Øygarden is a municipality

Municipalities of Norway

Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...

 in 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...

 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...

, 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 Midhordland

Midhordland

Midhordland , is a traditional district in the western part of Norway, consisting of the central portion of the county of Hordaland...

. The administrative centre is Rong.

Øygarden was created as a new municipality on 1 January 1964 after the merger of Hjelme

Hjelme

Hjelme is a former municipality in Hordaland county, Norway.The parish of Hjelme was designated to be a municipality by a split from Manger on January 1, 1910. The municipality, which was known as Hjelmen at that time, had a population of 986. On 5 November 1912 the name was changed from Hjelmen...

 and parts of Herdla

Herdla

Herdla is an island in Askøy, Norway, at the north end of the island of Askøy. The island was part of the municipality of Herdla until 1 January 1964. The island has a nature reserve with 220 registered species of birds...

.

The municipality consists of a chain of islands north of the municipality Fjell

Fjell

Fjell is a municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway. The parish of Fjæld was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838...

.

The name

The name is the finite form of øygard which means "row (fence) 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". The first element is øy means "island" and the last element is gard which means "fence

Fence

A fence is a freestanding structure designed to restrict or prevent movement across a boundary. It is generally distinguished from a wall by the lightness of its construction: a wall is usually restricted to such barriers made from solid brick or concrete, blocking vision as well as passage .Fences...

".

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 in 1966. The arms show a black and gray reference seacairn

Cairn

Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...

placed on an islet on a blue background. The municipality consists of a number of islands and is dependent on the sea for its development. Hence the importance of sea cairns, buoys and lighthouses for safety in the municipality.