Bjørnafjorden (municipality)

Bjørnafjorden is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the Midhordland region of the county. The administrative centre of Bjørnafjorden is the village of Osøyro. Other villages in the municipality include Eikelandsosen, Fusa, Holdhus, Holmefjord, Vinnes, Strandvik, Sundvord, Hagavik, Halhjem, Søfteland, Søre Øyane, and Søvik.

The 517 km2 municipality is the 205th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Bjørnafjorden is the 47th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 25,596. The municipality's population density is 52.5 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 16.6% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The municipality was established on 1 January 2020 when the municipalities of Os and Fusa were merged.

Name
The municipality is named after the Bjørnafjorden, a local fjord which is a central geographic feature of the municipality. The first element is which means "bear". The last element is the definite form of which means "fjord". Thus this is "the bear fjord".

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was adopted in 2019 for use starting on 1 January 2020 after a municipal merger took effect. The official blazon is "Azure, a boat's bow and two spirals issuant from each side Or". This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is the bow of a boat and below that are two curved wave shapes. The charge has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The boat and waves symbolize the water and the importance of the sea. The boat is designed to look like an oselvar, a traditional rowing boat made in the area. The curved wave designs also allude to the local rosemaling designs and the local Giant's kettles (geysers) in Koldal. The arms were designed by Johan D. Eide. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway has two parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Bjørnafjorden. It is part of the Fana prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Government
Bjørnafjorden 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.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Bjørnafjorden is made up of 35 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 mayors (ordførar) of Bjørnafjorden:
 * 2020-2023: Trine Lindborg (Ap)
 * 2023–present: Terje Søviknes (FrP)

Notable people
of Bjørgvin]]
 * Haldor Johan Hanson (1856 in Fusa – 1929), an American hymn writer, publisher, and author
 * Nils Tveit (1876 in Os – 1949), a Norwegian politician and Mayor of Os from 1916 to 1940
 * Ragnvald Indrebø (1891 in Os – 1984), a Norwegian Lutheran [[Diocese of Bjørgvin|Bishop
 * Mons Haukeland (1892 in Os – 1983), a Norwegian gymnastics teacher and military officer
 * Harald Slåttelid (1895 in Os – executed 1943), a trade unionist, newspaper editor, and communist resistance member
 * Pål Sundvor (1920 in Fusa – 1992), a journalist, novelist, children's writer, poet, and playwright.
 * Trine Linborg (born 1965 in Os), a politician and mayor of Os
 * Terje Søviknes (born 1969), a politician, former mayor of Os, and former Minister of Petroleum and Energy
 * Olve Eikemo (born 1973), a black metal musician who grew up in Lysefjorden; stage name Abbath
 * Maya Vik (born 1980), a singer, songwriter, and bass player who was brought up in Os
 * Marius Neset (born 1985 in Os), a Norwegian jazz saxophonist
 * Ingrid Søfteland Neset (born 1992 in Os), an award-winning Norwegian classical flautist
 * Boy Pablo (born 1998), a musician who grew up in Bergen and later in Os; real name Nicolas Muñoz.

Sport

 * Kjersti Plätzer (born 1972 in Os), a race walker and twice silver medallist at the 2000 & 2008 Summer Olympics
 * Egil Gjelland (born 1973), a former biathlete and team gold medallist at the 2002 Winter Olympics who lives in Skjelbreid in Fusa
 * Liv Grete Skjelbreid (born 1974 in Fusa), a biathlete and silver medallist at the 2002 Winter Olympics
 * Bjørn Dahl (born 1978 in Os), a retired footballer with almost 300 club caps
 * Bjarte Haugsdal (born 1990 in Os), a football player with over 250 club caps
 * Sverre Lunde Pedersen (born 1992 in Os), a speed skater, son of Jarle Pedersen, and two-time World Junior Champion