Tysvær


Tysvær is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is part of the Haugalandet region. The municipality is located on the Haugalandet peninsula on the northern side of the Boknafjorden, just east of the towns of Kopervik and Haugesund. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Aksdal. Other villages in the municipality include Dueland, Førre, Grinde, Hervik, Hindaråvåg, Nedstrand, Skjoldastraumen, Susort, Tysvær, and Yrke.
The European route E39 highway and European route E134 highways traverse the municipality with their junction located at Aksdal in Tysvær. The Frekasund Bridge on the E39 highway connects the mainland of Tysvær to the island municipality of Bokn to the south. The Karmøy Tunnel connects Tysvær to the town of Kopervik in neighboring Karmøy municipality.
The municipality is the 231st largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Tysvær is the 103rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 11,065. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 11.5% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Tysvær was established in 1849 when it was separated from the large municipality of Skjold. Initially, the municipality had a population of 2,058. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the following areas were merged into a newly enlarged municipality of Tysvær:
On 1 January 1969, the small Sponevik farm area, just north of the village of Skjoldastraumen, was transferred from the neighboring Vindafjord municipality to Tysvær.

Name

The municipality is named after the old Tysvær farm, since the first Tysvær Church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of the old male name Teitr and the last element is fjörðr which means "fjord".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 3 February 1984. The arms show a silver heron on a blue background. The heron was chosen as a symbol for the municipality since there are several large colonies of herons in the municipality.

Churches

The Church of Norway has three parishes within the municipality of Tysvær. It is part of the Haugaland prosti in the Diocese of Stavanger.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
FørresfjordenAksdal ChurchAksdal1995
FørresfjordenFørre ChurchFørre1893
NedstrandNedstrand ChurchHindaråvåg1868
NedstrandSkjoldastraumen ChurchSkjoldastraumen1910
TysværTysvær ChurchTysværvåg1852

Geography

The municipality lies on the northern shore of the Boknafjorden, with the Skjoldafjorden and Vindafjorden both partially located within the municipality. The island of Borgøy lies in the middle of the Skjoldafjorden in Tysvær.
The lake Aksdalsvatnet is the largest lake in the municipality. Another notable lake is Stakkastadvatnet, which lies on the Haugesund-Tysvær municipal border.
Tysvær has a number of scenic walks including Heggelifjellet and Kvinnesland, the source of the name Kvindesland.

Economy

The Kårstø industrial site is located along the shores of the Boknafjorden in southwestern Tysvær. The site has many natural gas-related facilities including the Kårstø Power Station.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Tysvær, 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 elect a mayor. The municipality falls under the Haugaland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Tysvær is made up of 29 representatives that are elected to four year terms. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows:

Notable residents