Kinn


Kinn is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It was established on 1 January 2020. It is in the traditional districts of Nordfjord and Sunnfjord. The municipality is the only non-contiguous municipality in Norway since the municipality of Bremanger lies in between the north and south parts of Kinn. The administrative centres of the municipality is the two cities 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 municipality of Kinn in Norway that existed from 1838 until 1964. The "old" Kinn roughly corresponded to the southern part of the "new" municipality of Kinn.
The municipality is the 142nd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Kinn is the 74th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 17,207. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 1.2% over the previous 10-year period.

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 named after the old municipality of Kinn which existed from 1838-1964. That municipality was named after the old Kinn farm on the island of Kinn since Kinn Church was located there. The name is identical with the word for "cheek", referring to the steep slope of a mountain on the island. Historically, the island's name was spelled Kind.

Coat of arms

Kinn adopted a new coat of arms that was designed and approved in the fall of 2019. The blue and white arms are an abstract design of the bow of a boat, an important symbol for the fishing community. The design is abstract and so it can also be seen as a rock, waves, or the head of a spear.

Churches

The Church of Norway has many churches in the municipality of Kinn 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

All municipalities in Norway, including Kinn, 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 Sogn og Fjordane District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Kinn is made up of 39 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown is as follows:

Geography

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, Moldøen, and Husevågøy. The lake Degnepollvatnet is located between the villages of Degnepoll and Tennebø.
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.

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