Radøy is a former municipality in the Nordhordland district of the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1964 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into the new municipality of Alver in Vestland county. The municipality included almost all of the island of Radøy plus many small surrounding islands. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Manger. Other villages in the municipality included Askeland, Austmarka, Bøvågen, Haugland, Sæbø, and Sletta. Prior to its dissolution in 2020, the 111 km2 municipality is the 372nd largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Radøy is the 199th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 5,128. The municipality's population density is 48 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 10.1% over the last decade.

General information

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. Radøy was created as a new municipality on 1 January 1964. The new municipality was constructed from parts of several different municipalities: On 1 January 2020, the neighboring Meland Municipality, Radøy Municipality, and Lindås Municipality were merged into the new Alver Municipality.

Name

The municipality is named after the island of Radøy since the municipality encompassed the island. The first element is rǫð which means "row", "ridge", or "line" (here in the sense that it is a "long island" sticking out of the ocean). The last element, which means "island", was added later as a suffix to the name.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 14 June 1991 and it was in use until 1 January 2020 when the municipality was dissolved. The official blazon is "Or, two oarlocks in pale sable". This means the arms have a field (background) has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The charge is a pair of oarlocks, one above the other. Oarlocks are on the gunwale of a boat and they support the oar and give force to the rower's stroke. Some of these objects have been found in several places in Radøy and the artifacts date back to the first century BC. The arms were designed by Even Jarl Skoglund. 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 Radøy. It is part of the Nordhordland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Government

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.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Radøy was made up of 25 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

Mayors

The mayors of Radøy (incomplete list):

Population

Geography

The municipality encompassed all of the island of Radøy, except the far southern tip (which belonged to Lindås municipality). The smaller surrounding islands of Toska, Bognøy, Fesøy, and others were also part of Radøy municipality. The Radfjorden separated Radøy municipality from the municipality of Meland to the south. The Radsundet strait separated the municipality of Radøy from the municipality of Lindås to the east. The island of Fosnøyna (in Austrheim) were located to the north. The islands of Øygarden sat across the Hjeltefjorden to the west.

Notable people