Kvitsøy

Kvitsøy is an island municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. At only 6.29 km2, it is the smallest municipality in Norway by area and one of the smallest by population. Kvitsøy is located in the traditional district of Ryfylke. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ydstebøhamn on the island of Kvitsøy. The municipality is an archipelago located at the entrance to the large Boknafjorden. It sits about 2 nmi northwest of the mainland Stavanger peninsula.

The Rogfast tunnel system is currently being built during the 2020s to connect Kvitsøy to the mainland road network via the European route E39 highway.

The 6 km2 municipality is the 356th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway, making it the smallest in the nation. Kvitsøy is the 349th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 535. The municipality's population density is 85.2 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 1.3% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The islands of Kvitsøy were established as a municipality on 1 January 1923 when they were separated from the municipality of Mosterøy. Initially, the municipality had 581 residents. The municipal boundaries have not changed since that time.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Kvitsøy islands (Hvítingsøyjar) since the islands make up the whole parish/municipality. The first element is derived from the word which means "white". The last element derives from the word which means "islands". Thus the name means "the white islands", probably because there is white quartz in the rocks on the islands. Originally, the spelling of the municipality was "Kvitingsø", but later it was shortened to "Kvitsøy".

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 25 May 1989. The official blazon is "Azure, three lighthouses argent, two over one" (I blått tre sølv fyrlykter, 2-1). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a set of three lighthouse tops. 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. The choice of lighthouses and the color blue are symbolic of the importance of the sea for this island municipality. The arms were designed by Even Jarl Skognlund. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Kvitsøy. It is part of the Tungenes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger.

History
Kvitsøy is first mentioned in the Snorre Saga, where Snorre records a truce being made between King Olaf II of Norway later to be known as St. Olav (Hellige Olav) and Erling Skjalgsson, under the stone cross. Later it seems that the islands were owned by the Church until the reformation in 1536 (when the nation switched from Roman Catholicism to Lutheranism), when it became Crown property. In 1591, the population had become large enough to fund the construction of the Kvitsøy Church, which is still standing and the first new church in the county after the reformation. From the mid-18th century, Kvitsøy was the location of one of the first navigation beacons in western Norway, and this was later converted to a lighthouse service when the Kvitsøy Lighthouse was built. Kvitsøy Vessel Traffic Service Centre opened on 3 January 2003.

Transmitter
Kvitsøy used to be the site of high power short wave and medium wave broadcasting transmitters of the national broadcasting company, NRK. The aerial tower of the medium-wave transmitter is the Kvitsøy Tower. The transmitter for the medium-wave channel 1314 kHz was switched off at 22:00 UTC (Midnight local time) on Friday June 30, 2006, shortwave broadcasts continued until 2011. In May and June 2012, the entire site was dismantled.

Government
Kvitsøy 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 Sør-Rogaland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Kvitsøy is made up of 17 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 Kvitsøy (incomplete list):
 * 2001-2011: Ole Olsen, Jr. (KrF)
 * 2011-2019: Mirjam Ydstebø (KrF)
 * 2019-2023: Stian Gill Bjørsvik (KrF)
 * 2023-present: Kjell André Nordbø (LL)

Geography
The municipality is an archipelago located at the entrance to the large Boknafjorden. It sits about 2 nmi northwest of the mainland Stavanger peninsula and south of the islands of Karmøy and Vestre Bokn. The largest island is Kvitsøy, and it is connected with a few of the other islands in the archipelago, but most of the islands are uninhabited.

Climate
The islands are completely engulfed by the Gulf Stream and hence have a typically wet West Nordic coastal climate. The sea between the islands and the mainland is never frozen. Due to the maritime influence, summers are often chilly with temperatures between 15 C and 20 C being the norm. Winter highs usually are in the mid-single digits in all of the Greater Stavanger region.

Fauna and flora
There are no larger mammals in Kvitsøy except for seals (kobbe) and small dolphins (nise). The islands have a rich marine bird life. Many different plants are found on the islands. Some are natural to Norwegian flora, while others have been transported by ships emptying their hulls of ballast before entering the port of the nearby city of Stavanger.