Alver Municipality


Alver is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordhordland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Knarvik. Other villages include Alversund, Alver, Isdalstø, Lindås, Ostereidet, Seim, Manger, Askeland, Austmarka, Bøvågen, Haugland, Sæbø, Sletta, Frekhaug, Hjartås, Holme, Io, Krossneset, Meland, and Rossland.
The municipality is the 168th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Alver Municipality is the 37th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 8.4% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality was established on 1 January 2020 when Lindås Municipality, Radøy Municipality, and Meland Municipality were merged into one large municipality.

Name

The municipality is named after the old Alver farm. The first element is which means "whole" or "entire". The last element is the genitive case of the word which means "weather". Thus it is probably referring to the location which is exposed to the weather from all directions. It is the same root as the other local names like Alversund and Alverstraumen.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was adopted in 2019 for use starting on 1 January 2020. The blazon is "Azure, a bridge over a boat argent". This means the arms have a blue field and the charge is an arched road bridge with a boat going underneath. The charge has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. It symbolizes that the fact that bridges tie the municipality together and the boat has been a means of transportation in the area for centuries.

Churches

The Church of Norway has six parishes within Alver Municipality. It is part of the Nordhordland prosti in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
KnarvikAlversund ChurchAlversund1879
KnarvikKnarvik ChurchKnarvik2014
KnarvikLygra ChurchLuro1892
KnarvikSeim ChurchSeim1878
LindåsHundvin ChurchHundvin1936
LindåsLindås ChurchLindås1865
LindåsMyking ChurchMyking1861
MelandMeland ChurchMeland1866
OstereidetOstereidet ChurchOstereidet1988
RadøyHordabø ChurchBøvågen1875
RadøyManger ChurchManger1891
RadøySæbø ChurchSæbø1883
RadøyEmigrant Church, SlettaSletta1997
VikeVike ChurchVikanes1891

Geography

The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Sørdalsnuten, located just west of the border with Modalen Municipality. Gulen Municipality and Masfjorden Municipality is located to the north, Modalen Municipality is located to the northeast, Vaksdal Municipality is located to the east, Osterøy Municipality is located to the southeast, Bergen Municipality is located to the south, Askøy Municipality is located to the southwest, Øygarden Municipality is located to the west, Fedje Municipality and Austrheim Municipality are both located to the northwest.

Government

Alver Municipality is responsible for primary education, 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. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Hordaland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Alver Municipality is made up of 41 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors

The mayor of Alver Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position: