Florø

Florø () is a town

The town encompasses the entire island of Florelandet and the western half of the island of Brandsøya. The Norwegian national road Rv 5 is the main road connecting Florø to the rest of Norway. The nearby villages of Brandsøy and Grov lie several kilometers to the east of Florø. The islands of Reksta, Kinn, Skorpa lie several kilometers to the west of the town. Florø is also home to Florø Airport and Florø Church.

Florø is also a former municipality that existed as an independent town-municipality for just over 100 years (1860-1964) before being merged into Flora Municipality. On 1 January 2020, the town (and Flora Municipality) became part of the new Kinn Municipality after another municipal merger.

thumb|left|400px|View of the town

Name

The town (and municipality) was named after the old Flora farm (), near where the town of Florø was built in 1860. The meaning of the name is somewhat uncertain with a couple of different likely possibilities. The old name, is the accusative case/genitive case of the word which means "floor", from which the names Flora and Florelandet are derived. This Old Norse word is probably derived from a Germanic root word, , meaning "flat ground". Another possibility for the meaning of the name is that it is derived from the word which means "flood" or "deluge". A common misunderstanding is that the name Florø includes the Danish word which means "island" as a suffix that was attached to the farm name Flora. Although not true, it nearly led to the town being renamed Florøy in the 1930s.

Economy

The basis for the foundation of the town was the rich herring fisheries, symbolised by the three herrings in the town's coat of arms. Fishing is still an important part of the economy, in addition to shipbuilding and service industries. After the discovery of petroleum in the North Sea in the 1960s, Florø has been used as a supply base for the petroleum industry.

History

thumb|left|The Florø post office cancel in 1866

Florø was founded as a town

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, a large municipal merger took place, merging the following places to form the newly-created Flora Municipality.

Self-government (1861-1964)

While it existed, Florø Municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Mayors

The mayor () of Florø Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:

1865–1873: Ude Jacob Høst
1874–1881: Livius Smitt
1882–1885: Gunnar Olsen
1886–1886: Oscar von Koss
1887–1887: Fredrik Faye
1888–1890: Fredrik T. Lorentzen
1891–1897: Gunnar Olsen
1897–1901: E.M. Hole
1902–1904: Elias Olsen
1905–1907: Abraham Haave
1908–1908: Ole Johannes Vasbotten
1909–1910: Elias Olsen
1911–1922: E.M. Hole
1923–1927: Abraham Haave
1928–1933: Alfred V. Lauvsnes
1934–1934: Andreas Hodnefjeld
1935–1939: Alfred V. Lauvsnes
1940–1940: Einar Stavang
1945–1945: S.I. Solheim
1945–1946: Einar Stavang
1949–1955: Olav Kolle
1955–1957: Ludvig Olai Botnen (V)
1958–1959: Kjeld Haus
1960–1961: Ludvig Olai Botnen (V)
1962–1964: Kjeld Haus

Municipal council

The municipal council of Florø Municipality was made up of 21 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.