Kopervik is the largest town The municipality of Karmøy has 43,918 inhabitants, 27.3% live in Kopervik.

Kopervik is one of three towns in Karmøy Municipality (the others are Åkrehamn and Skudeneshavn). Kopervik is a transportation hub for scheduled boats going north to Bergen and south to Stavanger. The main industries are aluminium smelting and fishing. Kopervik contains Karmøy Municipality's municipal government buildings as well as a lot of the commercial development in the municipality.

History

thumb|left|View of the town (before 1951).

thumb|left|A neighborhood in Kopervik.

The village of Kopervik was declared a ladested (town) on 16 August 1866, and since towns could not be part of a rural municipality, it was separated from the large Avaldsnes Municipality to form a small urban municipality of its own. Initially, Kopervik had a population of 737 and it encompassed about .

On 1 January 1965, there were many big municipal mergers in Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee, and on that date the town of Kopervik was merged with the neighboring municipalities of Avaldsnes, Stangaland, Torvastad, Skudenes, and Åkra plus the nearby town of Skudeneshavn. Together these municipalities formed the new, large Karmøy Municipality. Prior to the merger, Kopervik Municipality had 1,737 residents. Kopervik lost its status as a "town" upon merging into Karmøy Municipality. In 1996, due to some changes in the laws on towns, Karmøy Municipality declared Kopervik to be a town once again.

Kopervik Church has been located in the town for a long time. The previous church building was destroyed by fire in 2010, and its replacement was completed in 2016. The original church was built in 1861 by the architect Jacob Wilhelm Nordan.

Municipal self-government (1866–1964)

From 1866 through 1964, Kopervik was an independent municipality. While it existed, Kopervik 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 Karmsund District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Kopervik 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.

Mayors

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

  • 1866–1870: Claudius Schiwe
  • 1870–1875: A.J. Olsen
  • 1876–1876: L.B. Henriksen
  • 1877–1884: Adolf Hagbarth Marius Lunde
  • 1885–1892: Aasmund Vinje
  • 1893–1901: Rasmus Østbø
  • 1902–1904: Reinhold Maartmann
  • 1905–1905: Ole Waage
  • 1906–1907: Tobias Telaus Ariansen
  • 1908–1913: Carl Lundberg
  • 1914–1916: Andreas Tomasgaard
  • 1917–1917: Kristian Lundberg
  • 1918–1918: Andreas Tomasgaard
  • 1919–1919: Carl Lundberg
  • 1920–1922: Thomas Idsøe
  • 1923–1923: Carl Lundberg
  • 1924–1924: Ketil Arneson Skeie
  • 1925–1926: Carl Lundberg
  • 1927–1927: Andreas Tomasgaard
  • 1928–1931: Carl Lundberg
  • 1932–1932: Leif Holmbek
  • 1932–1934: Anton Salomonsen
  • 1935–1938: Elias Sandvig
  • 1939–1939: Nils O. Fjeldkårsta
  • 1940–1941: Elias Sandvig
  • 1946–1947: Magnus Børresen
  • 1948–1948: Elias Sandvig
  • 1949–1949: Magnus Børresen
  • 1950–1950: Elias Sandvig
  • 1950–1953: Lauritz Wathne
  • 1954–1955: Magnus Børresen
  • 1956–1957: Johan Fritzner Thorkildsen
  • 1958–1959: Magnus Børresen
  • 1960–1963: Frimann Skeie
  • 1964–1964: Axel Holst Roness

Notable people

  • Jan Kjell Larsen (born 1983), a footballer
  • Svein Munkejord (born 1948), a former fisheries minister
  • Asbjørn Sunde (1909–1985), a saboteur against the Nazi occupation of Norway
  • Tormod Torfæus (1636–1719), an Icelandic-Norwegian historian
  • Øyvind Vaksdal (born 1955), former member of the Norwegian Parliament
  • Karina Sævik (born 1996), a footballer

References

  • Kopervik.info
  • Kopervik Map
  • Kopervik Videregående Skole
  • Kopervik Weather forecast
  • Kopervik Map
  • Kopervik IL (football club)
  • Kopervik Volleyballklubb
  • Byen Vår Kopervik
  • Anne Beth Hagen Tekstilkunstner Kopervik Kulturhus