Kinn Municipality


Kinn is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It was established on 1 January 2020 in the traditional districts of Nordfjord and Sunnfjord. The municipality is the only non-contiguous municipality in Norway since Bremanger Municipality lies in between the north and south parts of Kinn. The administrative centre of the municipality is the two towns of Florø and Måløy. Some villages in the municipality include Rognaldsvåg, Stavang, Grov, Norddalsfjord, Nyttingnes, Steinhovden, Brandsøy, Deknepollen, Holvika, Kvalheim, Langeneset, Raudeberg, Refvika, Silda, Tennebø, Vedvika, and Vågsvåg.
Historically, there was another Kinn Municipality in Norway that existed from 1838 until 1964. The "old" Kinn Municipality roughly corresponded to the southern part of the "new" Kinn Municipality.
The municipality is the 142nd largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Kinn Municipality is the 75th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 17,419. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 2.9% over the previous 10-year period.
The 2021 film Dune was partially filmed in Kinn Municipality, serving as House Atreides’ home world of Caladan.

General information

The municipality was established on 1 January 2020 when the old Flora Municipality was merged with most of Vågsøy Municipality.

Name

The municipality was created in 2020 and it resurrected the name of the old Kinn Municipality which existed from 1838 to 1964. That municipality was named after the old Kinn farm on the island of Kinn since the first Kinn Church was built there. The name is identical to the word which means "cheek", referring to the steep slope of a mountain on the island. Historically, the island's name was spelled Kind.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted in 2019 for use starting on 1 January 2020 when the municipality was established. The informal blazon is "Per chevron ployé divided per pale azure and argent above and azure below with four bendlets sinister argent enarched on the sinister half". This means the arms have a field has a tincture of azure in parts and elsewhere it is argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The arms are an abstract design and the four "bendlets" give the illusion of the bow of a boat, an important symbol for the fishing community. The design can also be seen as a rock, waves, or the head of a spear.

Churches

The Church of Norway has many churches in Kinn Municipality which is part of the Diocese of Bjørgvin. There are four parishes in the Sunnfjord prosti and one parish in the Nordfjord prosti.
Deanery Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
Nordfjord prostiVågsøyNord-Vågsøy ChurchRaudeberg1960
Nordfjord prostiVågsøySør-Vågsøy ChurchMåløy1907
Sunnfjord prostiBruAskrova ChapelAskrova1957
Sunnfjord prostiBruStavang ChurchStavang1957
Sunnfjord prostiEikefjordEikefjord ChurchEikefjord1812
Sunnfjord prostiKinnBatalden ChapelFanøya1907
Sunnfjord prostiKinnFlorø ChurchFlorø1882
Sunnfjord prostiKinnKinn ChurchKinn12th century
Sunnfjord prostiNordalNordal ChurchNorddalsfjord1898

Government

Kinn 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 Sogn og Fjordane District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Kinn Municipality is made up of 39 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 Kinn 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:
  • 2020–2023: Ola Teigen
  • 2023–present: Bengt Solheim-Olsen

    Geography

Kinn Municipality is a unique non-contiguous municipality, the only of its kind in Norway. It is separated into two parts, with Bremanger Municipality in the middle. The northern portion of Kinn Municipality includes the island of Vågsøy and a small portion of the mainland east of the island on northern and outer shore of the Nordfjorden. Other populated islands in this part of the municipality include Silda, Måløyna, and Husevågøy. The lake Deknepollvatnet is located between the villages of Deknepollen and Tennebø. Stad Municipality is located to the north and east, Bremanger Municipality is located to the south, and the North Sea is located to the west.
The southern portion of Kinn Municipality is located on the coast at the entrances to the Norddalsfjorden and Førdefjorden. It includes many islands, including Reksta, Askrova, Svanøya, Skorpa, Fanøya, Hovden, and Kinn. The municipality also includes the large lakes of Endestadvatnet, Lykkjebøvatnet, and Vassetevatnet. The Norddalsfjorden is crossed by the Norddalsfjord Bridge. The waterfall Brudesløret is located in the municipality. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Keipen, located on the border with Bremanger Municipality. Bremanger Municipality is located to the north, Gloppen Municipality was located to the east, Sunnfjord Municipality is located to the southeast, and Askvoll Municipality is located to the southwest. The North Sea is located to the west.

Climate

in Kinn has been recording temperature since 1984, showing a temperate oceanic climate which was new record high for Vestland. In 2015 there were no freezing lows at all.
Since the lighthouse is located far out into the open sea, the winters there are warmer and summers are colder than what is found in the rest of the municipality.

Notable people