Rennesøy

This article is about the municipality in Norway. For the island in Norway, see Rennesøy (island).

Rennesøy Municipality Rennesøy kommune
Former municipality
Rennesø herred  (historic name)
View of the Askjesund Bridge in Rennesøy
Flag Coat of arms
Rogaland within Norway
Rennesøy within Rogaland
Coordinates: 59°06′04″N 05°43′55″E
Country	Norway
County	Rogaland
District	Ryfylke
Established	1 Jan 1838
• Created as	Formannskapsdistrikt
Disestablished	1 Jan 2020
• Succeeded by	Stavanger Municipality
Administrative centre	Vikevåg
Government
• Mayor (2011)	Dagny Sunnanå Hausken (Sp)
Area  (upon dissolution)
• Total	65.51 km^2 (25.29 sq mi)
• Land	64.90 km^2 (25.06 sq mi)
• Water	0.61 km^2 (0.24 sq mi)  0.9%
• Rank	#404 in Norway
Population  (2017)
• Total	4,892
• Rank	#207 in Norway
• Density	75.4/km^2 (195/sq mi)
• Change (10 years)	+38.7%
Demonym	Rennesøybu[1]
Official language [2]
• Norwegian form	Neutral
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	NO-1142[3]
Website	Official website
Data from Statistics Norway

Rennesøy is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It was merged into Stavanger municipality on 1 January 2020. It was located in the traditional district of Ryfylke. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vikevåg. Other villages in Rennesøy included Askje and Sørbø. The municipality encompassed a number of islands on the south side of the Boknafjorden, north of the city of Stavanger.

At the time of its dissolution, the 66-square-kilometre (25 sq mi) municipality was the 404th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Rennesøy was the 207th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 4,892. The municipality's population density is 75.4 inhabitants per square kilometre (195/sq mi) and its population has increased by 38.7% over the last decade.^[4]

General information

Aerial view of the municipality

View of a farm on Mosterøy island

View of the Utstein Abbey on Klosterøy

The parish of Rennesø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 July 1884, the municipality was split in two with the islands of Mosterøy, Klosterøy, Fjøløy, Kvitsøy, and the western part of Åmøy forming the new municipality of Mosterøy, and the islands of Rennesøy and Brimse remained as Rennesøy municipality. This split left Rennesøy with 1,092 residents, less than half of its previous population. The island of Kvitsøy later became an independent municipality of its own.^[5]

On 1 July 1918, the Hanasand area of the neighboring municipality of Finnøy (population: 72) that was located on the island of Rennesøy was transferred to Rennesøy municipality.^[5]

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the municipality of Mosterøy was merged back into Rennesøy. Prior to the merger, Rennesøy had 1,370 residents.^[5]

On 1 January 2020, the municipalities of Finnøy, Rennesøy, and Stavanger were merge into one, large municipality called Stavanger.^[6]

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the main island of the municipality, Rennesøy (Old Norse: Rennisøy). The meaning of the first element is unknown. One possibility is that it comes from the word rani which means "snout", likely referring to the shape of the mountain Hodnafjellet on the southeast part of the island. The last element is øy which means "island".^[7][8] Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Rennesø. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Rennesøy. The letter y was added to the end of the word to "Norwegianize" the name (ø is the Danish word for "island" and øy is the Norwegian word).^[9]

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 20 February 1981. The official blazon is "Azure, two crosiers addorsed argent" (Norwegian: I blått to oppveksande adosserte sølv krumstavar). 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 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.^[10][11][12]

Churches

The Church of Norway had two parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Rennesøy. It was part of the Tungenes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger.

Churches in Rennesøy

Parish (sokn)	Church name	Location of the church	Year built
Mosterøy	Askje Church	Askje, Mosterøy island	1846
	Utstein Church	Klosterøy island	1280
	Vestre Åmøy Chapel	Åmøy island (western side)	1953
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 consists of about 80 islands, most of which are uninhabited. The main islands are Rennesøy, Mosterøy, Klosterøy, Fjøløy, Sokn, Bru, Brimse, and the western part of Åmøy (the eastern part is part of Stavanger municipality). All of the main islands are connected together and to the mainland by a series of bridges and tunnels (except for Brimse which has a ferry connection). The Fjøløy Lighthouse is located in the northwestern part of the municipality, lighting a main shipping channel to Stavanger.^[8]

Population

Historical population
Year	1865	1875	1891	1900	1910	1920	1930	1946	1951	1960	1970	1980	1990	2000	2010	2019
Pop.	2,453	2,477	1,086	1,110	1,003	1,116	1,260	1,485	1,483	1,438	2,079	2,299	2,561	3,111	4,035	4,847
±% p.a.	—	+0.10%	−5.02%	+0.24%	−1.01%	+1.07%	+1.22%	+1.03%	−0.03%	−0.34%	+3.76%	+1.01%	+1.09%	+1.96%	+2.63%	+2.06%
Note: The municipal borders were changed in 1884 and 1965, causing a significant change in the population. Source: Statistics Norway[13][14] and Norwegian Historical Data Centre[15]

Government

While it existed, this municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment, social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.^[16] The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Stavanger District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Rennesøy was made up of 21 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

Rennesøy kommunestyre 2016–2019 ^[17]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	3
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	4
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	6
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	3
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	5
Total number of members:		21

Rennesøy kommunestyre 2012–2015 ^[18]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	3
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	3
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	7
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	3
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	4
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	1
Total number of members:		21

Rennesøy kommunestyre 2008–2011 ^[17]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	3
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	5
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	5
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	3
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	3
	Common list (Samlingsliste)	2
Total number of members:		21

Rennesøy kommunestyre 2004–2007 ^[17]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	3
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	5
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	5
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	3
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	3
	Common list (Samlingsliste)	2
Total number of members:		21

Rennesøy kommunestyre 2000–2003 ^[17]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	3
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	3
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	5
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	2
	Common list (Samlingsliste)	4
	Cross-party list (Tverrpolitisk liste)	2
Total number of members:		21

Rennesøy kommunestyre 1996–1999 ^[19]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	4
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	5
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	4
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	4
	Cross-party list (Tverrpolitisk liste)	4
Total number of members:		21

Rennesøy kommunestyre 1992–1995 ^[20]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	3
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	4
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	4
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	8
	Non-party list (Upolitisk liste)	2
Total number of members:		21

Rennesøy kommunestyre 1988–1991 ^[21]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	3
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	6
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	5
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	6
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
Total number of members:		21

Rennesøy kommunestyre 1984–1987 ^[22]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	4
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	6
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	5
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	6
Total number of members:		21

Rennesøy kommunestyre 1980–1983 ^[23]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	1
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	7
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	5
	Liberal People's Party (Liberale Folkepartiet)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	7
Total number of members:		21

Rennesøy kommunestyre 1976–1979 ^[24]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	1
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	3
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	7
	New People's Party (Nye Folkepartiet)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	9
Total number of members:		21

Rennesøy kommunestyre 1972–1975 ^[25]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	1
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	6
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	9
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	3
Total number of members:		21

Rennesøy kommunestyre 1968–1971 ^[26]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	1
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	3
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	5
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	8
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	3
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	1
Total number of members:		21

Rennesøy kommunestyre 1964–1967 ^[27]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	5
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	4
	Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)	3
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	1
Total number of members:		13

Rennesøy herredsstyre 1960–1963 ^[28]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	13
Total number of members:		13

Rennesøy herredsstyre 1956–1959 ^[29]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	13
Total number of members:		13

Rennesøy herredsstyre 1952–1955 ^[30]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	13
Total number of members:		13

Rennesøy herredsstyre 1948–1951 ^[31]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	12
Total number of members:		12

Rennesøy herredsstyre 1945–1947 ^[32]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	12
Total number of members:		12

Rennesøy herredsstyre 1938–1941* ^[33]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	12
Total number of members:		12
Note: Due to the German occupation of Norway during World War II, no elections were held for new municipal councils until after the war ended in 1945.

Mayors

The mayors (Norwegian: ordfører) of Rennesøy (incomplete list):

• 1892-1913: Jacob Kristensen Austbø
• 1999-2007: Jostein Eiane (KrF)
• 2007-2011: Ommund Vareberg (H)
• 2011-2019: Dagny Sunnanå Hausken (Sp)

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 municipality of Finnøy to the northeast by the Finnøy Tunnel.^[8]

References

1. "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
2. "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
3. Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (26 January 2023). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget.
4. Statistisk sentralbyrå (2017). "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 4 November 2017.
5. Jukvam, Dag (1999). Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. ISBN 9788253746845.
6. "Om nye Stavanger" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 4 November 2017.
7. Rygh, Oluf (1915). Norske gaardnavne: Stavanger amt (in Norwegian) (10 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 257.
8. Store norske leksikon. "Rennesøy – kommune" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 30 December 2015.
9. "Norsk Lovtidende. 2den Afdeling. 1917. Samling af Love, Resolutioner m.m". Norsk Lovtidend (in Norwegian). Kristiania, Norge: Grøndahl og Søns Boktrykkeri: 1057–1065. 1917.
10. "Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
11. "Rennesøy, Rogaland (Norway)". Flags of the World. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
12. "Godkjenning av våpen og flagg". Lovdata.no (in Norwegian). Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet. 11 April 1981. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
13. Statistisk sentralbyrå. "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian).
14. Statistisk sentralbyrå. "Folketelling 1960" (PDF) (in Norwegian).
15. Universitetet i Tromsø – Norges arktiske universitet. "Censuses in the Norwegian Historical Data Archive (NHDC)".
16. Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (20 September 2022). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
17. "Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway.
18. "Tall for Norge: Kommunestyrevalg 2011 - Rogaland". Valg Direktoratet. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
19. "Kommunestyrevalget 1995" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1996. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
20. "Kommunestyrevalget 1991" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1993. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
21. "Kommunestyrevalget 1987" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1988. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
22. "Kommunestyrevalget 1983" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1984. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
23. "Kommunestyrevalget 1979" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1979. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
24. "Kommunevalgene 1975" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1977. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
25. "Kommunevalgene 1972" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1973. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
26. "Kommunevalgene 1967" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1967. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
27. "Kommunevalgene 1963" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1964. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
28. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1959" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1960. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
29. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1955" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1957. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
30. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1951" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1952. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
31. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1947" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1948. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
32. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1945" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1947. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
33. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1937" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1938. Retrieved 5 August 2020.

External links

• Media related to Rennesøy (former municipality) at Wikimedia Commons
• The dictionary definition of Rennesøy at Wiktionary
• Rogaland travel guide from Wikivoyage