Alver is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
in
Vestland
Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. The county is located in Western Norway, and its administrative centre is Bergen, where the executive and political leadership is based. The County governor (Norway), County Governor is based in ...
county,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. It is located in the
traditional district of
Nordhordland
Nordhordland is a traditional district in the western part of Norway. The district consists of the northern portion of the old Hordaland county (now in Vestland county), north of the city of Bergen. It includes the municipalities Alver, Aus ...
. The
administrative centre
An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located.
In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgi ...
of the municipality is the village of
Knarvik. Other villages include
Alversund,
Alver,
Isdalstø,
Lindås
Lindås is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the Nordhordland district in the old Hordaland county, Norway. It existed from 1838 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020 when it was merged into the new Alver Munici ...
,
Ostereidet,
Seim,
Manger
__NOTOC__
A manger or trough is a rack for fodder, or a structure or feeder used to hold food for animals. The word comes from the Old French ''mangier'' (meaning "to eat"), from Latin ''mandere'' (meaning "to chew").
Mangers are mostly used in ...
,
Askeland,
Austmarka,
Bøvågen,
Haugland,
Sæbø,
Sletta,
Frekhaug,
Hjartås,
Holme,
Io,
Krossneset,
Meland
Meland is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the Nordhordland district in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1923 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020 when it was merged into the ne ...
, and
Rossland.
The 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 29,920. The municipality's
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
is and its population has increased by 10.1% over the previous 10-year period.
General information

The municipality was established on 1 January 2020 when the three neighboring municipalities of
Lindås
Lindås is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the Nordhordland district in the old Hordaland county, Norway. It existed from 1838 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020 when it was merged into the new Alver Munici ...
,
Radøy, and
Meland
Meland is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the Nordhordland district in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1923 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020 when it was merged into the ne ...
were merged into one large municipality.
Name
The municipality is named after the old ''Alver'' farm (). The first element is which means "whole" or "entire". The last element is the
genitive case
In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive ca ...
of the word which means "weather". Thus it is probably referring to the location which is exposed to the weather from all directions. It is the same root as the other local names like
Alversund and
Alverstraumen.
Coat of arms
The
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
was adopted in 2019 for use starting on 1 January 2020. The
blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...
is ''"Azure, a bridge over a boat argent"''. This means the arms have a blue
field (background) and the
charge
Charge or charged may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary
Music
* ''Charge'' (David Ford album)
* ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album)
* '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...
is an arched road bridge with a boat going underneath. The charge has a
tincture
A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...
of
argent
In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...
which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. 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.
Churches
The
Church of Norway
The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...
has six parishes () within the municipality of Alver. It is part of the
Nordhordland prosti
Nordhordland is a traditional district in the western part of Norway. The district consists of the northern portion of the old Hordaland county (now in Vestland county), north of the city of Bergen. It includes the municipalities Alver, Austr ...
(
deanery
A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...
) in the
Diocese of Bjørgvin
The Diocese of Bjørgvin () is one of the 11 dioceses that make up the Church of Norway. It includes all of the churches located in the county of Vestland in Western Norway, and those outside of Norway in the Seamen's Church. The cathedral cit ...
.
Government
Alver Municipality is responsible for
primary education
Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...
(through 10th grade), outpatient
health services
Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...
,
senior citizen
Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...
services,
welfare
Welfare may refer to:
Philosophy
*Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group
* Utility in utilitarianism
* Value in value theory
Economics
* Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...
and other
social services
Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...
,
zoning
In urban planning, zoning is a method in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into land-use "zones", each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for ...
,
economic development
In economics, economic development (or economic and social development) is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and object ...
, and municipal
road
A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved.
Th ...
s and utilities. The municipality is governed by a
municipal council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...
of
directly elected representatives. The
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
is
indirectly elected
An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting,'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office ( direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the o ...
by a vote of the municipal council.
The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the
Hordaland District Court and the
Gulating Court of Appeal
The Gulating Court of Appeal () is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Bergen. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Vestland and Rogaland plus Sirdal Municipality in Agder county ...
.
Mayors
The
mayors
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
() of Alver:
*2020-2023: Sara Hamre Sekkingstad (
Sp)
*2023-present: Ingrid Fjeldsbø (
H)
Municipal council
The
municipal council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...
of Alver is made up of 41 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political
party
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...
.
Notable people
*
Carl Andreas Fougstad (1806 in Alverstraumen – 1871), a lawyer, journalist, author, and mayor of Oslo
*
Arne Bjørndal (1882 in Hosanger – 1965), a
hardingfele fiddler, composer, and folklorist
*
Amund Rydland (1888 in Alversund – 1967), a stage and film actor and theatre director
[. Retrieved 07 December 2020.]
*
Nils Hjelmtveit (1892 in Hopland – 1985), a Norwegian educator and politician
*
Lars Amandus Aasgard (1907 in Lindås – 1984), a furniture factory manager, politician, and mayor of Lindås from 1951 to 1963
*
Torolv Solheim
Torolv Solheim (7 November 1907 in Radøy – 23 May 1995) was a Norwegian educator, essayist, resistance member and politician. He was originally a politician for the Communist Party of Norway, later a member of the Norwegian Labour Party
Th ...
(1907 in Radøy – 1995), an educator, essayist, resistance member, and politician
*
Aslaug Låstad Lygre (1910 in Lindås – 1966), a Norwegian poet
*
Narve Bjørgo (born 1936 in Meland), a Norwegian historian and academic
*
Magnar Mangersnes (born 1938 in Radøy), a Norwegian organist and choral conductor
*
Audun Sjøstrand (born 1950 in Radøy), a Norwegian journalist, teacher, and crime fiction writer
Sport
*
Nils Sæbø (1897 in Radøy – 1985), an equestrian who competed at the
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...
*
Lise Klaveness
Lise Klaveness (born 19 April 1981) is a Norwegian lawyer and former Association football, footballer who played 73 matches for Norway women's national football team, Norway's national team between 2002 and 2011. She is currently the president o ...
(born 1981 in Meland), a lawyer and footballer with 73 caps for the
Norway women's football team
*
Sindre Marøy (born 1982 in Hordabø), a Norwegian former professional footballer with over 100 club caps
References
External links
Municipal fact sheetfrom
Statistics Norway
Statistics Norway (, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876.
Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every year on its web site. All rele ...
{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022
Municipalities of Vestland
2020 establishments in Norway