Alver (municipality)

Alver is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordhordland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Knarvik. Other villages include Alversund, Alver, Isdalstø, Lindås, Ostereidet, Seim, Manger, Askeland, Austmarka, Bøvågen, Haugland, Sæbø, Sletta, Frekhaug, Hjartås, Holme, Io, Krossneset, Meland, and Rossland.

The 679 km2 municipality is the 168th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Alver is the 37th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 29,920. The municipality's population density is 46 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 10.1% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The municipality was established on 1 January 2020 when the three neighboring municipalities of Lindås, Radøy, and Meland were merged into one large municipality.

Name
The municipality is named after the old Alver farm (Alviðra). The first element is which means "whole" or "entire". The last element is the genitive case of the word which means "weather". Thus it is probably referring to the location which is exposed to the weather from all directions. It is the same root as the other local names like Alversund and Alverstraumen.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was adopted in 2019 for use starting on 1 January 2020. The blazon is "Azure, a bridge over a boat argent". This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is an arched road bridge with a boat going underneath. 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. It symbolizes that the fact that bridges tie the municipality together and the boat has been a means of transportation in the area for centuries.

Churches
The Church of Norway has six parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Alver. It is part of the Nordhordland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Government
Alver Municipality is 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 is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Hordaland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Mayors
The mayors (ordførar) of Alver:
 * 2020-2023: Sara Hamre Sekkingstad (Sp)
 * 2023-present: Ingrid Fjeldsbø (H)

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Alver is made up of 41 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Notable people

 * Carl Andreas Fougstad (1806 in Alverstraumen – 1871), a lawyer, journalist, author, and mayor of Oslo
 * Arne Bjørndal (1882 in Hosanger – 1965), a hardingfele fiddler, composer, and folklorist
 * Amund Rydland (1888 in Alversund – 1967), a stage and film actor and theatre director
 * Nils Hjelmtveit (1892 in Hopland – 1985), a Norwegian educator and politician
 * Lars Amandus Aasgard (1907 in Lindås – 1984), a furniture factory manager, politician, and mayor of Lindås from 1951 to 1963
 * Torolv Solheim (1907 in Radøy – 1995), an educator, essayist, resistance member, and politician
 * Aslaug Låstad Lygre (1910 in Lindås – 1966), a Norwegian poet
 * Narve Bjørgo (born 1936 in Meland), a Norwegian historian and academic
 * Magnar Mangersnes (born 1938 in Radøy), a Norwegian organist and choral conductor
 * Audun Sjøstrand (born 1950 in Radøy), a Norwegian journalist, teacher, and crime fiction writer

Sport

 * Nils Sæbø (1897 in Radøy – 1985), an equestrian who competed at the 1936 Summer Olympics
 * Lise Klaveness (born 1981 in Meland), a lawyer and footballer with 73 caps for the Norway women's football team
 * Sindre Marøy (born 1982 in Hordabø), a Norwegian former professional footballer with over 100 club caps