Rennesøy is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020. The area is now part of Stavanger Municipality in the traditional district of Ryfylke. The administrative centre was the village of Vikevåg. Other villages in the municipality included Askje and Sørbø. The municipality encompassed a number of islands on the south side of the Boknafjorden, north of the city of Stavanger.
Prior to its dissolution in 2020, the municipality was the 404th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Rennesøy Municipality was the 207th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had increased by 24.7% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
thumb|upright|left|Aerial view of the municipality
thumb|left|upright|View of a farm on [[Mosterøy (island)|Mosterøy island]]
thumb|left|upright|View of the [[Utstein Abbey on Klosterøy]]
The parish of Rennesø (later spelled Rennesøy) was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 July 1884, Rennesøy Municipality was divided in two:
- the islands of Mosterøy, Klosterøy, Fjøløy, Kvitsøy, and the western part of Åmøy (population: 817) became the new Mosterøy Municipality
- the island of Brimse and most of the island of Rennesøy plus some smaller surrounding islets (population: 1,370) remained as a much smaller Rennesøy Municipality (the Hanasand area of the island of Rennesøy belonged to Finnøy Municipality)
The island of Kvitsøy in Mosterøy Municipality later became the independent Kvitsøy Municipality. On 1 January 1965, Mosterøy Municipality (population: 817) was merged (back) into Rennesøy Municipality. Prior to the merger, Rennesøy Municipality had 1,370 residents.
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the main island of the municipality, Rennesøy (). The meaning of the first element is unknown. One possibility is that it comes from the word which means "snout", likely referring to the shape of the mountain Hodnafjellet on the southeast part of the island. The last element is which means "island".
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 20 February 1981 and in use until the municipal dissolution on 1 January 2020. The official blazon is "Azure, two crosiers addorsed argent" (). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a set of two crosiers standing vertically and mirroring each other. The charge has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The blue represents the ocean, an important feature for this island municipality. The crosiers represent the importance of Norway's oldest and best preserved monasteries, Utstein Abbey, located in the municipality. It was originally an Augustinian monastery, its abbot having a crozier as its symbol. Since Basel, Switzerland already had a crozier on its coat of arms, Rennesøy Municipality chose a design with two of them so that it would be different. The arms were designed by Svein Magnus Håvarstein. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.
Churches
The Church of Norway had two parishes () within Rennesøy Municipality. It was part of the Tungenes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger.
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ style="font-size:medium"|Churches in Rennesøy Municipality
!Parish ()!!Church name!!Location of the church!!Year built
|-
|rowspan="3"|Mosterøy||Askje Church||Askje, Mosterøy island||1846
|-
|Utstein Church||Klosterøy island||1280
|-
|Vestre Åmøy Chapel||Åmøy island (western side)||1953
|-
|rowspan="2"|Rennesøy||Hausken Church||Vikevåg, Rennesøy island||1857
|-
|Sørbø Church||Sørbø, Rennesøy island||1130
|}
Geography
The island municipality sat on the south side of the large Boknafjorden. It consisted of about 80 islands, most of which were uninhabited. The main islands included Rennesøy, Mosterøy, Klosterøy, Fjøløy, Sokn, Bru, Brimse, and the western part of Åmøy (the eastern part is part of Stavanger Municipality). The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Hodnafjellet on the southeastern coast of the island of Rennesøy. and Norwegian Historical Data Centre
|1865|2453
|1875|2477
|1891|1086
|1900|1110
|1910|1003
|1920|1116
|1930|1260
|1946|1485
|1951|1483
|1960|1438
|1970|2079
|1980|2299
|1990|2561
|2000|3111
|2010|4035
|2019|4847
Government
While it existed, Rennesøy 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 Stavanger District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.
Municipal council
The municipal council () of Rennesøy 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 Rennesøy Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
- 1838–1839: Rev. Bernt Tobias Bessesen
- 1840–1841: Asbjørn Pedersen Mehuus
- 1842–1845: Rev. Fredrik William Rode
- 1846–1849: Daniel Nilsen Voufle
- 1850–1857: Willum Jakobsen Hodnefjeld
- 1858–1858: Christopher Johan Garmann
- 1859–1859: Anders Andersen Hægreberg
- 1860–1864: Lars Jakobsen Sørbø
- 1865–1867: Ingebrigt Ingebrigtsen Vold
- 1868–1869: Isak Isaksen Sokn
- 1870–1871: Bendix Eriksen Nordbø
- 1872–1877: Ole Svendsen Oftedahl
- 1878–1879: Bendix Eriksen Nordbø
- 1880–1882: Erik Christensen Oustbø
- 1883–1884: David Nikolaisen Edland
- 1884–1891: Jørgen Jakobsen Haaversteen
- 1892–1913: Jacob Kristensen Austbø
- 1914–1918: Simon Hauge
- 1919–1931: Lars Sørbø
- 1931–1942: Johannes Håverstein
- 1942–194: Johan Østbø, Jr. (NS)
- 1945–1945: Johannes Håverstein
- 1946–1951: Inge Austbø
- 1951–1955: Johannes Håverstein
- 1955–1963: Olav Bø
- 1963–1964: Jakob B. Hanasand
- 1965–1971: Olav Nesheim (Sp)
- 1971–1975: Henry Halvorsen (V)
- 1975–1979: Lars Sokn (Sp)
- 1979–1983: Ole Bø (Sp)
- 1983–1987: Lars Sokn (Sp)
- 1987–1995: Svein Helgesen (KrF)
- 1995–1999: Jan Mikal Hanasand (H)
- 1999–2007: Jostein Eiane (KrF)
- 2007–2011: Ommund Vareberg (H)
- 2011–2019: Dagny Sunnanå Hausken (Sp)
thumb|right|View of the entrance to the [[Mastrafjord Tunnel]]
Transportation
Since 1992, Rennesøy Municipality has been connected to the mainland by a series of bridges and undersea tunnels. The Byfjord Tunnel connects the mainland to the island of Sokn, and it is part of the European route E39 highway. The island of Sokn is connected to the three islands of Åmøy, Bru, and Mosterøy by bridges. Mosterøy is connected to Fjøløy and Klosterøy by short bridges and to Rennesøy by the undersea Mastrafjord Tunnel. Rennesøy island is also connected to the island of Vestre Bokn (across the Boknafjorden) by ferry. Furthermore, the island of Rennesøy is connected to the two islands of Finnøy and Talgje in the neighboring Finnøy Municipality to the northeast by the Finnøy Tunnel.