Askøy

26 927 ( March 31, 2013 )

Askøy is an island and municipality in the Norwegian Fylke Hordaland. Askøy is completely surrounded by fjords. To the north is the island municipality Meland, in the southeastern mountains, in the southwest mountain and to the northwest Øygarden. In addition to the island of Askøy includes the islands of Herdla, Ramsøy and Horsøy and a number of smaller islands to the commune. The local center is Kleppestø.

History

In the limit regulation 1964, the municipality Askøy got parts of the old Herdla herad and parts of the municipality Meland that were on the island Askøy. From 1837 to 1918 Laksevåg was on the mainland part of the Askøy municipality.

Community name and coat of arms

The name comes from the farm Askøy Ask on the east side of the island, which in turn takes its name from the tree ash. The municipality coat of arms shows as a silver background a green ash tree, which stands on an island with the sea in the foreground. It was approved on 28 September 1961 by the local government.

Traffic

From Kleppestø drives a speedboat that takes 10 minutes to the center of Bergen. 1992 Askøybrücke ( Askøybrua ) was opened, which now is the main connection to Bergen. Due to the significantly simplified connection to Bergen Askøy is populous one of the fastest growing municipalities in Norway.