on an island with three waves below. The arms are a canting since the name of the municipality means something like ''ash tree island''. The arms were designed by Magnus Hardeland. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

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 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 residence of ...

in the

Diocese of Bjørgvin The Diocese of Bjørgvin () 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, and those outside of Norway in the Seamen's Church. The cathedral cit ...

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 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

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 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 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 is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

of its own showing life on Askøy in earlier times.

Geography

Askøy is an island municipality including the main island of

and the minor island of

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

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

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 n ...

to the west and north, Byfjorden to the east, and Herdlefjorden to the northeast. The municipality borders Alver to the northeast,

to the southeast, and

Øygarden Øygarden is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is an island municipality located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Midhordland, stretching along the west coast of the coun ...

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

and

after the opening of the

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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

and Strusshamn 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

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 Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between ...

location for a famous dispute over inheritance between

Egill Skallagrímsson Egil Skallagrímsson ( ; 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 from approx ...

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 1861 – 13 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, humanitarian and co-founded the ...

lived in a house near Kongshaugen in a short period.

Amalie Skram Amalie Skram (22 August 1846 – 15 March 1905) was a Norwegian author and feminist who gave voice to a woman's point of view with her naturalist writing. In Norway, she is frequently considered the most important female writer of the Modern B ...

lived at Lien at Ask from 1876 to 1878. ;Other settlements Some of the other notable settlements in Askøy include Abbedisso, Erdal,

, Skjelviki, and Tveitevåg.

Population

Government

Askøy Municipality is responsible for

primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

senior citizen Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

services,

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

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. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

zoning In urban planning, zoning is a method in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into land-use "zones", each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for ...

economic development In economics, economic development (or 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 object ...

, and municipal

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

s and utilities. 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, borough cou ...

of directly elected representatives. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

indirectly elected An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting,'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office ( direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the o ...

by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Hordaland District Court and the

Gulating Court of Appeal The Gulating Court of Appeal () 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 Municipality in Agder county ...

Municipal council

The

() of Askøy is made up of 35 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, 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 oft ...

Mayors

The

mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

() of Askøy: *1838–1843: Lars Simonsen *1844–1844: Magne Magnesen *1844–1847: Jacob Andersen *1848–1849: Ole Andreas Olsen *1850–1853: Jacob Andersen *1854–1855: Ole Andreas Olsen *1856–1857: Haldor Johannessen *1858–1860: Nils Beer *1861–1861: Ole Sørensen *1861–1861: Olavus Krøger *1864–1867: Wollert Ludvig Hille *1868–1885: Nils Jørgensen *1886–1887: Bernt Ulrik August Müller *1887–1887: Jacob Neumann Janson *1888–1891: Anton Olsen *1892–1895: Jonas Rein Simonsen *1896–1901: Nils Andreas Tollevsen Scheie *1902–1915: Johan Berentsen *1916–1917: Andreas Andersen *1918–1922: Daniel Fluge *1923–1925: Martin Monstad *1926–1928: Jens Monstad *1929–1929: Ole Larsen ( H) *1929–1931: Sigvald Waagen *1932–1945: Martin Monstad *1946–1946: Oluf Holgersen *1946–1947: Erling Juvik *1948–1951: Nils Eriksen *1952–1959: Daniel Stien *1960–1967: Olav Bjørkaas ( Ap) *1968–1975: Johan Sørensen ( V) *1976–1977: Mons Espelid ( V) *1978–1979: Jan Mikkelsen ( H) *1980–1981: Mons Espelid ( V) *1982–1983: Kåre Minde ( H) *1984–1987: Otto Per Paulsen ( Ap) *1988–1989: Øyvind Fluge ( KrF) *1990–1993: Oddvard Nilsen ( H) *1994–1999: Øyvind Fluge ( KrF) *1999–2007: Kari Manger ( Ap) *2007–2011: Knut Hanselmann ( FrP) *2011–2015: Siv Høgtun ( H) *2015-2019: Terje Mathiassen ( Ap) *2019–2023: Siv Høgtun ( H) *2023-present: Yngve Fosse ( H)

Industry and trade

Askøy is well known for the tasty

strawberries The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit is appreciated f ...

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 Strusshamn, Viknes situated in Bakarvågen, Selby situated in Strusshamn 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 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 Ma ...

(1920 in Askøy – 1944), a

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...

pilot who escaped from

Stalag Luft III Stalag Luft III (; literally "Main Camp, Air, III"; SL III) was a ''Luftwaffe''-run prisoner-of-war (POW) camp during the Second World War, which held captured Western Allied air force personnel. The camp was established in March 1942 near th ...

, was 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 who grew up in Ask * Geir Magnus Nyborg (1951 in Askøy – 2018), a media scholar and theologian

Sport

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

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

1988 Winter Olympics The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Calgary 1988 were a multi-sport event held from February 13 to 28, 1988, with Calgary, Calgary, Alberta as the main host city. This marks the m ...

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway (, 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 year on its web site. All rele ...

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