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.[2]

Bjørnafjorden kommune
Municipality
View of Os in Bjørnafjorden
Coat of arms
Vestland within
Norway
Bjørnafjorden within Vestland
Coordinates: 60.19547°N 5.62225°E / 60.19547; 5.62225
CountryNorway
CountyVestland
DistrictMidhordland
Established1 Jan 2020
Administrative centreOsøyro
Government
 • Mayor (2019)Trine Lindborg (Ap)
Area
 • Total517.41 km2 (199.77 sq mi)
 • Land487.22 km2 (188.12 sq mi)
 • Water30.19 km2 (11.66 sq mi)  5.8%
Area rank205 in Norway
Population
 (2020)
 • Total24,908
 • Rank46 in Norway
 • Density51.1/km2 (132/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
21.5%
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-4624
Official language formNynorsk[1]
Websitebjornafjorden.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

The 517-square-kilometre (200 sq mi) municipality is the 205th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Bjørnafjorden is the 46th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 24,908. The municipality's population density is 51.1 inhabitants per square kilometre (132/sq mi) and its population has increased by 21.5% over the previous 10-year period.[3][4]

General information

The municipality was established on 1 January 2020 when the municipalities of Os and Fusa were merged.[2]

Name

The municipality is named after the local fjord: Bjørnafjorden.[2]

Coat of arms

The coat of arms for Bjørnafjorden was adopted in 2019. The blue arms show a gold boat with two curved gold waves beneath it. The waves symbolize the water, but the curved design alludes to rosemaling designs and the local Giant's kettles in Koldal in the municipality.[2]

Churches

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 NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
FusaFusa ChurchFusa1961
Holdhus ChurchHoldhus1726
Hålandsdal ChurchEide in Hålandsdal1890
Strandvik ChurchStrandvik1857
Sundvor ChurchSundvord1927
OsOs ChurchOsøyro1870
Nore Neset ChurchHagavik2000

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Bjørnafjorden, 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 elects a mayor.[5] The municipality falls under the Bergen District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Bjørnafjorden is made up of 35 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Bjørnafjorden Kommunestyre 2020–2023 [6]  
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

References
  1. "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
  2. Thorsnæs, Geir. "Bjørnafjorden". In Bolstad, Erik (ed.). Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk nettleksikon. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  3. Statistisk sentralbyrå (2020). "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian).
  4. Statistisk sentralbyrå (2020). "09280: Area of land and fresh water (km²) (M)" (in Norwegian).
  5. Hansen, Tore, ed. (2016-05-12). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  6. "Tall for Norge: Kommunestyrevalg 2019 - Vestland". Valg Direktoratet. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
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