Skudenes is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1965. The area is now part of Karmøy Municipality in the traditional district of Haugaland. The administrative centre was the town of Skudeneshavn (which technically was a separate municipality). Notable villages in the municipality included Sandve and Ferkingstad. Since 1965, the name Skudenes refers to the southern part of Karmøy island.
Prior to its dissolution in 1965, the municipality was the 455th largest by area out of the 525 municipalities in Norway. Skudenes Municipality was the 265th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had increased by 4.6% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
The parish of Skudesnæs (later spelled Skudenes) was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1849, Skudesnæs Municipality was divided as follows:
the three islands of Vestre Bokn, Austre Bokn, and Ognøya (population: 1,035) became the new Bukken Municipality the rest of municipality (population: 5,044) remained as a smaller Skudesnæs Municipality.
In 1857, the port village of Skudeneshavn on the southern tip of the island of Karmøy was designated as a ladested (a port of lading). Shortly thereafter, on 10 February 1858, Skudeneshavn (population: 1,209) was separated from Skudenes Municipality and it became a separate municipality of its own. The split left Skudenes with a population of 5,044.
On 1 January 1892, Skudenes Municipality was divided again. The northern part of the municipality (population: 1,962) became the new Aakre Municipality and the southern part (population: 2,732) continued as a smaller Skudenes Municipality. This division shrunk the size of Skudenes Municipality from to .
On 1 January 1965, Skudenes Municipality (population: 3,583) was dissolved upon recommendations of the Schei Committee and its lands were merged with the following areas to form the new Karmøy Municipality: all of the town of Kopervik (population: 1,737) all of the town of Skudeneshavn (population: 1,275) all of the Stangaland Municipality (population: 2,678) all of the Åkra Municipality (population: 6,008) most of Avaldsnes Municipality (population: 4,153), except for the Gismarvik, Førre, and Stegaberg areas that became part of Tysvær Municipality most of Torvastad Municipality (population: 3,783), except for the island of Vibrandsøy (population: 70) which became part of Haugesund Municipality
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Skudenes peninsula () at the south end of the island of Karmøy. The first element is the genitive case of which means "rock wall that is sticking out", referring to the rocky islets and skerries that lie just off the shore of the peninsula. The last element is which means "headland".
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Skudenes Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Skudenes prestegjeld and the Karmsund prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger.
Churches in Skudenes MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtFalnesFalnes Church*Skudeneshavn1895FerkingstadFerkingstad ChurchFerkingstad1895*Note: this church was not actually located within the municipality,but rather it was within the neighboring town of Skudeneshavn.
Geography The municipality originally encompassed the southern part of the island of Karmøy plus the three smaller islands to the east: Vestre Bokn, Austre Bokn, and Ognøya. In 1849, the three smaller islands became the new Bokn Municipality. After that, Skudenes Municipality just included most of the southern part of the island of Karmøy. The highest point in the municipality was the tall point located just northeast of the village of Sandve.
Åkra Municipality was located to the northwest, Stangaland Municipality was located to the northeast, Bokn Municipality was located to the east, Kvitsøy Municipality was located to the southeast, and the North Sea was located to the west.
Government While it existed, Skudenes Municipality was 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 was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Karmsund District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council of Skudenes Municipality was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.
Mayors The mayor () of Skudenes Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1838–1843: Andreas Hansen 1844–1851: Ole Kjeldsen 1852–1855: Johan Conrad Hemsen 1856–1857: Andreas Hansen 1858–1865: Ole Sivertsen Hemnæs 1866–1885: Jakob Midhaug 1886–1904: Lars Johannessen Falnæs 1905–1907: Hans Lie 1908–1910: Ole Kvilhaug 1910–1913: Hans Lie 1913–1925: Ole Kvilhaug 1925–1931: Lars Dale 1932–1941: Daniel Aadnesen 1941–1941: Lars Dale 1941–1945: Lorentz Løland 1946–1951: Ole G. Ferkingstad 1951–1955: Oddmund Jøsendal(KrF) 1955–1959: Lars Dale (LL) 1959–1964: Hans Magnus Lie (LL)
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References