Haugesund

Haugesund is a municipality and town on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. As of December 2023, the municipality of Haugesund has a population of 37,855. The vast majority of the population live in the Haugesund urban area in the municipality's southwest. The Haugesund urban area also extends into the northern parts of neighboring Karmøy municipality and has a combined population of 46,359. Haugesund is the main commercial and economic centre of the Haugaland region in northern Rogaland and southern Vestland. The majority of the municipality outside this area is rural or undeveloped.
The municipality is the 338th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Haugesund is the 28th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 37,855. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 5.9% over the previous 10-year period.
The Haugesund urban area, which extends into the neighboring municipality of Karmøy, makes up about of the municipality. 8,884 people of the urban area live in Karmøy. Only about 1,000 residents of Haugesund municipality that live in the rural portion of the municipality.

Location

The town is situated on a strategically important sound, Karmsundet, through which ships could pass without traversing heavy seas. In the early years, the coastal waters off Haugesund were a huge source of herring, and the town grew accordingly. Despite being barely a village back then, King Harald Fairhair lived at Avaldsnes, very close to the modern town of Haugesund. In the last decades, the town, like its neighbours, has been turning towards the petroleum industry, with the herring being long gone.
During the last 20 years, the municipality has established its position as the main trading centre for the Haugaland region and southern parts of Vestland county. It has several relatively large shopping centres, however, this has led to a decline of the trade and shopping activity in the town centre.
The Haugesund Region, a statistical metropolitan area, which consists of the municipalities Karmøy, Haugesund, Tysvær, Sveio and Bokn, has a population of approximately 100,000 people.

History

Despite being a fairly young town, the areas surrounding Haugesund were lands of power during the Viking Age. Harald Fairhair was the first king of Norway. He had his home in Avaldsnes, also known as Homeland of the Viking Kings, only 8 km from the present town. After his death in, it is believed Fairhair was buried at Haraldshaugen, a burial mound adjacent to the Karmsundet strait. This site is the namesake of the town and municipality of Haugesund. The national monument at Haraldshaugen was raised in 1872, to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of the naval Battle of Hafrsfjord in 872. The Battle of Hafrsfjord has traditionally been regarded as when western Norway was unified under a single monarch for the first time.
Haugesund has a strong historical bond to the sea and especially the herring. In the earlier years, the coastal waters of Haugesund were a huge source for fishing herring, and the town grew accordingly. The protective straits of Smedasund and Karmsund gave the town potential to grow in both fishing and shipping. Even to this day, Karmsund is one of Norway's busiest waterways. The town is still growing geographically even though the population has increased only moderately over the last decade. In modern times the herring stocks have been depleted and the town is turning towards the petroleum industry, like its neighbouring town to the south, Stavanger.

Municipal history

The urban village area of Haugesund was declared to be a "town" and separated from the surrounding municipality of Torvastad on 1 February 1855 to become a separate municipality. On 1 January 1911, the small urban area of Skåre that directly abutted the town of Haugesund was transferred to Haugesund. On 1 January 1958, the remainder of the municipality of Skåre was merged with the town of Haugesund, creating a larger Haugesund municipality. On 1 January 1965, the island of Vibrandsøy was transferred from Torvastad municipality to Haugesund.

Etymology

The municipality is named after the Haugesundet strait, which is named after the old Hauge farm. The first element is the plural genitive case of which means "hill" or "mound". The last element is which means "strait" or "sound".

Coat of arms

The original coat of arms was granted on 29 December 1862 and it was in use until 5 March 1930 when a new coat of arms was approved. The arms were designed as a painting of a harbour scene. The old arms showed three full herring barrels sitting on land and an anchor leaning against the barrels. In the background, the ocean harbour is showing along with three seagulls flying in the sky. Often, it was shown with a gold mural crown above the shield. The old arms showed the importance of herring fishing and processing in the town. The three barrels also represented the three parts of the municipality: the mainland and the islands of Hasseløy and Risøy. The arms were designed by A. Fenger Krog.
A new coat of arms was granted on 5 March 1930 to replace the old arms and to simplify them for the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the town. The blazon is "Azure, three seagulls volant argent per fess surmounted by a mural crown Or". This means the arms have a blue field and the charge is a set of three seagulls lined up vertically. 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. The seagulls and blue color were chosen to represent the importance of the sea. The new arms from 1930 removed the herring barrels from the old arms due to the decline in the importance of that industry. The arms were designed by Hallvard Trætteberg. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Geography and climate

Haugesund municipality has a coastline with the North Sea, however, the island of Karmøy and the archipelago of Røvær shelter it from the rough waters of the ocean. The Karmsundet strait, located between Karmøy and Haugesund used to be very strategically important, since ships could pass without having to sail through heavy sea. Haugesund's city centre has a distinctive street layout, similar to those found in Kristiansand and Oslo.
The municipality includes several islands. Risøy and Hasseløy are densely built, and connected to the mainland by bridges. Røvær which lies further out and consists of a number of islands, is also populated and connected to the mainland by ferry. Vibrandsøy and its neighboring islands are now mainly a recreational area. Røværsholmen Lighthouse sits just off the coast of the main Røvær island. The lakes Vigdarvatnet and Stakkastadvatnet are located in the municipality.
Haugesund has an oceanic climate with rainy winters and mild and pleasant summers. The all-time high was recorded July 2019, and the all-time low was set in January 2010. The wettest time of year is autumn and winter, while April–July is the driest season. Haugesund Airport is situated in Karmøy municipality, about from the town of Haugesund, and it has been recording weather data since 1975.

Cityscape

was built in 1931, celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2006. The pink city hall, designed by Gudolf Blakstad and Herman Munthe-Kaas, is one of the finest neo-classical buildings in Norway, and has been elected the most beautiful building in Haugesund. It is also included in the new Norwegian edition of the game Monopoly after it was successful in a national vote. The building may not be altered in any way without permission from the national preservation agency. It overlooks the town square and a park which was inaugurated on 28 August 1949.
During the last 20 years, the municipality has established its position as the main trading centre for the Haugaland region and southern parts of Vestland county. It has several relatively large shopping centres, however, this has led to a decline of the trade and shopping activity in the town centre.
There are several churches in the town of Haugesund including Vår Frelsers Church, Udland Church, Rossabø Church, and Skåre Church.

Government

Haugesund 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 Haugesund is made up of 49 representatives that are elected every four years. The government is located at the Haugesund City Hall. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party

Mayors

The mayors of Haugesund:

1855–1856: Tønnes Eide
1857–1858: Gudmund Halleland
1859–1860: Peder A. Høydahl
1861–1866: Ludolf J. Eide
1867–1867: Østen Kolstø
1868–1868: Ditlev Møller
1869–1871: E. M. Fredriksen
1872–1872: Jens H. Hansen
1873–1874: Ludolf J. Eide
1875–1876: Arne Lothe
1877–1877: Ludolf J. Eide
1878–1878: Jens H. Hansen
1879–1879: Hans J. Steensnæs
1880–1880: Arne Lothe
1881–1881: Ludolf J. Eide
1882–1882: Jens H. Hansen
1883–1883: Hans J. Steensnæs
1884–1884: Jens H. Hansen
1885–1885: Hans J. Steensnæs
1886–1886: Hans J. Kyvik
1887–1887: J. Ferdinand Jacobsen
1888–1888: Jacob Kielland
1889–1889: Frithjof Eide
1890–1890: Hans J. Steensnæs
1891–1891: Svend Jacobsen
1892–1892: Johan Aubert
1893–1893: Svend Jacobsen
1894–1895: Hakon Magne Wrangell
1896–1896: Hans Steen
1897–1897: Hakon Magne Wrangell
1898–1898: Hans Steen
1899–1899:Hakon Magne Wrangell
1900–1900: Thomas Haaland
1901–1901: Erich Lindøe
1902–1903: Thomas Haaland
1904–1904: Rasmus G. Hagland
1905–1907: Ola Bertelsen
1908–1908: Svend Lindøe
1909–1909: Valentin Valentinsen
1910–1910: Thomas Haaland
1911–1911: Magne Rønnevig
1912–1912: Carl J. Dueland
1913–1913: Bernt Seland
1914–1914: Svend Lindøe
1915–1916: Valentin Valentinsen
1917–1917: Lars O. Meling
1918–1918: Kristian Holgersen
1919–1919: Carl J. Westerlund
1920–1921: Peder Haugen
1922–1922: Carl J. Westerlund
1923–1924: Gabriel Faye
1925–1925: Christian Haaland
1926–1926: Clement Gerhardsen
1927–1927: Edvard Velde
1928–1931: Christian Haaland
1932–1935: H. Karluf Hanssen
1936–1936: Søren Caspersen
1937–1937: Martin Olaussen
1938–1938: Ingvald Førre
1939–1940: Sigurd Lie
1941–1941: Eystein Jenssen
1942–1945: Jacob Kyvik
1945–1945: Hans Jacobsen
1945–1945: Sigurd Lie
1946–1947: Nils E. Nilsen
1948–1949: Einar Osland
1950–1950: Karl Sørensen
1951–1951: Andreas Gullhaugen
1952–1952: Karl Sørensen
1953–1953: Rasmus Bakkevig
1954–1954: Karl Sørensen
1955–1955: Gunnar Fredrik Hellesen
1956–1957: Karl Sørensen
1958–1959: Gunnar Fredrik Hellesen
1960–1961: Karl Sørensen
1962–1963: Stener Askeland
1964–1965: Jens Edvard Haugland
1966–1967: Stener Askeland
1968–1969: Jens Edvard Haugland
1970–1971: Olle Johan Eriksen
1972–1973: Jens Edvard Haugland
1974–1975: Olle Johan Eriksen
1976–1977: Ola Foldøy
1978–1983: Olle Johan Eriksen
1984–1987: Edvard Ringen, Jr.
1988–1989: Einar Steensnæs
1990–1991: Nils J. Storesund
1992–1993: Einar Steensnæs
1993–1995: Turid Dalland
1995–2001: Finn Martin Vallersnes
2001–2015: Petter Steen Jr.
2015–2023: Arne-Christian Mohn
2023-present: Nils Konrad Bua