Averøy 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 ...

Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; en, Møre and Romsdal) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is t ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

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 t ...

. It is part of the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

Nordmøre Nordmøre (English: North- Møre) is a traditional district in the Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. The area comprises the northern third of the county including the municipalities of Kristiansund, Averøy, Tingvoll, Surnadal, Aure, Hal ...

. 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, L ...

of the municipality is the village of Bruhagen. Other villages in the municipality include

Bremsnes Bremsnes is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1897 until its dissolution in 1964. Bremsnes municipality surrounded the Bremsnesfjorden and it included parts of the islands of Averøya, Fr ...

, Kornstad, Kvernes, Kårvåg, Langøy, Sveggen, and Vebenstad. The municipality includes the main island of Averøya and the many small islands surrounding it. The

Kornstadfjorden Kornstadfjorden or Kornstadfjord is a fjord that runs between Averøy Municipality and Hustadvika Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The long fjord runs between the Romsdal peninsula and the island of Averøya. The villages of Visn ...

, Kvernesfjorden, and Bremsnesfjorden surround the municipality on three sides and the open ocean on the fourth side. The Hestskjær Lighthouse and

Stavnes Lighthouse Stavnes Lighthouse or Stavneset Lighthouse ( no, Stavenes fyr / Stavneset fyr) is a coastal lighthouse in Averøy Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The lighthouse sits on the ''Stavneset'' peninsula on the northeastern coast of the ...

are located in the northern part of the municipality. The municipality is the 312th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Averøy is the 164th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 5,828. 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 4.2% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Averøy was established on 1 January 1964 when the former municipality of Kvernes and most of the municipalities of Kornstad and

were merged into one large municipality. On 1 January 1983, the small island of Eldhusøya (and the small surrounding islands) was transferred from

Eide Municipality Parallel ATA (PATA), originally , also known as IDE, is a standard interface designed for IBM PC-compatible computers. It was first developed by Western Digital and Compaq in 1986 for compatible hard drives and CD or DVD drives. The connection ...

to Averøy Municipality.

Name

The municipality is named after the island '' Averøya'' (or Averøy) ( non, Afrøy). The meaning of the first element is unknown (maybe ''afr'' which means "great" or "big") and the ending ''-øya'' or ''-øy'' means "island".

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 it ...

was granted on 4 April 1986. The arms show three Stone Age

arrowhead An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, as well as to fulfill some special purposes such as sign ...

s in gold on a red background. The arrowheads refer to actual arrowheads, made of

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

, which have been found in the municipality. The arrowheads thus symbolize the long time that the area has been inhabited.

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 Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. ...

has three parishes () within the municipality of Averøy. It is part of the Ytre Nordmøre

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 reside ...

in the

Diocese of Møre The Diocese of Møre ( no, Møre bispedømme) is a diocese in the Church of Norway which geographically consists of Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Its bishop is seated at the Molde Cathedral which is located in the county administrative cent ...

History

The municipality of Averøy has many historic landmarks, like the Bremsnes

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

with

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymo ...

findings from the Fosna culture. Langøysund, now a remote fishing community, was once a bustling port along the main coastal route, and the site of the Compromise of 1040 between King Magnus I and the farmers along the coast. Also, the

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

Kvernes Stave Church Kvernes Stave Church ( no, Kvernes stavkyrkje) is a former parish church of the Church of Norway in Averøy Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The old church sits along the Kvernesfjorden in the village of Kvernes, just to the north ...

(built around 1300–1350).

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Averøy, are responsible for primary education (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 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 usag ...

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 refer ...

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 adminis ...

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 s ...

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 a ...

, 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 coun ...

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 as ...

. The municipality falls under the

Møre og Romsdal District Court Møre og Romsdal District Court ( no, Møre og Romsdal tingrett) is a district court located in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. This court is based at four different courthouses which are located in Volda, Ålesund, Molde, and Kristiansund. T ...

and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

() of Averøy is made up of 23 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 feature ...

breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Averøy (incomplete list): *2015–present: Ingrid Ovidie Rangønes ( Ap) *2011-2015: Ann-Kristin Sørvik ( Sp) *2007-2011: Jarle Haga ( V) *2003-2007: Kjell Magne Sandø (Ap) *1997-2003: John Harry Kvalshaug (Sp) *1986-1997:

Leif Helge Kongshaug Leif Helge Kongshaug (born 31 July 1949 in Averøy) is a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party. He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Møre og Romsdal in 1997, but not re-elected in 2001. During the second cabinet Bondevik, Kon ...

(V) *1984-1985: Eilif Aae (Sp) *1979-1983: Jarle Haga (V)

Transportation

The tourist attraction Atlanterhavsveien (Atlantic Ocean Road) connects the island and municipality of Averøy to the neighboring

, which is on the mainland to the west. The

Storseisundet Bridge The Storseisundet Bridge ( no, Storseisundbrua) is the longest of the eight bridges that make up the Atlanterhavsveien ("The Atlantic Road"), the road connection from the mainland Romsdal peninsula to the island of Averøya in Møre og Romsdal cou ...

crosses the municipal boundary. In 2005, it was awarded the "Building of the Century" prize by the Norwegian Construction Industry. On the other side of the island near the village of Sveggen, Averøy is connected to Kristiansund Municipality via the

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 ...

. This tunnel, known as Atlanterhavstunnelen (Atlantic Tunnel), was completed in December 2009, replacing the ferry from

on Averøya to the city of Kristiansund.

Notable people

Erling Kristvik Erling Kristvik (30 August 1882 – 9 January 1969) was a Norwegian educationalist. Kristvik was born in Kornstad. He served as rector at the School of education In the United States and Canada, a school of education (or college of education; e ...

(1882 in Kornstad – 1969) a Norwegian educationalist *

Aud Inger Aure Aud Inger Aure (born 12 November 1942) is a Norwegian politician for the Christian Democratic Party. Born in Averøy, Møre og Romsdal, she was awarded a Candidate of Law degree in 1993. From 1989 to 1990 she represented her county in the Stor ...

(born 1942 in Averøy) a Norwegian politician and Mayor of Kristiansund * Gunnar Kjønnøy (born 1947 in Averøy) an economist and County Governor of Finnmark, 1998 to 2016 *

(born 1949 in Averøy) a Norwegian politician, Mayor of Averøy, 1986 to 1997 *

Magne Hoseth Magne Hoseth (born Magne Hoset on 13 October 1980) is a Norwegian football coach and former footballer who played for Averøykameratene, Molde (two times), Copenhagen, Viking, Aalesund, Stabæk, Notodden and Kristiansund. On 21. November ...

(born 1980 in Averøy) a coach and former footballer with 423 club caps and 22 for

Gallery

File:Averøy kommunehus.jpg, Averøy kommunehus File:Atlantic Ocean Road (177685737).jpeg, Atlantic Ocean Road File:Averøy, Norway - panoramio (3).jpg, Averøy

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 ye ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Averoy Nordmøre Municipalities of Møre og Romsdal 1964 establishments in Norway