Country Norway County Hordaland Municipality ID NO-1218 | Region Western Norway District Sunnhordland Adm. Center Finnås | |
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Weather 4°C, Wind SE at 26 km/h, 88% Humidity | ||
Finnås is a former municipality in Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality, which existed from 1838 until 1916 was located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. Originally, the municipality encompassed all of the island of Bømlo, the small surrounding islands, and the mainland located south of the Bømlafjorden. It was located in the present-day municipalities of Bømlo and Sveio.
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History
The parish of Findaas was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). In 1865, the southern mainland district of Findaas (population: 2,237) and the Vikebygd area of the neighboring municipality of Fjelberg (population: 1,062) were merged to form the new municipality of Sveen. On 1 January 1868, a small part of Finnaas (population: 10) was transferred to the neighboring municipality of Fitje. On 1 April 1870, the Øklandsgrend area (population: 247) was transferred from Finnaas to the neighboring municipality of Stord. The spelling of the name changed slightly over time from Findaas to Finnaas and then finally to Finnås.
On 1 July 1916, the municipality of Finnås was split to create three new (smaller) municipalities:
On 1 January 1963, the three municipalities were reunited under the name Bømlo.
The Kulleseid Canal is a canal that was built in the 1800s on a small isthmus on the island of Bømlo. It enabled boats to journey between the east and west sides of Bømlo island. Today the channel is surrounded by a small trading center and tourist center, and it is a popular guest harbor.