Lindås

General information

The parish of Lindaas was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). On 1 March 1879, the northeastern district of Lindaas was separated to form the new municipality of Masfjorden, leaving 6,374 inhabitants in Lindaas. On 1 January 1910, the northwestern island district of Lindaas was separated to form the new municipality of Austrheim. This left Lindaas with 4,433 residents.

On 1 January 1964, a major municipal merger took place. The following places were merged into one large municipality of Lindås:

Also on this date, there were two other changes. The Sletta area (population: 305) on the island of Radøy was switched from Lindås to the new municipality of Radøy. The other change was the Einestrand, Eikebotn, and Kikallen areas (population: 25) was transferred from Lindås to Modalen municipality.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Lindås farm (Old Norse: Lindiáss), since the first church (Lindås Church) was built there. The first element is lindi which means "linden (Tilia) wood" and the last element is áss which means "mountain ridge". Before 1921, the name was written "Lindaas".

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 4 May 1979. The arms show a silver colored linden tree on a red background. They are a canting arms since the name of the municipality refers to a linden tree.

Churches

The Church of Norway has eight parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Lindås. It is part of the Nordhordland deanery in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Lindås, 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 Lindås is made up of 31 representatives that are elected to every four years. For 2011–2015, the party breakdown is as follows:

History

Ancient settlements of Vikings are found in several places. At Lindås there are stories of monks coming from England and living with the Viking population.

Håkonshaugen (from Old Norse haugr meaning mound) at the village of Seim is the burial mound of King Haakon the Good, the third king of Norway. King Haakon was mortally wounded in 961 at the Battle of Fitjar at nearby Stord. Håkonshaugen is the millennium site in the municipality of Lindås.

The historical play Håkonarspelet ("King with the golden helmet") is performed here every year. The play is one of several plays written by author Johannes Heggland. The play was written in five parts between 1995-1996. It centers on events in the life of King Haakon the Good and the king's only daughter, Thora.

Geography

Lindås municipality sits mostly on the mainland of the Nordhordland region, just north of the city of Bergen. The municipality lies north of the Osterfjorden and Romarheimsfjorden. The Lindås peninsula heads north from there. The peninsula juts out west of the Austfjorden, south of the Fensfjorden, and east of the Radfjorden. The municipality includes the very southernmost tip of the neighboring island of Radøy as well as the island of Luro. The Lurefjorden cuts into the middle of the peninsula. On the east side of the municipality, lies a mountainous area that is sparsely populated.

The municipality is surrounded by water on three sides, and the fourth side is mountainous, so there are few road connections to Lindås. On the east side, the municipality is accessible by the Eikefet Tunnel, part of the European route E39 highway. On the southwest side, the Hagelsund Bridge crosses the fjord to connect to the municipalities of Bergen and Meland to the southwest. The Alversund Bridge on the west side connects Lindås to the island municipality of Radøy. The municipality of Austrheim lies to the north, and it includes a small part of the mainland Lindås peninsula, so there is road access there too.

Lindås Church

Lindås Church (Lindås kirke) was consecrated 20 September 1865. The church was built just west of where the old stone church stood. The architect was Ole Syslak who was responsible for the construction of several other churches in western Norway. The church received its first church organ in 1906, which was replaced in 1978 with an organ built by Josef Hilmar Jørgensen. The church has two church bells. The oldest clock was made by Laxevaag Værk in Bergen in 1865, while the other was made by O. Olsen & Son in Tønsberg in 1955.

The first time a church in Lindås mentioned was in 1315. This was a stone altar, which stood under the open sky. Walls were erected later, so that the priest was standing under a roof, while the audience stood on the ground outside and listened. Later walls were raised so that the church was under roof. This church was extended in 1600 and repaired in the 1700s.

Heathland Centre at Lygra

Heathland Centre at Lygra (Lyngheisenteret på Lygra) is a cultural museum consisting of a conserved heather moorland. It is also an information centre for the coastal heathlands. The center was established in the 1970s. An information center with a restaurant, auditorium, and permanent exhibition was opened in 2000. Heathland was founded by the University of Bergen, Hordaland county, Lindås Municipality, the Regional Council in Nordhordland and Gulen. It is administrated by the Museum Centre in Hordaland.

Notable residents