Sund, Norway

Infobox_Kommune
name = Sund
idnumber = 1245
county = Hordaland
landscape = Midhordland
capital = Skogsvåg
demonym = Sundsokning
language = Nynorsk


munwebpage = www.sund.kommune.no
governor = Albrigt Sangolt (H)
governor_as_of = 2007
arearank = 387
area = 100
arealand = 95
areapercent = 0.03
population_as_of = 2008
populationrank = 181
population = 5,795
populationpercent = 0.12
populationdensity = 58
populationincrease = 12.3
lat_deg = 60 | lat_min = 13 | lat_sec = 56 | lon_deg = 5 | lon_min = 6 | lon_sec = 17
utm_zone = 32V | utm_northing = 6683660 | utm_easting = 0284342 | geo_cat = adm2nd

Sund is a municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway. Sund covers the southern part of the island of Store Sotra, west of Bergen, and many smaller, surrounding islands. The history of the municipality dates back to 1838, when Sund was first established as a formannskapsdistrikt, the precursor of the modern municipalities. Sund is a predominantly rural municipality, with no major settlements, the largest being Klokkarvik with approximately 630 inhabitants. Due to the proximity to Bergen, a large proportion of the population commutes to the city to work, although fewer than in its neighbouring municipality, Fjell.

History

Sund was established as a formannskapsdistrikt on January 1, 1838. Austevoll was separated from Sund on January 1, 1886. The municipality is named after the farm Sund, where the first church was built. The name is identical with the word "sund", which translates into English as "strait". The coat-of-arms is from 1988, and shows a lighthouse.

On April 26, 1942, after having discovered that two men from the Linge company were being hidden in Telavåg, the Gestapo arrived to arrest the Norwegian officers. Shots were exchanged, and two prominent German Gestapo officers, Johannes Behrens and Henry Bertram, and the Norwegian Arne Værum, were shot dead. Reichskommissar Josef Terboven ordered the Gestapo to retaliate, burning all buildings in the village, executing or sending the men to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, and imprisoning the women and children for two years. In addition, 18 Norwegian prisoners at a Norwegian internment camp were killed as a reprisal.Cite web|url=http://lotus.uib.no/norgeslexi/krigslex/t/t1.html#telavag|title=Telavåg.|accessdate=2008-09-26|author=Berit Nøkleby|work=NorgesLexi|language=Norwegian] The event has since become known as the "Telavåg tragedy", and is sometimes compared to similar World War II atrocities, such as the Lidice massacre, with higher death tolls.Cite web|url=http://www.ub.uib.no/elpub/2005/h/506001/Masteroppgave.pdf|title=Telavåg i tid og rom : Erindringen om et krigsherjet fiskerisamfunn|accessdate=2008-09-26|publisher=University of Bergen|year=2005|author=Eirik Gurandsrud|format=PDF|language=Norwegian]

Geography

Sund covers the southern part of the island of Store Sotra, as well as the many islands that surround it. The largest of the smaller islands are Toftarøy, Lerøy, Bjelkarøy, Tyssøy, Risøy, Vardøy, Golten, and Viksøy. In total, the municipality encompasses 466 islands and skerries, which gives it a total coastline of 110 km.Cite web|url=http://www.sund.kommune.no/artikkel.aspx?AId=25&back=1&MId1=69&MId2=83|title=Fakta om Sund|accessdate=2008-09-26|publisher=Sund kommune|author=Irene K. Melkevik|language=Norwegian]

The highest peak is Førdesveten, at 284 metres above sea level.

The fjord separating Store-Sotra from the mainland, Krossfjorden, is historically the most used sea route into Bergen, and is as much as 600 metres deep in some places. The treacherous waters in the area mean there has been a continuous need for piloting services, and this tradition is kept alive by the "Viksøy Losstasjon".

Climate

On an average, Sotra experiences 1328 mm of rainfall annually, less than the 2250 mm of Bergen. The year-round average temperature is 7.6 °C, with the coldest month being February, when the average temperature reaches 2.1 °C. The warmest month is August, with an average temperature of 12.8 °C.

ettlements

There are three urban settlements, as defined by Statistics Norway, within the border of the municipality. The largest is Klokkarvik in south-western Sund, with 632 inhabitants as of 2008. The two others are Tælavåg and Hammersland, with 489 and 407 inhabitants, respectively. [cite paper | author=Statistics Norway | title=Urban settlements. Population and area, by municipality. 1 January 2008 | date=2008 | accessdate=2008-09-26 | url=http://www.ssb.no/english/subjects/02/01/10/beftett_en/tab-2008-06-20-01-en.html] The municipal administration center, Skogsvåg, is not defined as an urban settlement, having less than 200 inhabitants, but is located near Hammersland in the north.

Transport

The Sotra Bridge, opened in 1971, drastically improved communications and spurred rapid population growth after ages of stagnance. Due to the rapidly increasing traffic across the bridge and on the highways of Sotra, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration developed plans in the 2000s for a new bridge and highway between Bergen and Sotra. The plans include a new dual carriageway bridge to replace the Sotra Bridge, and new highways that lead northwards to Øygarden and southwards to Sund.Cite web|url=http://www.vegvesen.no/cs/Satellite?c=Page&cid=1170400448095&f=true&pagename=VPSotraBergen%2FPage%2FVPside|title=vegvesen.no - Fastlandssambandet Sotra-Bergen|accessdate=2008-09-26|publisher=Statens Vegvesen|year=2007|language=Norwegian]

References