Alver (municipality)

Alver is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordhordland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Knarvik. Other villages include Alversund, Alver, Isdalstø, Lindås, Ostereidet, Seim, Manger, Askeland, Austmarka, Bøvågen, Haugland, Sæbø, Sletta, Frekhaug, Hjartås, Holme, Io, Krossneset, Meland, and Rossland.

Alver kommune
Municipality
View of Veland along the Hindnesfjorden
Coat of arms
Vestland within
Norway
Alver within Vestland
Coordinates: 60°40′00″N 05°20′00″E
CountryNorway
CountyVestland
DistrictNordhordland
Established1 Jan 2020
Administrative centreKnarvik
Government
 • Mayor (2020)Sara Hamre Sekkingstad (Sp)
Area
 • Total679.05 km2 (262.18 sq mi)
 • Land650.50 km2 (251.16 sq mi)
 • Water28.55 km2 (11.02 sq mi)  4.2%
Area rank168 in Norway
Population
 (2020)
 • Total29,224
 • Rank37 in Norway
 • Density44.9/km2 (116/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
13.5%
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-4631
Official language formNynorsk[1]
Websitealver.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

The 679-square-kilometre (262 sq mi) municipality is the 168th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Alver is the 37th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 29,224. The municipality's population density is 44.6 inhabitants per square kilometre (116/sq mi) and its population has increased by 13.5% over the previous 10-year period.[2][3]

General information
View of the municipal centre, Knarvik

The municipality was established on 1 January 2020 when the three neighboring municipalities of Lindås, Radøy, and Meland were merged into one large municipality.[4]

Name

The name of the municipality comes from the old Alver farm (Old Norse: Alviðra). The name has two parts "al" meaning "whole" and "viðra" meaning "weather", probably referring to the location which is exposed to the weather from all directions. mIt is the same root as the other local names like Alversund and Alverstraumen.[4][5][6]

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was adopted in 2019 for use starting in 2020. The blue arms show a gray or white bridge and a boat passing beneath it. It symbolizes that the fact that bridges tie the municipality together and the boat has been a means of transportation in the area for centuries.[7]

Churches

The Church of Norway has six parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Alver. It is part of the Nordhordland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Churches in Alver
Parish (sokn)Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
KnarvikAlversund ChurchAlversund1879
Knarvik ChurchKnarvik2014
Lygra ChurchLuro1892
Seim ChurchSeim1878
LindåsHundvin ChurchHundvin1936
Lindås ChurchLindås1865
Myking ChurchMyking1861
MelandMeland ChurchMeland1866
OstereidetOstereidet ChurchOstereidet1988
RadøyHordabø ChurchBøvågen1875
Manger ChurchManger1891
Sæbø ChurchSæbø1883
Emigrant Church, SlettaSletta1997
VikeVike ChurchVikanes1891

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Alver, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), 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.[8] The municipality falls under the Bergen District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Alver is made up of 47 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Alver Kommunestyre 2020–2023 [9]  
Party Name (in Nynorsk)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)7
 People's Action No to More Road Tolls
(Folkeaksjonen nei til meir bompengar)		10
 Progress Party (Framstegspartiet)3
 Green Party (Miljøpartiet Dei Grøne)2
 Conservative Party (Høgre)6
 Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti)7
 Red Party (Raudt)1
 Centre Party (Senterpartiet)8
 Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)2
 Liberal Party (Venstre)1
Total number of members:47

Notable people
Arne Bjørndal, 1953

Sport

References
  1. "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
  2. Statistisk sentralbyrå (2020). "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian).
  3. Statistisk sentralbyrå (2020). "09280: Area of land and fresh water (km²) (M)" (in Norwegian).
  4. Thorsnæs, Geir, ed. (2020-01-20). "Alver". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
  5. "Kva og kvar" (in Norwegian). Kartverket. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
  6. Rygh, Oluf (1910). Norske gaardnavne: Søndre Bergenhus amt (in Norwegian) (11 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri.
  7. Garen Svardal, Yngve (2018-09-04). "Kommunevåpenet til nye Alver kommune er klart". Nordhordland (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2020-02-02.
  8. Hansen, Tore, ed. (2016-05-12). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
  9. "Tall for Norge: Kommunestyrevalg 2019 - Vestland". Valg Direktoratet. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
  10. IMDb Database retrieved 07 December 2020
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