Askøy is an
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 ...
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 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 is located entirely inside the municipality of
Askøy. The island makes up about 88% of the municipal area and is home to about 96% of the municipal residents. In 2014, there were 26,230 people living on the island. Since the opening of the
Askøy Bridge leading to the mainland in 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 ...
in 1992, the population has increased rapidly. The island is named after the old
Ask farm along the eastern coast of the island. The village is the site of the old
Ask Church.
Geography
Askøy is surrounded by
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 ...
s: the
Hjeltefjorden lies to the west and north, the
Byfjorden to the east, and the
Herdlefjorden to the northeast. The
Bergen Peninsula (mainland) lies to the south and east of the island, the island of
Holsnøy lies to the northeast, the small island of
Herdla lies immediately to the north, the islands of
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 ...
(
Ona,
Blomøyna
Blomøyna, or Blomøy, is an island in the municipality of Øygarden in Vestland county, Norway. The island is the second largest island in the municipality. The island lies north of the island of Rongøyna and south of the island of Ona, Norw ...
,
Rongøyna,
Toftøyna) lie to the west, and the islands of
Sotra and
Litlesotra lie to the southwest. The areas around the bridge (where the villages of
Kleppestø and
Strusshamn are located) and along the east coast (around the village of
Florvåg and
Erdal) are densely populated due to their proximity to the city of Bergen across the fjord. Historically there were regular ferry connections, and now there is the
Askøy Bridge. The northern and western parts of the island are very sparsely populated. The large lake
Askevatnet lies along the eastern shore of the island.
See also
*
Thomas Erichsens Minde
*
List of islands of Norway
References
Islands of Vestland
Askøy
{{Vestland-island-stub