Fitjar Municipality
Fitjar is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The municipality is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. Fitjar Municipality includes the northern part of the island of Stord and the hundreds of surrounding islands, mostly to the northwest of the main island. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Fitjar.
The municipality is the 318th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Fitjar Municipality is the 224th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 6.4% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
The parish of Fitje was established as a municipality on 1 January 1863 when it was separated from the large Stord Municipality. Initially, the population of Fitje Municipality was 2,313. On 1 January 1868, a small area of Finnaas Municipality was transferred to Fitje Municipality. In 1900, the name was changed to Fitjar Municipality. The original municipality included all of the land surrounding the Selbjørnsfjorden.During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the area of Fitjar located north of the Selbjørnsfjorden on the islands of Huftarøy and Selbjørn was transferred to the neighboring Austevoll Municipality. On 1 January 1995, the islands of Aga, Agasystra, Gisøya, Vikøya, Selsøy, Risøya, and many smaller surrounding islands were transferred from Fitjar Municipality to the neighboring Bømlo Municipality. These islands had recently been connected to Bømlo by road bridges which precipitated the municipal transfer.
Historically, this municipality was part of the old Hordaland county. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became a part of the newly-formed Vestland county.
Name
The municipality is named after the old Fitjar farm since the first Fitjar Church was built there. The name is the plural form of which means "meadow along the water" or "lush meadow". Before 1900, the name was written "Fitje".Coat of arms
The coat of arms was adopted during the late 1940s, but they have never been formally granted since they did not meet the formal government design requirements. In 2018, the municipal council of Fitjar formally approved the arms after a change to a national law. The blazon is "Azure, a Viking helmet Or within a orle argent". This means the arms have a blue field and the charge is a Viking helmet with a thin border around the edge of the shield. 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 arms often have a mural crown depicted above the escutcheon. The helmet and the color are derived from the belief that King Haakon the Good wore a golden helmet at the Battle of Fitjar in 961, which was fought in this municipality. King Haakon died from his wounds. His death and reception in Valhalla are described in the skaldic poem Hákonarmál, composed by the Eyvindr skáldaspillir. The arms were designed by Magnus Hardeland. The municipal flag is orange with a depiction of coat of arms in the centre along with the name of the municipality below the arms.Churches
The Church of Norway has one parish within Fitjar Municipality. It is part of the Sunnhordland prosti in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.| Parish | Church name | Location of the church | Year built |
| Fitjar | Fitjar Church | Fitjar | 1867 |
History
King Haakon I of Norway maintained his residence at Fitjar. The Battle of Fitjar took place in Fitjar on the island of Stord in the year 961 between the forces of King Haakon I and the sons of his half-brother, Eric Bloodaxe. Traditionally, important shipping routes have passed through the area, and the municipality contains several trading posts dating as far back as 1648.Population
Geography
Fitjar Municipality lies south of the Selbjørnsfjorden, west of the Langenuen strait, east of the island of Bømlo. The municipality includes over 350 islands, although most are uninhabited. The majority of the residents live on the island of Stord, the northern portion of which is in Fitjar Municipality. The southern portion of the island is part of Stord Municipality. Austevoll Municipality lies on islands to the north, across the fjord and Tysnes Municipality lies on islands across the Langenuen strait to the east, and Bømlo Municipality lies on islands to the west. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Fitjarhesten, located a short distance northwest of Mehammarsåta.Government
Fitjar 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 Haugaland og Sunnhordland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.Municipal council
The municipal council of Fitjar Municipality is made up of 17 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 Fitjar Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:- 1864–1865: Johannes Sørfonden
- 1866–1871: Østen Hageberg
- 1872–1875: Mikkel Sjursen Eide
- 1876–1895: Østen Hageberg
- 1896–1904: Anders Aarbø
- 1905–1913: Mikal Hageberg
- 1913–1913: Tharald Vestbøstad
- 1914–1919: Lars Rydland
- 1920–1925: Peder Rygg
- 1926–1928: Lars Rydland
- 1929–1951: Berje Aarbø
- 1952–1955: Harald Henriksen
- 1956–1967: Peder Nilsen Aga
- 1968–1971: Knut L. Rydland
- 1972–1975: Ole Havn
- 1976–1977: Knut L. Rydland
- 1978–1979: Finn Havnerås
- 1980–1981: Ingebrigt Sørfonn
- 1982–1983: Alf Gjøsæter
- 1984–1985: Torvald Ingebrigtsen
- 1986–1987: Ingebrigt Sørfonn
- 1988–1991: Kjell Nesbø
- 1992–1995: Johannes Koløen
- 1995–1998: Per-Gunnar Bukkholm
- 1998–1999: Odd Bondevik
- 1999–2007: Agnar Aarskog
- 2007–2011: Harald Rydland
- 2011–2019: Wenche Tislevoll
- 2019–2023: Harald Rydland
- 2023–present: Wenche Tislevoll
Attractions
Notable people
- Andreas Fleischer, a theologian, missionary to China, Lutheran Bishop, and priest in Fitjar Church from 1912 to 1917
- Otto Hageberg, a literary historian and academic