Haugesund Municipality

Haugesund ([ˈhæʉɡəsʉn] ^ⓘ) is a municipality on the coast of the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Haugaland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Haugesund. Other village areas in Haugesund Municipality include Skokland, Vikse, Skastad, and Røvær. The majority of the municipality outside the town is rural or undeveloped.^[6]

The Haugesund Region, a statistical metropolitan area, which consists of Karmøy Municipality, Haugesund Municipality, Tysvær Municipality, Sveio Municipality, and Bokn Municipality, has a population of over 101,000 people (as of 2026).^[7] During the last 20 years, the municipality has established its position as the main trading centre for the Haugaland region and southern parts of Vestland county. It has several relatively large shopping centres, however, this has led to a decline of the trade and shopping activity in the town centre.^[8]

The 72.68-square-kilometre (28.06 sq mi) municipality is the 339th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Haugesund Municipality is the 28th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 38,663. The municipality's population density is 532 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,380/sq mi) and its population has increased by 4.6% over the previous 10-year period.^[7][9]

The town of Haugesund dominates the landscape of the area. About 15.54 square kilometres (6.00 sq mi) of the municipality (about 21% of the municipality) is covered by the urban area of the town of Haugesund. The remaining area of the municipality (about 79% of the land area) is very rural. The portion of the municipality including the urban town of Haugesund has about 37,600 residents, while the rural portion of the municipality has about 1,000 residents. The town of Haugesund has grown to the south, so a portion of the urban town crosses over into Karmøy Municipality. The 5.88-square-kilometre (2.27 sq mi) area of the town located in Karmøy has about 9,700 residents.^[10][6]

In 1854, the urban village area of Haugesund (population: 1,066) was declared to be a ladested (lit. 'port of lading' or port town). Due to this designation, on 1 February 1855, the new town was separated from the large Torvastad Municipality to become a separate municipality. On 1 January 1911, a small urban area in the neighboring Skåre Municipality (population: 3,847) which directly abutted the town of Haugesund was transferred into Haugesund Municipality. On 1 January 1958, the remainder of the rural Skåre Municipality was merged with the town of Haugesund, creating a much larger Haugesund Municipality. On 1 January 1965, the island of Vibrandsøy (population: 70) was transferred from Torvastad Municipality into Haugesund Municipality.^[11]

The municipality (and the town) is named after the Haugesundet strait (Old Norse: Haugasund), which is named after the old Hauge farm (Old Norse: Haugar). The first element is the plural genitive case of haugr which means "hill" or "mound". The last element is sund which means "strait" or "sound".^[12][6]

The original coat of arms was granted on 29 December 1862 and it was in use until 5 March 1930 when a new coat of arms was approved. The arms were designed as a painting of a harbour scene. The old arms showed three full herring barrels sitting on land and an anchor leaning against the barrels. In the background, the ocean harbour is showing along with three seagulls flying in the sky. Often, it was shown with a gold mural crown above the shield. The old arms showed the importance of herring fishing and processing in the town. The three barrels also represented the three parts of the municipality: the mainland and the islands of Hasseløya and Risøya. The arms were designed by A. Fenger Krog.^[13][14]

A new coat of arms was granted on 5 March 1930 to replace the old arms and to simplify them for the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the town. The blazon is "Azure, three seagulls volant argent per fess surmounted by a mural crown Or" (Norwegian: I blått tre flyvnde sølv måker). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a set of three seagulls lined up vertically. The charge has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The seagulls and blue color were chosen to represent the importance of the sea. The new arms from 1930 removed the herring barrels from the old arms due to the decline in the importance of that industry. The arms were designed by Hallvard Trætteberg. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.^[13][14]

The Church of Norway has three parishes (sokn) within Haugesund Municipality. It is part of the Haugaland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger.

Haugesund Municipality has a coastline with the North Sea, however, the island of Karmøy and the archipelago of Røvær shelter it from the rough waters of the ocean. The Karmsundetet strait, located between Karmøy island and the mainland of Haugesund Municipality used to be very strategically important, since ships could pass without having to sail through heavy sea. The islands of Risøya and Hasseløya lie in the Karmsundet and they are both densely built up. They are connected to the mainland by bridges. Røvær lies further out to sea and consists of a number of islands. Røvær is sparsely populated and connected to the mainland by ferry. The islands of Vibrandsøya and its neighboring islands are now mainly a recreational area. The Røværsholmen Lighthouse sits just off the coast of the main Røvær island. The lakes Vigdarvatnet and Stakkastadvatnet both are located in the municipality.

Haugesund 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.^[15] The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Haugaland og Sunnhordland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Haugesund Municipality is made up of 49 representatives that are elected every four years. The government is located at the Haugesund City Hall. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party

The mayor (Bokmål: ordfører) of Haugesund Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:^[36][37]

The main campus of Stord/Haugesund University College is located in the town of Haugesund. Established in 1994, it is the result of the merger between Haugesund Nursing College, Stord Teachers College, and Stord Nursing College.^[39] The university college has approximately 2700 students and 260 employees,^[39] thus making it one of the smallest university colleges in Norway.

Rogaland county operates four high schools in Haugesund Municipality. The schools Skeisvang and Vardafjell prepare pupils for further for college or university studies. The schools Haugaland and Karmsund are vocational high schools. In addition, the private Haugesund Toppidrettsgymnas has a sports-oriented high school program.

Haugesund Municipality has seven pure elementary schools of grades 1 to 7 (Saltveit, Gard, Austrheim, Solvang, Lillesund, Rossabø, and Brakahaug), two pure middle schools of grades 8 to 10 (Haraldsvang and Håvåsen), and three grade 1 to 10 schools (Hauge, Røvær, and Skåredalen). In addition, the Breidablik school offers elementary and middle school courses to new foreigners and refugees. The two private schools are Steinerskolen offering a Waldorf education program, and Danielsen, a Christian school offering courses for grades 8 and 9.^[40]

Haugesund has sister city agreements with the following places:

• Ekenäs, Uusimaa, Finland^[41]
• Emden, Lower Saxony, Germany^[41]
• Søllerød, Hovedstaden, Denmark^[41]
• Ystad, Skåne, Sweden^[41]

Each of the sister cities (with exception of Emden) has given its name to a street in Haugesund. The streets are located in the same area near the border to the neighbouring municipality.^[42]

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway (in Norwegian)
• Official website (in Norwegian)
• "Haugesund" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). 1911.
• Haugalandet.net
• Haraldshaugen, the national monument