Tysvær is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is part of the Haugalandet region. The municipality is located on the Haugalandet peninsula on the northern side of the Boknafjorden, just east of the towns of Kopervik and Haugesund. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Aksdal. Other villages in the municipality include Dueland, Førre, Grinde, Hervik, Hindaråvåg, Nedstrand, Skjoldastraumen, Susort, Tysvær, and Yrkje.

The municipality is the 230th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Tysvær Municipality is the 100th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of . The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 7.6% over the previous 10-year period.

The European route E39 highway and European route E134 highways traverse the municipality with their junction located at Aksdal. The Frekasund Bridge on the E39 highway connects the mainland of Tysvær Municipality to the islands of Bokn Municipality to the south. The Karmøy Tunnel connects Tysvær Municipality to the town of Kopervik in neighboring Karmøy Municipality.

General information

thumb|left|Aerial view of western Tysvær

thumb|left|Painting called Fra Borgøya by Lars Hertervig

thumb|left|View of [[Aksdal Church]]

The municipality of Tysvær was established in 1849 when the large Skjold Municipality was divided. The southern part (population: 2,058) became the new Tysvær Municipality and the northern part (population: 3,439) remained as a smaller Skjold Municipality.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the following areas were merged into a newly enlarged Tysvær Municipality:

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 3 February 1984. The official blazon is "Azure, a heron argent issuant" (). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is the top of a grey heron. The heron 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 heron was chosen as a symbol for the municipality since there are several large colonies of grey herons in the municipality. "Tysvær herons" is a nickname for the inhabitants of the municipality. The arms were designed by Stein Davidsen. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway has three parishes () within Tysvær Municipality. It is part of the Haugaland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger.

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|+ style="font-size:medium"|Churches in Tysvær Municipality

!Parish ()!!Church name!!Location of the church!!Year built

|-

|rowspan="2"|Førresfjorden||Aksdal Church||Aksdal||1995

|-

|Førre Church||Førre||1893

|-

|rowspan="2"|Nedstrand||Nedstrand Church||Hindaråvåg||1868

|-

|Skjoldastraumen Church||Skjoldastraumen||1910

|-

|rowspan="1"|Tysvær||Tysvær Church||Tysvær||1852

|}

Geography

The municipality lies on the northern shore of the Boknafjorden, with the Skjoldafjorden and Vindafjorden both partially located within the municipality. The island of Borgøyna lies in the middle of the Skjoldafjorden in Tysvær Municipality. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Lammanuten. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Haugaland og Sunnhordland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Tysvær Municipality is made up of 29 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors

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

  • 1849–1849: Peder Christophersen Lien
  • 1850–1851: John Pedersen Aarvig
  • 1852–1853: Rev. Hans Jensen Blom
  • 1854–1854: Thomas Jørgensen Qvindesland
  • 1866–1866: Lars Eriksen Birk
  • 1867–1868: Jakob Severinsen Odland
  • 1868–1871: Ole O. Melkevig
  • 1872–1873: Sjur V. Elleflaadt
  • 1874–1879: Lars Eriksen Birk
  • 1880–1881: Nils A. Hetland
  • 1882–1883: Christoffer J. Apeland
  • 1884–1887: Lars Eriksen Birk
  • 1888–1891: John Kvinnesland
  • 1892–1895: Peder J. Aarvig
  • 1896–1907: Christoffer Apeland
  • 1908–1913: Kornelius Jørgensen
  • 1913–1921: Tollef Kvinnesland
  • 1922–1922: Johannes Høyland
  • 1926–1928: Johannes Høyland
  • 1929–1931: Knut C. Rønnevik
  • 1931–1935: Sivert Odland
  • 1935–1942: Knut C. Rønnevik
  • 1942–1945: Ole Hay Hoel (NS)
  • 1945–1947: Knut C. Rønnevik
  • 1947–1951: Tor Eikje
  • 1951–1955: Knut C. Rønnevik
  • 1955–1959: Ånen Susort (KrF)
  • 1959–1963: Elmer Førland (V)
  • 1963–1964: Ånen Susort (KrF)
  • 1964–1967: Lars Mogstad (Sp)
  • 1967–1975: John S. Tveit (KrF)
  • 1975–1979: Andreas Stakkestad (Sp)
  • 1979–1983: Mandrup Hovland (V)
  • 1983–1987: Borghild Yrkje (KrF)
  • 1987–1991: Mandrup Hovland (V)
  • 1991–1999: Borghild Yrkje (KrF)
  • 1999–2007: Reidar Pedersen (Ap)
  • 2007–2015: Harald Stakkestad (H)
  • 2015–2023: Sigmund Lier (Ap)
  • 2023–present: Monika Lindanger (H)

Notable people

  • Cleng Peerson (1783 near Tysvær – 1865), the leader of the first group of Norwegians to emigrate to the United States
  • Anders Andersen Bjelland (1790 in Nedstrand – 1850), a farmer and politician
  • Asbjørn Kloster (1823 in Vestre Bokn – 1876), a social reformer and leader of the Norwegian temperance movement
  • Lars Hertervig (1830 at Borgøy – 1902), a painter of semi-fantastical works of coastal landscapes
  • John S. Tveit (born 1931 in Tysvær), a politician who was mayor of Tysvær Municipality from 1967 to 1971
  • Nils Olav Fjeldheim (born 1977 in Tysværvåg), a sprint and marathon canoeist who was a bronze medallist in the 2004 Summer Olympics
  • Peder Losnegård (born 1992 in Tysvær) whose stage name is Lido, a hip-hop artist, rapper, producer, and songwriter

References

  • Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway