Austrheim

Austrheim kommune
Municipality

Coat of arms
Hordaland within
Norway

Austrheim within Hordaland
Coordinates: 60°46′16″N 04°55′34″E / 60.77111°N 4.92611°E / 60.77111; 4.92611Coordinates: 60°46′16″N 04°55′34″E / 60.77111°N 4.92611°E / 60.77111; 4.92611
Country Norway
County Hordaland
District Nordhordland
Administrative centre Årås
Government
 • Mayor (2011) Per Lerøy (Ap)
Area
 • Total 57.55 km2 (22.22 sq mi)
 • Land 56.82 km2 (21.94 sq mi)
 • Water 0.73 km2 (0.28 sq mi)
Area rank 420 in Norway
Population (2014)
 • Total 2,833
 • Rank 279 in Norway
 • Density 49.9/km2 (129/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years) 11.8 %
Demonym(s) Austrheiming[1]
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code NO-1264
Official language form Nynorsk
Website www.austrheim.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Austrheim is a municipality in the Nordhordland region of Hordaland county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Årås. Other villages in the municipality include Austrheim and Kaland. The Mongstad industrial area lies along the border of Austrheim and neighboring Lindås municipality. The westernmost point of mainland Norway lies in the municipality at Vardetangen.

In 2016 the chief of police formally suggested that the police station in Austrheim og Fedje, be closed down.[2]

General information

View of a small fishing village area in Austrheim
View of Vardetangen

Historically, Austrheim was a part of the large municipality of Lindås. On 1 January 1910, the northwestern district of Lindås (population: 2,518) was separated from Lindås to form the new municipality of Austrheim. On 1 January 1947, all of the islands located west of the Fedjefjorden (population: 920) was separated to form the new municipality of Fedje. On 1 January 1964, the Straume area on the island of Radøy (population: 56) was transferred from Austrheim to the new municipality of Radøy.[3]

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Austrheim farm (Old Norse: Austrheimr), since the first church (Austrheim Church) was built there. The first element is austr which means "east" and the last element is heimr which means "homestead" or "farm". Until 1889, the name was written Østereim. After that the spelling was Austreim, and most recently it is spelled Austrheim.[4]

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times; they were granted on 17 February 1989. It shows three silver bows (as in the shape of a rainbow) on a blue background. The three bows represent the many bridges in the island municipality.[5]

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Austrheim. It is part of the Nordhordland deanery in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Churches in Austrheim
Parish (Sokn)Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
AustrheimAustrheim ChurchAustrheim1865

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Austrheim, 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 Austrheim is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to every four years. For 2011–2015, the party breakdown is as follows:[6]

Austrheim Kommunestyre 2011–2015
Party NameName in NorwegianNumber of
representatives
 Labour PartyArbeiderpartiet6
 Progress PartyFramstegspartiet1
 Conservative PartyHøgre5
 Christian Democratic PartyKristelig Folkeparti2
 Centre PartySenterpartiet1
 Liberal PartyVenstre2
Total number of members:17

Economy

The Mongstad industrial complex lies on the border of Austrheim and Lindås. It is the largest oil port and refinery in Norway, is responsible for about 70% of all wet bulk. Many residents of Austrheim work at the facility.

Historical population
YearPop.±%
19512,390—    
19602,216−7.3%
19701,880−15.2%
19802,549+35.6%
19902,684+5.3%
20002,527−5.8%
20102,738+8.3%
20142,833+3.5%
Source: Statistics Norway.

Geography

Austrheim is an island municipality in the Nordhordland region of Hordaland county. It is located south of the Fensfjorden, east of the Fedjefjorden, north of the island of Radøy, and west of the Lindås peninsula. The municipality includes the far northwestern tip of the peninsula as well as many islands. The largest island (by far) is the island of Fosnøyna, where the municipal centre is located.

Gulen municipality is located to the north (across the fjord), Fedje municipality is located on islands to the west, Radøy municipality lies on an island to the southwest, and Lindås municipality lies to the southeast.

Famous people

References

  1. ↑ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
  2. ↑ https://www.nrk.no/hordaland/slik-vil-songstad-ha-vest-politidistrikt-1.13284803
  3. ↑ Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå.
  4. ↑ Rygh, Oluf (1919). Norske gaardnavne: Nordre Bergenhus amt (in Norwegian) (12 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. pp. 420, 423.
  5. ↑ "Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 2014-04-02.
  6. ↑ "Members of the local councils, by party/electoral lists and municipality" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway. 2011.
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