Lindås
Encyclopedia
Lindås is a municipality in the county of Hordaland
Hordaland
is a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark and Rogaland. Hordaland is the third largest county after Akershus and Oslo by population. The county administration is located in Bergen...

, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

.

Background

The parish of Lindaas was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt
Formannskapsdistrikt
Formannskapsdistrikt was the name for a Norwegian local self-government districts put into force in 1838. This system of municipality was created in a bill approved by the Storting and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January 1837...

). Masfjorden
Masfjorden
Masfjorden is a municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway. Masfjorden was separated from Lindås on 1 March 1879.The municipality is located around the fjord which is also called the Masfjorden which almost divides the municipality completely into a north side and a south side. A cable ferry...

 was separated from Lindås on 1 March 1879. Austrheim
Austrheim
Austrheim is a municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway. Austrheim was separated from Lindås on 1 January 1910. Fedje was separated from Austrheim on 1 January 1947...

 was separated from Lindås on 1 January 1910. Alversund
Alversund
Alversund is a village in Lindås municipality in Hordaland county, Norway.Alversund was formerly a municipality. Alversund was separated from Hamre January 1, 1885 - and the annex of Seim was transferred from Hosanger to Alversund the same date. Meland was separated from Alversund October 15, 1923...

, and parts of Hamre
Hamre, Osterøy
Hamre is a village and parish in Hordaland county, Norway. The village of Hamre is located near the extreme western point of Osterøy, across the fjord from Knarvik.-History:...

 and Hosanger
Hosanger
Hosanger is a former municipality in Hordaland county, Norway.-History:The parish of Hosanger was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 ....

, were merged with Lindås on 1 January 1964.

The administrative centre is Knarvik
Knarvik
Knarvik is the administrative centre in the municipality of Lindås and the largest town in the region of Nordhordland, Norway. It had 4,265 inhabitants as of 2005....

, located in the southeast part of the municipality. Other areas of population are Lindås, Seim, Ostereidet, Alversund
Alversund
Alversund is a village in Lindås municipality in Hordaland county, Norway.Alversund was formerly a municipality. Alversund was separated from Hamre January 1, 1885 - and the annex of Seim was transferred from Hosanger to Alversund the same date. Meland was separated from Alversund October 15, 1923...

 and Fanebust. The municipality also has one of the largest oil refineries in northern Europe at its most northern tip. The oil refinery at Mongstad is by far the largest employer.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the farm Lindås (Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

 Lindiáss), since the first church was built there. The first element is lindi which means "linden (Tilia
Tilia
Tilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The greatest species diversity is found in Asia, and the genus also occurs in Europe and eastern North America, but not western North America...

) wood", the last element is áss which means "mountain ridge". Before 1921 the name was written "Lindaas".

(See also coat-of-arms of Stryn
Stryn
Stryn is a municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Stryn which had a population of 2,177 in 2009. The municipality is located along the innermost part of the...

)

History

Ancient settlements of Vikings are found in several places. At Lindås there are stories of monks coming from England and living with the Viking population.

Håkonshaugen (from Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

 haugr meaning mound) at Seim
Seim
Seim may refer to the following locations:*Seim in Lindås municipality, Hordaland, Norway*Seim in Årdal municipality, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway*Seym River in Ukraine...

 is the burial mound of King Haakon the Good
Haakon I of Norway
Haakon I , , given the byname the Good, was the third king of Norway and the youngest son of Harald Fairhair and Thora Mosterstang.-Early life:...

, third king of Norway. King Haakon was mortally wounded in 961 at the Battle of Fitjar
Battle of Fitjar
The Battle of Fitjar took place in Fitjar at Stord in the county of Hordaland, Norway.-Background:The Battle of Fitjar at Stord was the last battle in a war between the sons of Eric Bloodaxe and their uncle King Haakon the Good for power over Norway.It also formed part of a contest between Norway...

 at nearby Stord
Stord
Stord is a municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway. Stord is sometimes called "Norway in miniature" - as it has such a variety of landscapes: coastline, fjords, forests, agricultural land, and mountain areas....

. Håkonshaugen is the millennium site in the municipality of Lindås.

The historical play Håkonarspelet ("King with the golden helmet") is performed here every year. The play is one of several plays written by author Johannes Heggland
Johannes Heggland
Johannes Heggland was a Norwegian novel writer, short story writer, children's writer, playwright, farmer and politician from Tysnes. -Biography:...

. The play was written in five parts between 1995-1996. It centers on events in the life of King Haakon the Good and the king's only daughter, Thora.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

 is from modern times. They were granted on 4 May 1979. It shows a canting
Canting arms
Canting arms are heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name in a visual pun or rebus. The term cant came into the English language from Anglo-Norman cant, meaning song or singing, from Latin cantāre, and English cognates include canticle, chant, accent, incantation and recant.Canting arms –...

 of a tilia
Tilia
Tilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The greatest species diversity is found in Asia, and the genus also occurs in Europe and eastern North America, but not western North America...

/linden tree.

Lindås Church

Lindås Church (Lindås kirke) was consecrated 20 September 1865. The church was built just west of where the old stone church stood. The architect was Ole Syslak who was responsible for the construction of several other churches in western Norway. The church received its first church organ in 1906, which was replaced in 1978 with an organ built by J. H. Jørgensen. The church has two church bells. The oldest clock was made by Laxevaag Værk in Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....

 in 1865, while the other was made by O. Olsen & Son in Tønsberg
Tønsberg
is a city and municipality in Vestfold county, southern Norway, located around north-east of Sandefjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tønsberg....

 in 1955.

The first time a church in Lindås mentioned was in 1315. This was a stone altar, which stood under the open sky. Walls were erected later, so that the priest was standing under a roof, while the audience stood on the ground outside and listened. Later walls were raised so that the church was under roof. This church was extended in 1600 and repaired in the 1700s.

Heathland Centre at Lygra

Heathland Centre at Lygra (Lyngheisenteret på Lygra) is a cultural museum consisting of a conserved heather moorland. It is also an information centre for the coastal heathlands. The center was established in the 1970s. An information center with a restaurant, auditorium and permanent exhibition was opened in 2000. Heathland was founded by the University of Bergen
University of Bergen
The University of Bergen is located in Bergen, Norway. Although founded as late as 1946, academic activity had taken place at Bergen Museum as far back as 1825. The university today serves more than 14,500 students...

, Bergen County, Lindås Municipality, the Regional Council in Nordhordland
Nordhordland
Nordhordland is a traditional district in the western part of Norway, consisting of the northern portion of the county of Hordaland. It includes the municipalities Austrheim, Fedje, Lindås, Masfjorden, Meland, Modalen, Osterøy, Radøy and Vaksdal....

 and Gulen
Gulen
is a municipality in the southwestern part of Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Eivindvik...

. It is administrated by the Museum Centre in Hordaland.

Notable residents

  • Olav Hodne
    Olav Hodne
    Olav Hodne was a Norwegian humanitarian and missionary. In 1972, he became the founder and director of RDRS Bangladesh, an organization to created in order to give aid to the rural poor in northern Bangladesh....

    , missionary with Den norske Santalmisjon
  • Ivar Medaas
    Ivar Medaas
    Ivar Medaas was a Norwegian folksinger and fiddle player. He is best known for his 1963 song Dar Kjem Dampen written by Ragnvald Hammer....

    , singer, musician, and actor
  • Aslaug Låstad Lygre
    Aslaug Låstad Lygre
    Aslaug Låstad Lygre was a Norwegian poet.She was born in Lindås. When she finished her secondary education at Voss in 1932, she had already attended Fana Folk High School. In 1934 she finished commerce school in Bergen. She worked in the newspaper Gula Tidend from 1934 to 1935, and was a member of...

    , poet
  • Gjermund Hagesæter
    Gjermund Hagesæter
    Gjermund Hagesæter is a Norwegian politician representing the Progress Party. He is currently a representative of Hordaland in the Storting and was first elected in 2001.-Storting committees:...

    , Member of Parliament for Progress Party
    Progress Party
    Progress Party may refer to:* Gabonese Progress Party, political party in Gabon* German Progress Party, the first modern political party with a program in Germany...


External links

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