Kinn

Kinn is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It was established on 1 January 2020. It is in the traditional districts of Nordfjord and Sunnfjord. The municipality is the only non-contiguous municipality in Norway since the municipality of Bremanger lies in between the north and south parts of Kinn. The administrative centres of the municipality is the two cities of Florø and Måløy. Some villages in the municipality include Rognaldsvåg, Stavang, Grov, Norddalsfjord, Nyttingnes, Steinhovden, Brandsøy, Deknepollen, Holvika, Kvalheim, Langeneset, Raudeberg, Refvika, Silda, Tennebø, Vedvika, and Vågsvåg.

Historically, there was another municipality of Kinn in Norway that existed from 1838 until 1964. The "old" Kinn roughly corresponded to the southern part of the "new" municipality of Kinn.

The 812 km2 municipality is the 142nd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Kinn is the 75th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 17,179. The municipality's population density is 22.5 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 3.6% over the previous 10-year period.

The 2021 film Dune was partially filmed in Kinn, serving as House Atreides’ home world of Caladan.

General information
The municipality was established on 1 January 2020 when the old Flora Municipality was merged with most of Vågsøy Municipality (the rest of Vågsøy was merged into the new Stad Municipality).

Name
The municipality was created in 2020 and it resurrected the old municipality of Kinn which existed from 1838 to 1964. That municipality (originally the parish) was named after the old Kinn farm (Kinn) on the island of Kinn since the first Kinn Church was built there. The name is identical to the word which means "cheek", referring to the steep slope of a mountain on the island. Historically, the island's name was spelled Kind.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted in 2019 for use starting on 1 January 2020 when the municipality was established. The informal blazon is "Per chevron ployé divided per pale azure and argent above and azure below with four bendlets sinister argent enarched on the sinister half". This means the arms have a field (background) has a tincture of azure in parts and elsewhere it is argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The arms are an abstract design and the four "bendlets" give the illusion of the bow of a boat, an important symbol for the fishing community. The design can also be seen as a rock, waves, or the head of a spear.

Churches
The Church of Norway has many churches in the municipality of Kinn which is part of the Diocese of Bjørgvin. There are four parishes (sokn) in the Sunnfjord prosti (deanery) and one parish (sokn) in the Nordfjord prosti (deanery).

Government
Kinn 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 Sogn og Fjordane District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Kinn is made up of 39 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 (ordfører) of Kinn:
 * 2020-2023: Ola Teigen (Ap)
 * 2023-present: Bengt Solheim-Olsen (H)

Geography
The northern portion of Kinn Municipality includes the island of Vågsøy and a small portion of the mainland east of the island on northern and outer shore of the Nordfjorden. Other populated islands in this part of the municipality include Silda, Moldøen, and Husevågøy. The lake Degnepollvatnet is located between the villages of Degnepoll and Tennebø.

The southern portion of Kinn Municipality is located on the coast at the entrances to the Norddalsfjorden and Førdefjorden. It includes many islands, including Reksta, Askrova, Svanøya, Skorpa, Fanøya, Hovden, and Kinn. The municipality also includes the large lakes of Endestadvatnet, Lykkjebøvatnet, and Vassetevatnet. The Norddalsfjorden is crossed by the Norddalsfjord Bridge.

Climate
Ytterøyane lighthouse in Kinn has been recording temperature since 1984, showing a temperate oceanic climate (marine west coast, Köppen: Cfb). The temperature range from the coldest month to the warmest month is only 11.2C. The coldest monthly mean is 3.4C, making this among the mildest winters in Scandinavia. The all-time high 30 °C was recorded July 2019, and the all-time low -8.7 °C was recorded February 2001. On 7 November 2018 Ytterøyane recorded 19.4 °C) which was new record high for Vestland. The average date for the first overnight freeze (below 0 °C) in autumn is December 6 at Ytterøyane (1981-2010 average). However, in 2015 there were no freezing lows at all.

Notable people

 * Ernst Sars (1835 in Kinn – 1917), a Norwegian professor, historian, author and editor
 * Sigurd Høst (1866 in Flora – 1939), an educationalist, academic and school textbook writer
 * Martha Tynæs (1870 in Florø – 1930), a Norwegian feminist, social worker and politician
 * Ivar Lykke Falch Lind (1870–1951), a jurist and politician, Mayor of Kinn in 1920s
 * Thor Solberg (1893 in Florø – 1967), an aviation pioneer, flew from the US to Norway in 1935
 * Arnvid Vasbotten (1903 in Florø – 1985), a jurist and politician for Nasjonal Samling
 * Jon Tolaas (1939 in Vågsøy –2012), a Norwegian teacher, poet and novelist
 * Dagfinn Hjertenes (1943 in Florø – 2006), a Norwegian politician, Mayor of Flora 1980s
 * Per Drageset (born 1944 in Raudeberg), a Norwegian civil servant, Assisting County Governor of Sogn og Fjordane
 * Reidar Sandal (born 1949 in Vågsøy), a Norwegian politician
 * Øyulf Hjertenes (born 1979 in Florø), a Norwegian economist, journalist and newspaper editor

Sport

 * Anne Grethe Jeppesen (born 1957 in Florø), a Norwegian sport shooter, competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics
 * Margunn Haugenes (born 1970 in Florø), a Norwegian Olympic champion footballer
 * Runar Hove (born 1995 in Florø), a Norwegian footballer with 160 club caps