Fusa

Fusa is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. It existed from 1856 until its dissolution in 2020. It was located east of the city of Bergen in the Midhordland region. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Eikelandsosen. Other villages in the municipality include Fusa, Holdhus, Holmefjord, Vinnes, Strandvik, and Sundvord. The Frank Mohn company's Fusa marine division is headquartered here, with almost 500 employees. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the new Bjørnafjorden Municipality in Vestland county.

Prior to its dissolution in 2020, the 378 km2 municipality was the 247th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Fusa was the 234th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 3,895. The municipality's population density is 11 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 3.9% over the last decade.

General information
The district of Fusa was separated from the municipality of Os in 1856 to become a separate municipality. Initially, Fusa had 3,173 residents. On 1 January 1903, the municipality of Fusa was divided into three separate municipalities: Hålandsdal in the east (population: 647), Strandvik in the south (population: 1,876), and a much smaller Fusa in the west (population: 1,072).

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, there were two changes to Fusa municipality. The Bogstrand area of Fusa, located on the west side of the Fusafjorden (population: 28) was transferred to the municipality of Os. Also on that date, the municipalities of Hålandsdal (population: 528) and Strandvik (population: 2,053) were merged with Fusa (population: 1,466) to form a much larger municipality of Fusa.

On 1 January 2020, the neighboring municipalities of Os and Fusa were merged to form the new Bjørnafjorden Municipality.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Fusa farm (Fúsar) since the first Fusa Church was built there. The meaning of the name is uncertain. The name could be the plural form of the word which means "eager" or "longing". Another possibility is that it comes from the verb or its alternate spelling  which both mean "to rush" (as in rushing water). Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Fuse. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Fusa.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 27 September 1991 and it was in use until 1 January 2020 when the municipality was dissolved. The official blazon is "Argent, three azure in pall" (På kvit grunn tre blå spiralar stilte i trepass). This means the arms have a field (background) 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 charge is a set of three spirals, two over one. The design was chosen to symbolise the strong currents in the Fusafjorden and Bjørnafjorden. The spirals also symbolise the many giant's kettles (jettegryte) in the municipality, which were created by the water in the rocks. The arms were designed by Arvid Sveen. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Fusa. It is part of the Hardanger og Voss prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Geography
Fusa was located at the inner end of the Bjørnafjorden and its small arm, the Fusafjorden. The municipality of Os was located across the fjord to the west, Samnanger Municipality was to the north, Kvam Municipality was to the east, and Kvinnherad Municipality was to the south. Lakes in Fusa included Gjønavatnet, Skogseidvatnet, and Henangervatnet.

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. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Bergen District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

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

Mayors
The mayors (ordførar) of Fusa (incomplete list):
 * 2003–2015: Hans S. Vindenes (Sp)
 * 2015–2019: Atle Kvåle(Ap)

In 2007, Fusa participated in a trial where the mayor was directly elected. The sitting mayor, Hans S. Vindenes, won the election with 51.8% of the votes.