Kinn Municipality

Last updated
Kinn Municipality
Kinn kommune
Municipality
Kinnaklova.jpg
View of the Kinnaklova mountain
Kinn komm.svg
Coat of arms
Norway Counties Vestland Position.svg
Vestland within Norway
NO 4602 Kinn.svg
Kinn within Vestland
Coordinates: 61°35′59″N5°01′58″E / 61.5996°N 5.0328°E / 61.5996; 5.0328
Country Norway
County Vestland
District Nordfjord and Sunnfjord
Established1 Jan 2020
 • Preceded by Flora Municipality and Vågsøy Municipality
Administrative centre Florø and Måløy
Government
 • Mayor (2023)Bengt Solheim-Olsen (H)
Area
 • Total
811.86 km2 (313.46 sq mi)
 • Land763.03 km2 (294.61 sq mi)
 • Water48.83 km2 (18.85 sq mi)  6%
 • Rank#142 in Norway
Highest elevation
[1]
1,362.08 m (4,468.8 ft)
Population
 (2025)
 • Total
17,419
 • Rank#75 in Norway
 • Density21.5/km2 (56/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
Decrease2.svg −2.9%
Demonym Kinnhering [2]
Official language
[3]
 •  Norwegian form Nynorsk
Time zone UTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code NO-4602 [4]
Website Official website
Data from Statistics Norway

Kinn is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It was established on 1 January 2020 in the traditional districts of Nordfjord and Sunnfjord. The municipality is the only non-contiguous municipality in Norway since Bremanger Municipality lies in between the north and south parts of Kinn. [5] The administrative centre of the municipality is the two towns 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.

Contents

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

The 812-square-kilometre (314 sq mi) municipality is the 142nd largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Kinn Municipality is the 75th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 17,419. The municipality's population density is 21.5 inhabitants per square kilometre (56/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 2.9% over the previous 10-year period. [6] [7]

The 2021 film Dune was partially filmed in Kinn Municipality, serving as House Atreides’ home world of Caladan. [8]

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 Municipality was merged into the new Stad Municipality). [9]

Name

The municipality was created in 2020 and it resurrected the name of the old Kinn Municipality which existed from 1838 to 1964. That municipality (originally the parish) was named after the old Kinn farm (Old Norse : Kinn) on the island of Kinn since the first Kinn Church was built there. The name is identical to the word kinn which means "cheek", referring to the steep slope of a mountain on the island. Historically, the island's name was spelled Kind. [10]

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. [11] [12]

Churches

The Church of Norway has many churches in Kinn Municipality 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).

Churches in Kinn Municipality
Deanery (prosti)Parish (sokn)Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
Nordfjord prosti Vågsøy Nord-Vågsøy Church Raudeberg 1960
Sør-Vågsøy Church Måløy 1907
Sunnfjord prosti Bru Askrova Chapel Askrova 1957
Stavang Church Stavang 1957
Eikefjord Eikefjord Church Eikefjord 1812
Kinn Batalden Chapel Fanøya 1907
Florø Church Florø 1882
Kinn Church Kinn 12th century
Nordal Nordal Church Norddalsfjord 1898

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. [13] 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 Municipality 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.

Kinn kommunestyre 2023–2027 [14]   
Party name (in Nynorsk)Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)8
  Progress Party (Framstegspartiet)5
  Conservative Party (Høgre)10
  Industry and Business Party (Industri‑ og Næringspartiet)2
  Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti)2
  Red Party (Raudt)4
  Centre Party (Senterpartiet)3
  Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)2
  Liberal Party (Venstre)3
Total number of members:39
Kinn kommunestyre 2020–2023 [15]   
Party name (in Nynorsk)Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet)10
  Progress Party (Framstegspartiet)2
  Green Party (Miljøpartiet Dei Grøne)2
  Conservative Party (Høgre)6
  Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti)1
  Red Party (Raudt)4
  Centre Party (Senterpartiet)8
  Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)2
  Liberal Party (Venstre)4
Total number of members:39

Mayors

The mayor (Nynorsk : ordførar) of Kinn Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position:

Geography

Kinn Municipality is a unique non-contiguous municipality, the only of its kind in Norway. It is separated into two parts, with Bremanger Municipality in the middle. 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, Måløyna, and Husevågøy. The lake Deknepollvatnet is located between the villages of Deknepollen and Tennebø. Stad Municipality is located to the north and east, Bremanger Municipality is located to the south, and the North Sea is located to the west.

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. The waterfall Brudesløret is located in the municipality. The highest point in the municipality is the 1,362.08-metre (4,468.8 ft) tall mountain Keipen, located on the border with Bremanger Municipality. [1] Bremanger Municipality is located to the north, Gloppen Municipality was located to the east, Sunnfjord Municipality is located to the southeast, and Askvoll Municipality is located to the southwest. The North Sea is located to the west.

Climate

Ytterøyane lighthouse in Kinn has been recording temperature since 1984, showing a temperate oceanic climate (marine west coast, Köppen: Cfb). The all-time high 30 °C (86 °F) was recorded July 2019, and the all-time low −8.7 °C (16.3 °F) was recorded February 2001. On 7 November 2018 Ytterøyane recorded 19.4 °C (66.9 °F)) which was new record high for Vestland. In 2015 there were no freezing lows at all.

Since the lighthouse is located far out into the open sea, the winters there are warmer and summers are colder than what is found in the rest of the municipality.

Climate data for Ytterøyane Lighthouse 1991-2020 (26 m, extremes 1984-2024)
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Record high °C (°F)10.6
(51.1)		10.6
(51.1)		11.5
(52.7)		19.5
(67.1)		24.6
(76.3)		28
(82)		30
(86)		26.9
(80.4)		22
(72)		20.7
(69.3)		19.4
(66.9)		13
(55)		30
(86)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)5.4
(41.7)		4.7
(40.5)		5.4
(41.7)		7.7
(45.9)		10.3
(50.5)		12.7
(54.9)		15.4
(59.7)		16.4
(61.5)		14.2
(57.6)		11
(52)		8.2
(46.8)		6.2
(43.2)		9.8
(49.7)
Daily mean °C (°F)4.2
(39.6)		3.4
(38.1)		3.9
(39.0)		5.9
(42.6)		8.4
(47.1)		11.1
(52.0)		13.6
(56.5)		14.6
(58.3)		12.9
(55.2)		9.6
(49.3)		6.9
(44.4)		4.9
(40.8)		8.3
(46.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)2.5
(36.5)		1.8
(35.2)		2.4
(36.3)		4.3
(39.7)		6.9
(44.4)		9.6
(49.3)		12.2
(54.0)		13.2
(55.8)		11.3
(52.3)		8
(46)		5.2
(41.4)		3.2
(37.8)		6.7
(44.1)
Record low °C (°F)−8
(18)		−8.7
(16.3)		−6
(21)		−4.1
(24.6)		0
(32)		4.5
(40.1)		7
(45)		7.5
(45.5)		4
(39)		0
(32)		−5.2
(22.6)		−3.8
(25.2)		−8.7
(16.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches)129.1
(5.08)		122.7
(4.83)		103.2
(4.06)		66.3
(2.61)		61.3
(2.41)		64.7
(2.55)		83.9
(3.30)		102.2
(4.02)		124.8
(4.91)		117.4
(4.62)		143.6
(5.65)		134.2
(5.28)		1,253.4
(49.32)
Source 1: Norwegian Meteorological Institute/eklima [17]
Source 2: NOAA-WMO averages 91-2020 Norway [18]

Notable people

Johan Ernst Sars, 1883 Sars Johan Ernst.gif
Johan Ernst Sars, 1883

Sport

References

  1. 1 2 "Høgaste fjelltopp i kvar kommune" (in Norwegian). Kartverket. 16 January 2024.
  2. ↑ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
  3. ↑ "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
  4. ↑ Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (9 January 2024). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon.
  5. ↑ Rognstrand, Andrea (31 January 2018). "Vågsøy vil ha omkamp om "Norges rareste kommune"". VG (in Norwegian). Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  6. ↑ Statistisk sentralbyrå. "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian).
  7. ↑ Statistisk sentralbyrå. "09280: Area of land and fresh water (km²) (M)" (in Norwegian).
  8. ↑ Dune (2021) at IMDb . Accessed on 12 March 2022.
  9. ↑ Askheim, Svein; de Caprona, Yann; Bjørkvik Mæland, Runar, eds. (22 August 2025). "Kinn". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  10. ↑ Rygh, Oluf (1919). Norske gaardnavne: Nordre Bergenhus amt (in Norwegian) (12 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 359.
  11. ↑ Westvik, Eva (11 June 2019). "Her er dei nye forslaga til kommunevåpen i Kinn". Fjordenes Tidende (in Norwegian). Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  12. ↑ "Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  13. ↑ Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (25 November 2024). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  14. ↑ "Kommunestyrevalg 2023 - Vestland". Valgdirektoratet . Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  15. ↑ "Kommunestyrevalg 2019 - Vestland". Valgdirektoratet . Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  16. ↑ Nyhus, Håvard; Grimeland, Per Kristian (21 September 2023). "U-sving gav ny politisk kabal over natta". NRK (in Norwegian). Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  17. ↑ "EKlima". Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  18. ↑ "NOAA WMO normals Norway 1991-2020".

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