Hordabø Municipality
Hordabø is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1924 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Alver Municipality in the traditional district of Nordhordland in Vestland county. The administrative centre was the village of Bøvågen, where Hordabø Church is located.
Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the municipality was the 599th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Hordabø Municipality was the 493rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about. The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 8.8% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
The parish of Bø was established as a municipality on 1 July 1924 when the old Manger Municipality was divided into three municipalities: Bø Municipality in the north, a much smaller Manger Municipality in the central part, and Sæbø Municipality in the south.On 13 March 1925 the name was changed by royal resolution from Bø to Hordabø.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the municipality was dissolved and a merged with the following places to form the new Radøy Municipality.
- all of Hordabø Municipality
- all of Manger Municipality
- the island of Bogno from Herdla Municipality
- most of Sæbø Municipality, except the Titland area on the Lindås peninsula
- the Sletta area on the island of Radøy from Lindås Municipality
- the Straume area on the island of Radøy and the small island of Fesøy from Austrheim Municipality
Name
The municipality is named after the old Bø farm since the first Bø Church was built there. The name comes from the word which means "farm" or "farmhouse". Historically, the name of the municipality was Bø. On 13 March 1925, a royal resolution changed the name of the municipality to Hordabø. The prefix Horda- was added to distinguish this "Bø" from several other Norwegian municipalities with the same name. The prefix comes from the word which is the Old Norse name for the people from Hordaland.Churches
The Church of Norway had one parish within Hordabø Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Manger prestegjeld and the Nordhordland prosti in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.| Parish | Church name | Location of the church | Year built |
| Hordabø | Hordabø Church | Bøvågen | 1875 |
Geography
Hordabø Municipality was located on the northern part of the island of Radøy, plus a number of small surrounding islets and skerries. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Kalsås, on the border with Manger Municipality.Austrheim Municipality was located to the north, Lindås Municipality was located to the east, Manger Municipality was located to the south, Hjelme Municipality was located to the west, and Fedje Municipality was located to the northwest.
Government
While it existed, Hordabø Municipality was 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 was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Gulating Court of Appeal.Municipal council
The municipal council of Hordabø Municipality was made up of 19 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.Mayors
The mayor of Hordabø Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people held this position:- 1924–1925: Bertin Insylta
- 1926–1928: Elias K. Marøen
- 1929–1947: Andreas Lamberg
- 1948–1951: Alfred Nordanger
- 1952–1955: Johannes G. Bøe
- 1955–1959: Alfred Nordanger
- 1959–1963: Johannes G. Bøe