Askøy is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An isla ...

Vestland Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the cit ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

. The island is located entirely inside the municipality of Askøy, and the island makes up about 88% of the municipal area and is home to about 96% of the municipal residents. In 2014, there were 26,230 people living on the island. Since the opening of the Askøy Bridge leading to the mainland in the city of

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, secon ...

in 1992, the population has increased rapidly. The island is named after the old Ask farm along the eastern coast of the island. The village is the site of the old Ask Church. Ask church, Askøy 21may2006

Geography

Askøy is surrounded by

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icel ...

s: the

Hjeltefjorden Hjeltefjorden is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. The long fjord runs north–south between many islands leading from the open ocean to the city of Bergen. It passes through the municipalities of Fedje, Øygarden, Alver, and Askøy. Its na ...

lies to the west and north, the Byfjorden lies to the east, and the

Herdlefjorden Herdlefjorden is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. The long fjord runs between the islands of Holsnøy (in Alver Municipality) and Askøy (in Askøy Municipality). The fjord connects with the Salhusfjorden and the Byfjorden on the southe ...

lies to the northeast. The Bergen Peninsula (mainland) lies to the south and east of the island, the island of

Holsnøy Holsnøy is an island in Alver Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island lies to the north/west of the mainland, between the islands of Radøy to the north and Askøy to the south. The highest point on the island is the tall Eldsfjell ...

lies to the northeast, the small island of

Herdla Herdla is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1871 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality encompassed a large group of about 2,000 islands and skerries covering about of land area ...

lies immediately to the north, the islands of

Øygarden 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 ...

( Ona,

Blomøyna Blomøyna, or Blomøy, is an island in the municipality of Øygarden in Vestland county, Norway. The island is the second largest island in the municipality. The island lies north of the island of Rongøyna and south of the island of Ona. ...

, Rongøyna,

Toftøyna Toftøyna or Toftøy is an island in Øygarden municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island is the southernmost of the main islands of Øygarden. It is connected by bridge to the island of Rongøy (to the north), to the small island ...

) lie to the west, and the islands of

Sotra Sotra or Store Sotra is the name of a large island in Øygarden Municipality in Vestland county, Norway, located just west of the city of Bergen. It is part of a pair of islands called 'Store Sotra, Sotra' and 'Litlesotra' ('small Sotra') that a ...

and

Litlesotra Litlesotra, or sometimes Lille Sotra, is an island in Øygarden Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is part of the Sotra island group which makes up the southern part of a larger archipelago of islands from Fedje south through Øygar ...

lie to the southwest. The area around the bridge (where the villages of

Kleppestø Kleppestø is the administrative centre of the municipality of Askøy in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the southern coast of the island of Askøy. The village of Florvåg lies just north of Kleppestø and the village of S ...

and

Strusshamn Strusshamn is an urban village in the municipality of Askøy in Vestland county, Norway. The village lies along the Byfjorden on the southern coast of the island of Askøy, just west of the large urban village of Kleppestø. Strusshamn is one of ...

are located) and along the east coast (around the village of Florvåg and Erdal) are densely populated due to their proximity to the city of Bergen across the fjord. Historically there were regular ferry connections, and now there is the Askøy Bridge. The northern and western parts of the island are very sparsely populated. The large lake Askevatnet lies along the eastern shore of the island.

References

Islands of Vestland Askøy {{Vestland-island-stub

Geography

See also

References