Osterøy Municipality


Osterøy is an island municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordhordland. The municipality encompasses most of the island of Osterøy. The administrative centre of Osterøy is the village of Lonevåg in the central part of the island. The largest settlement is the village of Valestrandfossen with 1,380 inhabitants as of 1 January 2025.
Osterøy municipality and Vaksdal Municipality are both located on the island of Osterøy. Osterøy municipality covers most of the island with the mostly uninhabited northeastern part of the island belonging to Vaksdal Municipality. Osterøy is located a short distance northeast of the city of Bergen. It is surrounded by the Osterfjorden, Sørfjorden, and Veafjorden. The 19th-century musician and composer Ole Bull had a summer home in Valestrandfossen in Osterøy. The historic Havrå farm is a cluster farm which represents the traditional way of living for farmers. Havrå is located on the southeastern part of the municipality.
The municipality is the 285th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Osterøy Municipality is the 131st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 8,172. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 5.3% over the previous 10-year period.
WWW osteroy.kommune.no

Geography

The municipality sits on the island of Osterøy, encompassing most of the island. The island is surrounded by several fjords: Osterfjorden-Romarheimsfjorden, Sørfjorden, and Veafjorden. The highest mountain in the municipality is the tall Høgafjellet on the border with Vaksdal Municipality. The Lonevågen fjord cuts in the center of the island, with the village of Lonevåg sitting at the end of the fjord. Alver Municipality is located to the north, Vaksdal Municipality is located to the east, and Bergen Municipality is located to the south and west.

Settlements

Osterøy Municipality contains six "urban settlements", as defined by Statistics Norway : Valestrandfossen, Lonevåg, Hausvik, Haugo, Fotlandsvåg, and Hamre. Other rural settlements in Osterøy include Austbygdi, Bruvik, Gjerstad, and Hosanger.

History

The municipality of Osterøy was created on 1 January 1964 as part of a major municipal merger that was proposed by the Schei Committee. Osterøy was created from parts of four different municipalities that were all dissolved in the merger. The following areas were merged to form the new municipality of Osterøy:
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 island of Osterøy since the municipality encompassed most of the island. The first element of the name has an uncertain meaning. It is possible that it comes from the word which means "east". Another interpretation is that it is derived from the word which means "increase" or "surpass", thus it could be referring to the large size of the island. The last element, øy, was added later, but that word comes from the Old Norse word which means "island".

Culture

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 20 December 1985. The official blazon is "Argent, three axes fesswise azure blades to the base, 2-1". This means the arms have a field 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 charge is a set of three broad axes laying horizontally with their blades facing down, with two axes at the top and one beneath. Broad axes were historically used in the construction of timber houses, which has long traditions in the municipality. Building craftsmen from Osterøy have been known for their solid work throughout the county. The designer was Egil Korsnes who based his design on the idea of Magnus Hardeland. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway has five parishes within Osterøy Municipality. It is part of the Åsane prosti in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
BruvikBruvik ChurchBruvik1867
GjerstadGjerstad ChurchGjerstad1870
HamreHamre ChurchHamre1622
HausHaus ChurchHaus1874
HosangerHosanger ChurchHosanger1796

Government

Osterøy 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 Osterøy Municipality is made up of 27 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 Osterøy 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:
  • 1964–1967: Gerhard Bøe
  • 1967–1971: Mons R. Mjelde
  • 1971–1975: Gerhard Bøe
  • 1975–1979: Sigvald Hauge
  • 1979–1983: Jon Hanstveit
  • 1983–1987: Ingunn Rongved
  • 1987–1999: Erling Raknes
  • 1999–2003: Ove Arne Kleiveland
  • 2003–2015: Kari Foseid Aakre
  • 2015–2019: Jarle Skeidsvoll
  • 2019–present: Lars Fjeldstad

Transport

Osterøy is connected to the mainland by a ferry from Breistein to Valestrand, and by a bridge on the far southern end of the island. The ferry named "Ole Bull" is sailing every half-hour from Breistein and Valestrand from early morning to late in the evening.
The Osterøy Bridge, finished in 1997, provides Osterøy with its only permanent road connection to the mainland in Bergen municipality. The bridge has a main span of, the third longest suspension bridge main span in Norway, for a total length of. Since 2015, the bridge has been toll-free. There are no road connections from Osterøy municipality to the Vaksdal municipality part of Osterøy island. That part of the island has the Kallestadsundet Bridge connecting it to the rest of Vaksdal municipality from the east.

Notable people

Sport