Øygarden, Vestland County, Norway

🇳🇴 Øygarden is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is an island municipality located in the traditional district of Midhordland, stretching along the west coast of the county. The village of Straume is the administrative centre of the municipality. Other villages in the municipality include Alveim, Blomvåg, Vikavågen, Ågotnes, Fjell, Foldnes, Knappskog, Knarrevik, Kolltveit, Landro, Sekkingstad, Skogsvåg, Klokkarvik, Tælavåg, Kausland, and Hammarsland.

The municipality consists of a chain of islands to the north and west of the city of Bergen. Øygarden is connected to the mainland by a series of bridges and a single road running across the islands. Some of the major islands include Litlesotra, Store Sotra, Bildøy, Bjorøy, Misje, Turøy, Seløyna, Alvøyna, Ona, Blomøyna, Rongøyna, and Toftøyna.

The 315-square-kilometre (122 sq mi) municipality is the 260th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Øygarden is the 27th most populous municipality in Norway. The municipality's population density is 130 inhabitants per square kilometre (340/sq mi) and its population has increased by 16.3% over the previous 10-year period.

General information The municipality of Øygarden was established on 1 January 1964. It was created by a merger that was set in motion by the Schei Committee. The newly created Øygarden was made up of all of the old municipality of Hjelme (population: 956) and almost all of the municipality of Herdla (population: 2131) that was located west of the Hjeltefjorden (except for the islands of Turøy and Misje which went to the neighboring municipality of Fjell).

On 1 January 2020, the three neighboring municipalities of Fjell, Sund, and Øygarden were merged into one large island municipality called Øygarden.

The administrative centre of Øygarden has changed three times over the years. From 1964 until 2009, it was located at the village of Tjeldstø. From 2009 through 2019, it was located in the village of Rong. In 2020, the administrative centre was moved to the large village of Straume after the municipal merger with Fjell and Sund.

Churches The Church of Norway has four parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Øygarden. It is part of the Vesthordland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Geography The municipality is made up of many islands. The main islands are (from north to south): Seløyna (7.2 km2 [.8 sq mi]), Alvøyna (12.2 km2 [.7 sq mi]), Ona (6.8 km2 [.6 sq mi]), Blomøyna (9.1 km2 [.5 sq mi]), Rongøyna (2.7 km2 [.0 sq mi]), Toftøyna (7.5 km2 [.9 sq mi]), Misje, Turøyna Sotra, Litlesotra, Geitung, Bildøyna, Bjorøy, Algrøyna, Lokøyna, Syltøyna, Toftøya, Lerøyna, Bjelkarøyna, Tyssøyna, Risøy, Vardøy, Golten, and Viksøy. Besides these larger islands, the municipality consists of hundreds small islands, islets, and reefs. Some of the other islands include Hernar in the far north and Førehjelmo.

The landscape is low and relatively flat. Several smaller lakes are located on the islands. The west side of the islands is an important nesting site for birds. The North Sea lies to the west of the islands and the Hjeltefjorden.

Tjeldstø Marka on Alvøyna has been a protected nature reserve since 1995. It is one of the largest wetland reserves in Hordaland. The Ormhilleren friluftsområde is another nature reserve surrounding the Rongesundet strait.

Economy The municipality has a significant aquaculture industry, primarily with salmon, cod, and shellfish. Agriculture is limited in the municipality and is largely a part-time occupation, with most farmers have another profession too. The type of agriculture in Øygarden is dominated by raising livestock (sheep, cattle, and chickens).

Since 1988, petroleum activities have become a major industry in Øygarden. The transportation of oil from the Oseberg oil field through a pipeline to Sture on Alvøyna was the start of the oil boom. In 1996, a natural gas processing plant at Kollsnes on the island of Ona was completed.