Bjørnafjorden (municipality)


Bjørnafjorden is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the Midhordland region of the county. The administrative centre of Bjørnafjorden is the village of Osøyro. Other villages in the municipality include Eikelandsosen, Fusa, Holdhus, Holmefjord, Vinnes, Strandvik, Sundvord, Hagavik, Halhjem, Søfteland, Søre Øyane, and Søvik.
The municipality is the 205th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Bjørnafjorden is the 46th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 24,908. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 21.5% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality was established on 1 January 2020 when the municipalities of Os and Fusa were merged.

Name

The municipality is named after the local fjord: Bjørnafjorden.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms for Bjørnafjorden was adopted in 2019. The blue arms show a gold boat with two curved gold waves beneath it. The waves symbolize the water, but the curved design alludes to rosemaling designs and the local Giant's kettles in Koldal in the municipality.

Churches

The Church of Norway has two parishes within the municipality of Bjørnafjorden. It is part of the Fana prosti in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.
Parish Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
FusaFusa ChurchFusa1961
FusaHoldhus ChurchHoldhus1726
FusaHålandsdal ChurchEide in Hålandsdal1890
FusaStrandvik ChurchStrandvik1857
FusaSundvor ChurchSundvord1927
OsOs ChurchOsøyro1870
OsNore Neset ChurchHagavik2000

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Bjørnafjorden, are responsible for primary education, outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elects a mayor. The municipality falls under the Bergen District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Bjørnafjorden is made up of 35 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows: