The 255-square-kilometre (98 sq mi) municipality is the 283rd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Tysnes is the 232nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,910. The municipality's population density is 11.9 inhabitants per square kilometre (31/sq mi) and its population has increased by 6.4% over the previous 10-year period.[5][6]
General information
The historic parish of Tysnæs was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1907, the small portion of Tysnes located on the mainland (population: 67) was transferred to the neighboring municipality of Kvinnherad. The municipal borders have not changed since that time.[7]
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Tysnes farm (Old Norse: Týsnes) since the first Tysnes Church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of the name of the Old Norse god Týr. The last element is nes which means "headland".[8]
This is probably the only place in Norway named after the god Týr. Several place names around the farm also have sacred meanings: Ve (holy place), Helgastein (holy rock), Godøy (the god's island), and Vevatnet (the holy lake). The old name of the big island of Tysnesøy was Njarðarlǫg (the district of the god Njord). Recently, a sun phenomenon connected to the original Tysnes headland has been discovered, and this seems to be the starting-point of the sacral name complex.[8]
Coat of arms
Old arms in use from 1971 until 2020.Coat of arms in use starting in 2020.
The first coat of arms for Tysnes was adopted on 28 October 1971 and it was in use until 1 January 2020 when a new coat of arms replaced it. The official blazon is "Azure, under a chevron two crossed axes argent" (Norwegian: På blå grunn to sølvfarga kryssede økser med sparre over). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is two crossed axes under a chevron. 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 arms were derived from the seal of the medieval Onarheimguild (Olavsgildet). Onarheim is a village on the island of Tysnesøya which was historically a Viking Age center of power in the Sunnhordland region. The chevron above the axes was added to the municipal arms to distinguish it from the medieval arms and the arms for the old Hordaland county. The arms were designed by Magnus Hardeland. The municipal flag had the same design as the coat of arms.[9][10][11]
The old coat of arms was never formally adopted because it was too similar to the coat of arms for Hordaland county and the government refused to approve it. After Hordaland county became part of the new Vestland county, the Hordaland arms were no longer used. Additionally, a law was also changed, giving the municipal councils the ultimate authority to determine their own coats of arms, so Tysnes decided to review their arms. The council debated approving the old arms or choosing to adopt the arms of the old Hordaland county (with different colors). In 2020, the council adopted a new coat of arms based on the old Hordaland arms. The official blazon is "Azure, under a royal crown two crossed axes argent" (Norwegian: På blå grunn to sølvfarga kryssede økser med krone over.). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a two crossed axes under a three pointed crown. 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. This design was chosen because it more closely resembled the old Onarheim arms than the previous design. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[12][13]
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Tysnes is made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
The municipality consists of a group of islands, located south of the city of Bergen where the Hardangerfjorden and the coastal archipelago meet. The Bjørnafjorden lies north of the municipality and the Langenuen strait runs along the western side of the municipality. The largest of these islands, named Tysnesøya, can be reached from the mainland either by ferry to the village of Våge on the north side of the island or by the road bridge constructed on the eastern side of the island. The second largest island is Reksteren, which is connected to Tysnesøya by a small road bridge.
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