| Karmøy kommune | |||
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| — Municipality — | |||
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| Karmøy within Rogaland | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Norway | ||
| County | Rogaland | ||
| District | Haugaland | ||
| Administrative centre | Kopervik | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor (2004) | Kjell Arvid Svendsen (KrF) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 229 km2 (88.4 sq mi) | ||
| • Land | 219 km2 (84.6 sq mi) | ||
| Area rank | 313 in Norway | ||
| Population (2009) | |||
| • Total | 39,354 | ||
| • Rank | 20 in Norway | ||
| • Density | 170/km2 (440.3/sq mi) | ||
| • Change (10 years) | 4.6 % | ||
| Demonym | Karmøybu Kartabu[1] |
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| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| ISO 3166 code | NO-1149 | ||
| Official language form | Neutral | ||
| Website | www.karmoy.kommune.no | ||
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Karmøy is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located southwest of the city of Haugesund in the traditional district of Haugaland.
Karmøy was created as a new municipality on 1 January 1965 after the merger of Kopervik (city), Skudeneshavn (city), Skudenes, Stangaland, Torvastad, Åkra, and most of Avaldsnes.
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The Old Norse form of the name was Körmt. The name is probably derived from karmr which means 'bargeboard' (here in the sense 'the sheltering island'). The last element in the word, øy, "island" and was added later.
The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 18 April 1975. The arms are a silver diamond and cross on a red background. The diamond symbolizes the name Karmøy since the island protects the mainland. The cross symbolizes the Church of Avaldsnes which was a royal chapel in the Middle Ages.[2]
There are several finds from the Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age. Large burial mounds, stone monuments, and many other ancient monuments are found on the island. Karmøy is the site of the Storhaug, Grønhaug and Flagghaugen burial mounds.[3] Karmøy was known for sailing in the old times. The eddic poem Grímnismál says that Thor, the weather god, wades the straits at Karmsund every morning on his way to Yggdrasil, the tree of life. The ocean outside Karmøy is dangerous, filled with underwater currents and rocks. Thus the ships were forced into the narrow Karmsund. Chieftains and kings controlled the ships passing up and down the coast and demanded taxes.
The Karmsund strait was also the source of the name of the kingdom, at the time when the first king of the unified Norway, Harald Fairhair, lived on Karmøy. (See History of Norway.)
Avaldsnes is located on the northeastern coast of the island. King Augvald who has given his name to this ancient site is mentioned in the Old Norse sagas as having his home here. Later the residence of Harald Fairhair and other kings are mentioned. There is also a medieval church, St. Olav's church of Avaldsnes, located on this coast.
Visnes in the northwest was once the site of an important copper mine. This mine was source of the copper used for the Statue of Liberty in New York City.[4]
In the 18th century, two girls from Uyea in Shetland rowed to Haaf Gruney to milk some of the cows grazing there. Unfortunately, their return was marred by a strong storm, and eventually they found their tiny boat blown to Karmøy. The Uyea girls ended up marrying Karmøy men, and their descendants still live there.[5]
The vast part of the district is the large island of Karmøy, but it also includes the peninsula between Karmsund and Førdesfjord and several small islands.
The natural and cultural landscape is highly heterogeneous, encompassing chalk-white sands, moorland and several piers around the island. The landscape in the north is mainly agricultural, while large parts of the inland south are heather moors. The island has many white, sandy beaches facing the North Sea, attracting surfers as one of the top spots for windsurfing in Norway.
Built up places are for the most part located along the coast, the main such areas being Kopervik, Åkrehamn and Skudeneshavn.
Haugesund Airport is also located on the island rather than in Haugesund proper. Karmøy is known for its industries, as well as for fishing. Among interested people Karmøy is also well known in Norway for the heather moors and the surfing beaches.
Norsk Hydro is a large aluminium smelter operator located at Karmøy. The power supply of this facility is done by three overhead powerlines, which cross Karmsund on 143.5 metres tall pylons. These pylons are the tallest electricity pylons in Norway.
Bauer-Nilsen design and produce high-pressure hydraulics located at Karmøy.
Karmøy is twinned with:
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