Tysnes
Encyclopedia
Tysnes is a municipality
Municipalities of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...

 in the county
Counties of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 430 municipalities...

 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...

. It is located in the traditional district
Districts of Norway
The country Norway is historically divided into a number of districts. Many districts have deep historical roots, and only partially coincide with today's administrative units of counties and municipalities. The districts are defined by geographical features, often valleys, mountain ranges, fjords,...

 of Sunnhordland
Sunnhordland
Sunnhordland is a traditional district in the western part of Norway, consisting of the southern, coastal regions of the county of Hordaland, from the mouth of the Hardangerfjord and outwards to the Atlantic Ocean...

. The administrative centre is the village of Uggdal.

The parish of Tysnæs 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...

). The municipality consists of a group of island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

s, located south of 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 , ....

 where the Hardangerfjord
Hardangerfjord
With a length of , the Hardangerfjord in the county of Hordaland in Norway is the third largest fjord in the world and the second largest in Norway. The surrounding district is called Hardanger....

 and the coastal archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...

 meet. The largest of these islands, named Tysnesøy
Tysnesøy
Tysnesøy is an island in Hordaland county, Norway. It is located in the municipality of Tysnes, where it is by a large margin the biggest and most populated island. Its area is 198 km². The tallest point, Tysnessåto, is located at 753 metres above sea level....

 or just Tysnes, can be reached from the mainland either by ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

 to the town of Våge in the north of the island or by the bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...

 constructed on the eastern side of the island.

The name

The municipality (originally the parish) are named after the Tysnes farm (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....

 Týsnes), since the first church was built here. The first element is the genitive case
Genitive case
In grammar, genitive is the grammatical case that marks a noun as modifying another noun...

 of the name of the god Tyr and the last element is nes which means "headland".

This is probably the only place in 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...

 named after the god Tyr. It is interesting to note that 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
Njord
In Norse mythology, Njörðr is a god among the Vanir. Njörðr is father of the deities Freyr and Freyja by his unnamed Van sister, was in an ill-fated marriage with the goddess Skaði, lives in Nóatún and is associated with sea, seafaring, wind, fishing, wealth, and crop fertility.Njörðr is attested...

).

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 28 October 1971. The arms are derived from the seal of the medieval Onarheim guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...

. Onarheim is a town on Tysnes island, and was formally a Viking Age
Viking Age
Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...

 center of power in Sunnhordland
Sunnhordland
Sunnhordland is a traditional district in the western part of Norway, consisting of the southern, coastal regions of the county of Hordaland, from the mouth of the Hardangerfjord and outwards to the Atlantic Ocean...

, now part of Tysnes municipality. It is two crossed silver axe
Axe
The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...

s on a blue background. The chevron was added to the municipal arms to distinguish it from the medieval arms.

External links

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