Austevoll

General information

The municipality of Austevoll was established on 1 January 1886 when it was separated from the municipality of Sund. The initial population for the new municipality of Austevoll was 2,396. On 1 January 1964, the southern part of the islands of Selbjørn and Huftarøy (population: 696) was transferred from the municipality of Fitjar to Austevoll. This put the whole Austevoll archipelago in the municipality of Austevoll.

Name

The municipality is named after the old Austevoll farm (Old Norse: Austrvǫllr), since this was the old site of the Austevoll Church. The farm is now part of the village of Austevollshella. The first element is austr which means "east" and the last element is vǫllr which means "meadow". The municipality has changed the spelling of its name three times. Before 1889 the name was written "Østevold" or "Østervold". From 1889-1917, it was spelled "Austevold", and since 1918 it has been spelled "Austevoll".

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms were granted on 30 November 1984. The arms are blue with four silver-colored fish swimming up to the left. The shoal of herring was chosen for the arms since herring fishing is a very important part of the local economy.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Austevoll. It is part of the Fana deanery in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Geography

Austevoll consists of 667 islands off the west coast of Western Norway. The municipality has a total land area of 114.23 square kilometres (44.10 sq mi) and a coastline of 337 kilometres (209 mi). It lies south of the Korsfjorden, west of the Bjørnafjorden, and north of the Selbjørnsfjorden. The highest point in Austevoll is the mountain Loddo, reaching 244 metres (801 ft) above sea level. The Marstein Lighthouse lies in the northwestern part of the municipality.

Largest islands

1. Huftarøy
2. Selbjørn
3. Hundvåko
4. Stolmen
5. Storekalsøy
6. Møkster

Neighbours

The island municipality shares water borders with the municipality of Sund to the north, Bergen and Os municipalities to the northeast, Tysnes municipality to the east, and Fitjar and Bømlo municipalities to the south. The North Sea lies to the west of Austevoll.

Demographics

Of the 667 islands, only eight are populated year-round. About 29% of the inhabitants live in densely populated areas. About 28% of the inhabitants are under the age of 17, which is 4.4% over the national average. About 4.7% of the inhabitants are 80 years or older.

Industry

Fishing is the most important industry in Austevoll, as it has been for centuries. Traditionally, fishing has taken place in coastal areas, not far off shore. After decades of overfishing, the herring disappeared in the 1950s. This forced a restructuring of the fishing fleet. Since the 1960s, the shipping companies built bigger ships, and went further out into the seas, and they began fishing for other fish species, not just herring. The overfishing of herring also forced better research on fishing, resulting in the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research. Austevoll is the home of the Austevoll Aquaculture Research Station.

Since the early 1980s, the offshore supply industry has emerged in the wake of the offshore Norwegian oil industry. The offshore shipping company DOF, which is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, has its headquarters at Storebø.

Education

There are five primary schools and one middle school in Austevoll, all run by the municipality. There is also one secondary school, teaching mainly fishing and nautical subjects. This is operated by the Hordaland County Municipality.

Transportation

Austevoll has car ferry connections from Hufthammar on the north tip of Huftarøy to Krokeide in Bergen, and from Husavik on the south tip of Huftarøy to Sandvikvåg in Fitjar. The municipality is also connected by express boats to Bergen in the north, and Stord, Haugesund, and Stavanger in the south. All express boat routes are operated by Norled, and ferry routes are operated by Fosen Namsos.

The islands of Huftarøy and Selbjørn, Selbjørn and Stolmen, and Hundvåkøy and Storekalsøy are connected with bridges. A fourth bridge, connecting Huftarøy and Hundvåkøy, was opened on 17 November 2007. This bridge, which in fact consists of two bridges and two stone fillings, bears the name "Austevollsbrua".

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Austevoll, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Austevoll is made up of 21 representatives that are elected to every four years. Since the 2011 election a coalition of the Progress Party and Center Party has held power in the council, the latter two terms the coalition also consisted of the Christian Democratic Party who broke out after the 2011 local election. In 2011 the coalition won 12 of the 21 seats in the municipal council and has an electoral and political cooperation. The Conservative Party, Labour Party and Christian Democratic Party make up the opposition. For 2011–2015, the party breakdown is as follows:

In the 2003-2007 election period The Liberal Party was represented in the municipal council and held one seat. In the 1999-2003 election period an all-party female electoral list held one seat in the council. From 1995 to 1999 the Socialist Left Party held one seat.

Executive committee of local council

The executive committee of local council has 9 seats, divided between all parties in the municipal council. Divided like this:

Mayor

The following is a list of mayors of Austevoll:

Notable residents