Buøy

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Engøy and Buøy in the evening
Engøy and Buøy in the evening

Buøy is an island and neighborhood (delområde) in the borough Hundvåg in Stavanger, Norway.

The neighborhood has a population of 1,792, distributed on an area of 1,19 km². It consists of the islands Buøy, Engøy and Sølyst/Grasholmen.

[edit] History

The name Buøy comes from; 'Bu-skap' and 'øy', meaning an island where farmers earlier had their cattle.

Buøy has long been the site for Rosenberg Mekaniske Verksted. Rosenberg was founded in 1896, started up in Sandvigå in Stavanger and moved to Buøy in 1898. Rosenberg started making ships here and later moved on to building supertankers and constructing platforms for the Norwegian oil industry in the North Sea. At the beginning of the century Rosenberg had a great influence on the development of Buøy and in September 1915 they stated the need for regulated roads, a ferry connection and a stable water supply for the island. Rosenberg Verft AS (as it is known today) has about 500 employees and is a major contractor within the Norwegian oil and gas market.

Buøy is today well known for its famous 17.5 meter tall, 3.5 meter wide water tower which stands on the island's tallest mountain. The tower has a wind vane on the top of it with an image of a mother and a son by a well pump. The bright yellow tower was built in 1919-20 and is a well known landmark in the Stavanger region.

In 1977 Buøy was connected to the mainland when the city bridge was built.

[edit] References

Coordinates: 58°59′N 5°44′E / 58.983, 5.733