Country Norway District Nordmøre Area rank 349 in Norway Area 176 km² Local time Friday 1:03 PM | County Møre og Romsdal Administrative centre Bruhagen Demonym(s) Averøying Population 5,651 (2013) Official language form Norwegian Language | |
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Weather 2°C, Wind N at 6 km/h, 79% Humidity Points of interest Kvernes Stave Church, Stavnes Lighthouse, Hestskjær Lighthouse | ||
Averøy is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the region of Nordmøre. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bruhagen. Other villages in the municipality include Bremsnes, Kornstad, Kvernes, Kårvåg, Langøy, Sveggen, and Vebenstad.
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Map of Aver%C3%B8y, Norway
The municipality includes the main island of Averøya and the many small islands surrounding it. The Kornstadfjorden, Kvernesfjorden, and Bremsnesfjorden surround the municipality on three sides and the open ocean on the fourth side. The Hestskjær Lighthouse and Stavnes Lighthouse are located in the northern part of the municipality.
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 Bremsnes were merged into one big municipality. On 1 January 1983, the small island of Eldhusøya (and the small surrounding islands) was transferred from Eide Municipality to Averøy Municipality.
Name
The municipality is named after the island Averøya (or Averøy) (Old Norse: 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 is from modern times. They were granted on 4 April 1986. The arms show three Stone Age arrowheads in gold on a red background. The arrowheads refer to actual arrowheads, made of slate, 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 has three parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Averøy. It is part of the Ytre Nordmøre deanery in the Diocese of Møre.
History
The municipality of Averøy has many historic landmarks, like the Bremsnes cave with Mesolithic 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 Kvernes Stave Church (built around 1300-1350).
Transportation
The tourist attraction Atlanterhavsveien (Atlantic Road) connects the island and municipality of Averøy to the neighboring Eide Municipality, which is on the mainland to the west. The Storseisundet Bridge 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 Sveggen, Averøy is connected to Kristiansund Municipality via the undersea tunnel. This tunnel, known as Atlanterhavstunnelen (Atlantic Tunnel), was completed in December 2009, replacing the ferry from Bremsnes on Averøya to the city of Kristiansund.