Karlsøy () is an island municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hansnes. Other villages include Dåfjord, Hessfjord, Karlsøya, Torsvåg, Vannvåg, and Vannareid. The municipality is made up of many islands including Ringvassøya, Reinøya, Vannøya, Karlsøya, and Rebbenesøya plus several uninhabited islands (many of which were formerly inhabited). Some of the currently uninhabited islands include Helgøya, Nordkvaløya, Grøtøya, and Nordfugløya.

The municipality is the 103rd largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Karlsøy is the 268th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,237. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 4.2% over the previous 10-year period.

General information Karlsøy has been a Church of Norway parish for many years. Many immigrants, mostly from Finland, resided in Karlsøy as evidenced by the 1801 census. The analysis of the census data revealed that the family names of these people such as Aderup, Blix and Rosenlund were foreign-sounding.

The parish of Karlsøy was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see the formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1867, the southern district of Karlsøy (population: 862) was transferred from Karlsøy to the neighboring Lyngen Municipality (that area later became part of Ullsfjord Municipality). On 1 September 1886, the western island district of Karlsøy (population: 828) was separated from Karlsøy to become the new Helgøy Municipality. This left Karlsøy with 1,334 inhabitants.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Helgøy Municipality was merged back into Karlsøy Municipality. At the same time, all of the mainland areas of Karlsøy (the northern part of the Lyngen peninsula, with 1,001 inhabitants) was transferred from Karlsøy to neighboring Lyngen Municipality. After all the changes, the new Karlsøy had 3,414 residents. On 1 January 2008, the southern part of the island of Reinøya was transferred from Tromsø Municipality to Karlsøy Municipality.

On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly formed Troms og Finnmark county. Previously, it had been part of the old Troms county. On 1 January 2024, the Troms og Finnmark county was divided and the municipality once again became part of Troms county.

Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the small Karlsøya island () since the first Karlsøy Church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of the male name . The last element is which means "island". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Karlsø. On 6 January 1908, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Karlsøy. The letter y was added to the end of the word to "Norwegianize" the name ( is the Danish word for "island" and is the Norwegian word).

Coat of arms The coat of arms was granted on 12 December 1980. The official blazon is "Azure, an eagle head erased argent" (). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is the head of a white-tailed eagle. The eagle head 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 blue color in the field symbolizes the importance of the sea to the island community. The eagle head was chosen since one of Europe's largest colonies of these birds is found on the island of Nord-Fugløya in the municipality. Furthermore, the eagle symbolizes the importance of fishing for the municipality. The arms were designed by Hallvard Sandvik.

Churches The Church of Norway has one parish () within Karlsøy Municipality. It is part of the Tromsø domprosti (arch-deanery) in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland.

Churches in Karlsøy MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtKarlsøyHelgøy ChurchHelgøya1742Karlsøy ChurchKarlsøya1854Ringvassøy ChurchHansnes1977Sengskroken ChurchVanna1962

Economy Karlsøy is among the world's most important exporters of dried and salted cod, with Portugal, Spain, and Brazil among the main markets. The population is almost totally dependent on fishing. There are also goat herding businesses and some musicians that live on the island. There is also some tourism, including a festival that runs in the Summer. There are plans for 50 holiday homes to be built on the isle.

Geography and nature

The municipality consists of islands only. Ringvassøya, Norway's sixth largest island, is the largest island in the municipality. Nordkvaløya, Helgøya, Karlsøya, Vannøya, Reinøya, and Rebbenesøya are the other major islands. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Soltindan on the island of Ringvassøy.

The islands of Rebbenesøya and Ringvassøya are split (as was Reinøya before 2008), with the southern part belonging to neighboring Tromsø Municipality. The reason is that the borders were drawn when boat was the only means of transportation; then it made sense that the southern parts of the islands belonged to Tromsø while the northern parts belonged to Karlsøy. Today, when roads have replaced the boats, the situation is different which is why the Norwegian government transferred all of the island of Reinøy to the Karlsøy Municipality on 1 January 2008.

Karlsøya, the little island after which the municipality is named, has a village with the 19th century Karlsøy Church. The inhabitants include the original inhabitants, hippies, and Norwegian Muslims.

The island of Helgøya, the former seat of the old Helgøy Municipality, in the western part of Karlsøy Municipality, is today a more or less an abandoned village of wooden houses and the old Helgøy Church. The island can only be reached when services are celebrated in the church, and ferry rides are organized.

Lake Skogsfjordvatn, in the centre of Ringvassøya, is a lake with some fishing, surrounded by sub-Arctic forests. This is Norway's largest lake in an island. The island of Vannøya has several villages, including Burøysund and Torsvåg, the latter offering views of the Atlantic from the Torsvåg Lighthouse.

Climate Karlsøy mostly has a cool oceanic climate (subpolar oceanic climate) using the -3°C isotherm, or a very mild subarctic climate using the 0°C isotherm. Spring and summer is the driest season, while autumn and winter is much wetter. Torsvåg lighthouse has been recording temperature since 1933, and is situated on the northwestern tip of Vanna island. The eastern and inland part of the islands will have slightly warmer summers and slightly colder winters. The record low at Torsvåg is recorded January 1979. The record high is from July 1966. The average date for the last overnight freeze (low below ) in spring is 6 May and average date for first freeze in autumn is 25 October giving a frost-free season of 171 days (1981-2010 average for Torsvåg).

Government Karlsøy 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. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Nord-Troms og Senja District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council The municipal council of Karlsøy Municipality is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors The mayor () of Karlsøy Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position:

1838–1841: Nils Jønsberg 1841–1845: Ole Ulrich Berg 1846–1849: Hans Julius Knudsen 1850–1855: Anders Selquist 1856–1860: Fredrik Altmann 1861–1862: Anders Selquist 1863–1864: Ole Rasmussen Bræk 1865–1866: Ole Jørgen Falch 1867–1867: Hans Martin Høegh 1869–1873: Stener Johannes Tandberg 1874–1898: Adolf Martin Helberg 1899–1903: Alfred Eriksen (V) 1904–1919: Martin Simonsen (Ap) 1920–1922: Peder Dahl (V) 1923–1924: Martin Simonsen (Ap) 1925–1928: Anton B. Haugjord (Ap) 1929–1931: Mikal Petersen (Ap) 1932–1934: Anton B. Haugjord (Ap) 1935–1937: Sivert Nordeide (Ap) 1937–1941: Arthur Sandvik (V) 1941–1944: Sverre Hoel (NS) 1945–1945: Alv Gaasland (NS) 1945–1947: Arthur Sandvik (V) 1947–1950: Olav Simonsen (Ap) 1950–1960: Birger Aspenes (Ap) 1960–1961: Johannes Johnsen (Ap) 1961–1969: Harald Larsen (LL) 1969–1983: Otto Klemetsen (Ap) 1983–1987: Jan Hugo Sørensen (Ap) 1987–1999: Thor Tøllefsen (Sp) 1999–2003: Hanny Ditlefsen (Ap) 2003–2007: Thor Tøllefsen (Kp) 2007–2011: Bent Gabrielsen (Ap) 2011–2015: Hanny Ditlefsen (Ap) 2015–2019: Mona Pedersen (LL) 2019–present: Mona Benjaminsen (Ap)

Transportation The municipal centre is at Hansnes, which can be reached through an undersea tunnel from Tromsø, and the drive is about one hour. From here ferries depart to Vannøya, Reinøya, and Karlsøya. The Langsund Tunnel is under construction and was planned to be completed by 2015, but it is currently on hiatus. It is expected to connect the islands of Reinøya and Ringvassøya. The few inhabitants of Rebbenesøya are served by a ferry from Mikkelvik on the western side of Ringvassøya.

Attractions Karlsøy attractions include: The island of Nordfugløya, one of Norway's major bird cliffs, including puffin colonies. Fugløykalven Lighthouse, northwest of Nord-Fugløya There is a flat high plateau on Nordfugløya, above sea level, where Arctic cloudberries grow. The island can only be reached in the cloudberry season, when picking expeditions are organized from Burøysund.

Notable people Karl Marthinsen (1896 in Karlsøy – 1945), the Norwegian commander of Statspolitiet during the Nazi occupation in WWII Solvejg Eriksen (1903 in Karlsøy – 1993), a journalist, author, and women's rights activist Marthe Kristoffersen (born 1989 in Vannøya), a cross-country skier who competed at the 2010 Winter Olympics

References

External links Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway Karlsøy Festival