Osterøy 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 ...

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 A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

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 ...

. It is located in the traditional district 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 ...

. The municipality encompasses most of the island of Osterøy. 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 Osterøy is the village of

Lonevåg Lonevåg is the administrative centre of Osterøy municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the northern coast of the island of Osterøy, at the end of the long Lonevågen fjord, which branches off the main Osterfjorden ...

in the central part of the island. The largest settlement is the village of

Valestrandfossen Valestrandfossen or ValestrandsfossenAccording to Statens kartverkSK Website/ref> is a village in the municipality of Osterøy, adjacent to Norway's second-largest city and municipality Bergen, Vestland county. It lies at Sørfjorden to the we ...

with 1,219 inhabitants as of 1 January 2016. Osterøy municipality and

Vaksdal Municipality is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordhordland. The administrative centre is the village of Dalekvam. Other villages in Vaksdal include Dalegarden, Flatkvål, Helle, Nesheim, ...

are both located on the island of Osterøy. Osterøy municipality covers most of the island with the mostly uninhabited northeastern part of the island belonging to Vaksdal municipality. Osterøy is located a short distance northeast 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 ...

. It is surrounded by the

Osterfjorden Osterfjorden is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. The fjord is one of three fjords surrounding the island of Osterøy. The fjord runs along the municipal border of Alver and Osterøy municipalities. The fjord begins at the Romarheimsfjorde ...

, Sørfjorden, and

Veafjorden Veafjorden (historically, the Vedåfjorden) is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. The long fjord flows between the mainland and the island of Osterøy in Vaksdal municipality. There is one bridge across the fjord, the Kallestadsundet Bridge ...

. The 19th-century musician and composer

Ole Bull Ole Bornemann Bull (; 5 February 181017 August 1880) was a Norwegian virtuoso violinist and composer. According to Robert Schumann, he was on a level with Niccolò Paganini for the speed and clarity of his playing. Biography Background Bull was ...

had a summer home in

in Osterøy. The historic

Havrå Havrå or Havre (sometimes Havretunet or Havråtunet) is a cluster farm along the southern shore of the island of Osterøy in Osterøy municipality, Vestland county, Norway. Havrå is one of the last and best preserved of the common farm clust ...

farm is a cluster farm which represents the traditional way of living for farmers. Havrå is located on the southeastern part of the municipality. The municipality is the 284th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Osterøy is the 131st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 8,152. 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 6.2m% over the previous 10-year period.

Geography

The municipality sits on the island of

Osterøy Osterøy is an List of islands of Norway, island Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Nordhordland. The municipality encompasses ...

, and it is surrounded by several fjords:

Romarheimsfjorden Romarheimsfjorden is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. The fjord flows through the municipalities of Modalen, Alver, and Osterøy. The western end of the fjord lies near the island of Hokøy where the fjord flows in to the Osterfjorden on it ...

, Sørfjorden, and

. The highest mountain in the municipality is the tall

Høgafjellet Høgafjellet is a mountain on the island of Osterøy in Vestland county, Norway. Høgafjellet sits on the border between the municipalities of Osterøy and Vaksdal, about east of the village of Fotlandsvåg and about west of the Veafjorden. ...

on the municipal border with Vaksdal. The Lonevågen fjord cuts in the center of the island, with the village of

sitting at the end of the fjord.

Settlements

Osterøy contains six "urban settlements", as defined by

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 ...

(with populations listed from 1 January 2016):

(1,218 inhabitants),

(875 inhabitants),

Hausvik Haus or Hausvik is a village in Osterøy municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the southwestern coast of the island of Osterøy along the Sørfjorden. The village lies across the Sørfjorden from the villages of Ytr ...

(655 inhabitants), Haugo (617 inhabitants),

Fotlandsvåg Fotlandsvåg is a village in Osterøy municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the northern shore of the island of Osterøy, along the Osterfjorden. The village lies in the northeastern part of the municipality, about ...

(320 inhabitants), and Hamre (217 inhabitants). Other rural settlements in Osterøy include Austbygdi, Bruvik,

Gjerstad Gjerstad is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional region of Sørlandet, in the southeastern part of the county, along the border with Telemark county. The administrative centre of the municipality is the vill ...

, and

Hosanger Hosanger is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality was located in what is now parts of Alver Municipality and Osterøy Municipality in Ves ...

History

The municipality of Osterøy was created on 1 January 1964 as part of a major municipal merger that was proposed by 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 ...

. Osterøy was created from parts of four different municipalities that were all dissolved in the merger. The following areas were merged to form the new municipality of Osterøy: *all of Haus municipality that was located on

island (population: 2,327) *the Bruvikbygda area of Bruvik municipality that was located on Osterøy island (population: 409) *all of

municipality that was located on Osterøy island (population: 1,616) *all of Hamre municipality that was located on Osterøy island (population: 1,166)

Name

The municipality is named after the island of Osterøy () since the municipality encompassed most of the island. The first element of the name has an uncertain meaning. It is possible that it comes from the word which means "east". Another interpretation is that it is derived from the word which means "increase" or "surpass", thus it could be referring to the large size of the island. The last element, , was added later, but that word comes from the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

word which means "

Culture

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 20 December 1985. The official

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 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 ...

, three axes

fess In heraldry, a fess or fesse (from Middle English ', Old French ', and -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... ', and charge on a coat of arms">Latin ' ...

wise

azure Azure may refer to: Color * Azure (color), a hue of blue ** Azure (heraldry) ** Shades of azure, shades and variations Arts and media * ''Azure'' (Art Farmer and Fritz Pauer album), 1987 * Azure (Gary Peacock and Marilyn Crispell album), 2013 * ...

blades to the base, 2-1"'' (). This means the arms have a

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

(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 set of three broad axes laying horizontally with their blades facing down, with two axes at the top and one beneath. Broad axes were historically used in the construction of timber houses, which has long traditions in the municipality. Building craftsmen from Osterøy have been known for their solid work throughout the county. The designer was Egil Korsnes who based his design on the idea of 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 Osterøy. It is part of the

Åsane prosti Åsane is a borough of the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. The borough makes up the northern part of the city, north of the city centre. Åsane is connected to downtown Bergen by the E16/ E39 highway. The E16 highway continues on ...

(

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 ...

Government

Osterøy 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 Hordaland District Court () is a district court located in Vestland county, Norway. This court is based at a courthouse in Bergen. The court serves the Nordhordland and Midthordland areas of the county which includes cases from 12 municipalities. ...

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 Osterøy is made up of 27 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 Osterøy (incomplete list): *2003–2015: Kari Foseid Aakre ( Ap) *2015–2019: Jarle Skeidsvoll ( KrF) *2019–present: Lars Fjeldstad ( Sp)

Population

Transport

Osterøy is connected to the mainland by a ferry from Breistein to Valestrand, and by a bridge on the far southern end of the island. The ferry named "Ole Bull" is sailing every half-hour from Breistein and Valestrand from early morning to late in the evening. The

Osterøy Bridge The Osterøy Bridge () is a suspension bridge in Vestland county, Norway. The bridge connects the Kvisti farm area on the island of Osterøy in Osterøy Municipality with the Herland farm area on the mainland in Bergen Municipality east of the ...

, finished in 1997, provides Osterøy with its only permanent road connection to the mainland in Bergen municipality. The bridge has a main span of , the third longest

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

main span in Norway, for a total length of . Since 2015, the bridge has been toll-free. There are no road connections from Osterøy municipality to the

Vaksdal is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordhordland. The administrative centre is the village of Dalekvam. Other villages in Vaksdal include Dalegarden, Flatkvål, Helle, Nesheim ...

municipality part of Osterøy island. That part of the island has the Kallestadsundet Bridge connecting it to the rest of Vaksdal municipality from the east.

Notable people

Jens Frølich Tandberg Jens Frølich Tandberg (May 13, 1852 – March 21, 1922) was the bishop of Oslo from 1912 to 1922. Tandberg was born in Hausvik, Norway. He was the son of Jørgen Tandberg, who served as the bishop of the Diocese of Kristiansand from 188 ...

(1852 in Hausvik – 1922), the

bishop of Oslo The Diocese of Oslo is the Church of Norway's bishopric for the municipalities of Oslo, Asker and Bærum. It is one of Norway's five traditional bishoprics and was founded around the year 1070. History Oslo was established as a diocese in 1068. ...

from 1912 to 1922 * Ola Raknes (1887–1975), a psychologist, philologist, and non-fiction writer, grew up in Hamre *

Einar Selvik Einar Selvik (born 18 November 1979), also known by his stage name Kvitrafn ("white raven"), is a Norwegian musician known for being the drummer of black metal band Gorgoroth from 2000 to 2004, and for fronting the Nordic folk project Wardruna ...

(born 1979), a musician primarily known for his work with

Gorgoroth Gorgoroth is a Norwegian black metal band based in Bergen. It was formed in 1992 by guitarist Infernus, who is the sole original member remaining, and has released nine studio albums. Gorgoroth are a Satanism, Satanic band and have drawn contro ...

and for fronting

Wardruna Wardruna is a Norwegian music group formed in 2003 by Einar Selvik along with Gaahl and Lindy-Fay Hella. They create musical renditions of Norse cultural and esoteric traditions and make significant use of Nordic historical and traditional instr ...

Sylvelin Vatle Sylvelin Vatle (born 4 September 1957) is a Norwegian novelist and children's writer. Life and career Born in Bergen on 4 September 1957, Vatle grew up in Osterøy Osterøy is an List of islands of Norway, island Municipalities of Norway, m ...

(born 1957), a novelist and children's writer * Tore Eikeland, (Norwegian Wiki) (1990-2011), a politician

Sport

Mons Ivar Mjelde Mons Ivar Mjelde (born 17 November 1967) is a Norwegian football coach and former player who works as head coach for the Norwegian club Øygarden. He is notable for having led Brann to the Norwegian top division championship in 2007, breaking ...

(born 1967), a former footballer with 287 club caps and coach * Erlend Hanstveit (born 1981), a former footballer with 330 club caps * Sigrid Borge (born 1995 in Hausvik) a Norwegian javelin thrower

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osteroy Municipalities of Vestland 1964 establishments in Norway