Follese

Follese is a village on the island of Askøy in Vestland, Norway. As of 2017, Follese had 2539 inhabitants including the area of Hetlevik to the north.

History
Until the Reformation, most of Askøy was church and monastery property, but then became crown property – the King's property. Shortly afterwards, the king sold much of the estate to rich men who realized that buying royal estates was a good investment. In this way, Jan von der Lippe, a merchant from Bergen, became the owner of gnr. 12 Follese, Askøy.

In 1756, he put the farm up for sale, and five of the builders, later known as the "owners", bought the whole thing – Follese inland and outland, Skogen, Skiftesvik and Marikoven with associated islands and islets. The other users were builders as before, and had to pay their fee to the "owners".

Between the wars, United Sardines Factories ran a large canning factory on Follesø with up to 150 employees. The entire factory was lost in a violent fire in 1939.

Economy
Follese has a furniture, food, and plastics industry. There is also a small port for leisure boats.

Norwegian ice cream company, Isbjørn Is, is headquartered in Follese.