Bjørnafjorden (municipality)

Bjørnafjorden is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the Midhordland region of the county. The administrative centre of Bjørnafjorden is the village of Osøyro. Other villages in the municipality include Eikelandsosen, Fusa, Holdhus, Holmefjord, Vinnes, Strandvik, Sundvord, Hagavik, Halhjem, Søfteland, Søre Øyane, and Søvik.[4]

Bjørnafjorden Municipality
Bjørnafjorden kommune
View of Os in Bjørnafjorden
View of Os in Bjørnafjorden
Coat of arms of Bjørnafjorden Municipality
Vestland within Norway
Vestland within Norway
Bjørnafjorden within Vestland
Bjørnafjorden within Vestland
Coordinates: 60°11′44″N 5°37′20″E / 60.19547°N 5.62225°E / 60.19547; 5.62225
CountryNorway
CountyVestland
DistrictMidhordland
Established1 Jan 2020
 • Preceded byFusa and Os
Administrative centreOsøyro
Government
 • Mayor (2023)Terje Søviknes (FrP)
Area
 • Total517.40 km2 (199.77 sq mi)
 • Land487.22 km2 (188.12 sq mi)
 • Water30.18 km2 (11.65 sq mi)  5.8%
 • Rank#205 in Norway
Population
 (2023)
 • Total25,596
 • Rank#47 in Norway
 • Density52.5/km2 (136/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
Increase +16.6%
DemonymBjørnafjording[1]
Official language
 • Norwegian formNynorsk
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-4624[3]
WebsiteOfficial website

The 517-square-kilometre (200 sq mi) municipality is the 205th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Bjørnafjorden is the 47th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 25,596. The municipality's population density is 52.5 inhabitants per square kilometre (136/sq mi) and its population has increased by 16.6% over the previous 10-year period.[5][6]

General information

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The municipality was established on 1 January 2020 when the municipalities of Os and Fusa were merged.[4]

Name

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The municipality is named after the Bjørnafjorden, a local fjord which is a central geographic feature of the municipality. The first element is bjørn which means "bear". The last element is the definite form of fjord which means "fjord". Thus this is "the bear fjord".[4]

Coat of arms

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The coat of arms was adopted in 2019 for use starting on 1 January 2020 after a municipal merger took effect. The official blazon is "Azure, a boat's bow and two spirals issuant from each side Or". This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is the bow of a boat and below that are two curved wave shapes. The charge has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The boat and waves symbolize the water and the importance of the sea. The boat is designed to look like an oselvar, a traditional rowing boat made in the area. The curved wave designs also allude to the local rosemaling designs and the local Giant's kettles (geysers) in Koldal. The arms were designed by Johan D. Eide. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[4][7]

Churches

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The Church of Norway has two parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Bjørnafjorden. It is part of the Fana prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Churches in Bjørnafjorden
Parish (sokn) Church name Location of the church Year built
Fusa Fusa Church Fusa 1961
Holdhus Church Holdhus 1726
Hålandsdal Church Eide in Hålandsdal 1890
Strandvik Church Strandvik 1857
Sundvor Church Sundvord 1927
Os Os Church Osøyro 1870
Nore Neset Church Hagavik 2000

Government

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Bjørnafjorden Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.[8] The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Hordaland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

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The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Bjørnafjorden is made up of 35 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Bjørnafjorden kommunestyre 2023–2027 [9]  
Party name (in Nynorsk) Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) 6
  Progress Party (Framstegspartiet) 13
  Green Party (Miljøpartiet Dei Grøne) 1
  Conservative Party (Høgre) 6
  Industry and Business Party (Industri‑ og Næringspartiet) 3
  Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) 1
  Centre Party (Senterpartiet) 2
  Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti) 2
  Liberal Party (Venstre) 1
Total number of members:35
Bjørnafjorden kommunestyre 2019–2023 [10]  
Party name (in Nynorsk) Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) 8
  Progress Party (Framstegspartiet) 12
  Green Party (Miljøpartiet Dei Grøne) 3
  Conservative Party (Høgre) 5
  Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) 1
  Centre Party (Senterpartiet) 5
  Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti) 1
Total number of members:35

Mayors

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The mayors (Nynorsk: ordførar) of Bjørnafjorden:

  • 2020-2023: Trine Lindborg (Ap)
  • 2023–present: Terje Søviknes (FrP)[11]

Notable people

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Terje Soviknes,2010

Sport

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References

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  1. ^ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
  2. ^ "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
  3. ^ Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (26 January 2023). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget.
  4. ^ a b c d Thorsnæs, Geir. "Bjørnafjorden". In Bolstad, Erik (ed.). Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk nettleksikon. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  5. ^ Statistisk sentralbyrå. "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian).
  6. ^ Statistisk sentralbyrå. "09280: Area of land and fresh water (km²) (M)" (in Norwegian).
  7. ^ Grønvigh, Kjetil Osablod (20 February 2019). "Johan D. Eide er mannen bak det nye kommunevåpenet". Midtsiden.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  8. ^ Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (20 September 2022). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  9. ^ "Kommunestyrevalg 2023 – Vestland". Valgdirektoratet. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  10. ^ "Kommunestyrevalg 2019 – Vestland". Valgdirektoratet. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  11. ^ "BT: Terje Søviknes (Frp) blir ordfører i Bjørnafjorden". NRK (in Norwegian). 13 September 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  12. ^ "Trine Lindborg er ordførar i Bjørnafjorden kommune – Bjørnafjorden kommune". bjornafjorden.kommune.no. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  13. ^ Olsen, Benjamin Søgnen (6 January 2017). "Merk deg namnet: Boy Pablo" [Name to note: Boy Pablo]. Os og Fusaposten (in Norwegian Nynorsk). Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  14. ^ "Babylykke for Sverre Lunde Pedersen". aftenposten.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). 10 May 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2021.