Os Municipality Os kommune
Former municipality
View of Osøyro
Coat of arms
Hordaland within Norway
Os within Hordaland
Coordinates: 60°13′37″N 05°28′33″E / 60.22694°N 5.47583°E / 60.22694; 5.47583
Country	Norway
County	Hordaland
District	Midhordland
Established	1 Jan 1838
• Created as	Formannskapsdistrikt
Disestablished	1 Jan 2020
• Succeeded by	Bjørnafjorden Municipality
Administrative centre	Osøyro
Government
• Mayor (2018–2019)	Terje Søviknes (FrP)
Area  (upon dissolution)
• Total	139.58 km2 (53.89 sq mi)
• Land	133.51 km2 (51.55 sq mi)
• Water	6.07 km2 (2.34 sq mi)  4.3%
• Rank	#360 in Norway
Highest elevation [1]	842.6 m (2,764 ft)
Population  (2019)
• Total	20,804
• Rank	#56 in Norway
• Density	149/km2 (390/sq mi)
• Change (10 years)	+26.6%
Demonym	Osing[2]
Official language [3]
• Norwegian form	Nynorsk
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	NO-1243[4]
Data from Statistics Norway

Os (Nynorsk: [uːs]) is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The 139.58-square-kilometre (53.89 sq mi) municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020. The area is now part of Bjørnafjorden Municipality in the traditional district of Midhordland in Vestland county, just south of Norway's second-largest city, Bergen. The administrative centre was the village of Osøyro. Other villages in the municipality included Hagavik, Haljem, Syfteland, Søre Øyane, and Søvik.^[5]

Prior to its dissolution in 2020, the 139.58-square-kilometre (53.89 sq mi) municipality was the 360th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Os Municipality was the 149th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 20,804. The municipality's population density was 149 inhabitants per square kilometre (390/sq mi) and its population had increased by 26.6% over the previous 10-year period.^[6][7]

The parish of Os was established on 1 January 1838 as a formannskapsdistrikt, the predecessor of today's municipalities. It originally encompassed all of the land surrounding the Fusafjorden. In 1856, the eastern district of Os (across the fjord) was separated to form the new Fusa Municipality. This left Os Municipality with 3,750 residents.^[8]

In 1900, "Askviknes Barnehjem" (near Hagavik) opened; it housed children of romani/tater descent; in the beginning the children's stay was something their families applied for; later children were introduced to the facility without consent of their families.^[9]

On 1 January 1907, the northern part of the municipality was separated to form the new Samnanger Municipality. This left Os Municipality with 3,188 residents.^[8]

During World War II, the Ulven concentration camp was used by the occupying Nazi German Army. It was located just northwest of Osøyro.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the Bogstrand area of Fusa Municipality (population: 28) was transferred to Os Municipality. This small area was the only part of Fusa Municipality located on the west side of the fjord.^[8]

On 1 January 2020, Os Municipality and Fusa Municipality were merged to form the new Bjørnafjorden Municipality.^[10] Historically, this municipality was part of the old Hordaland county. Also on 1 January 2020, the new Bjørnafjorden Municipality became a part of the newly-formed Vestland county (after Hordaland and Sogn og Fjordane counties were merged).^[11]

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Os farm (Old Norse: Óss) since the first Os Church was built there. The name is identical to the word óss which means "mouth of a river", referring here to the Oselva river.^[12]

The coat of arms was adopted in 1949 and it was in use until 1 January 2020 when the municipality was dissolved. The blazon is "Gules, one large and six small roses over a rowboat Or". This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a rowboat underneath a flower and six small stars surrounding the flower. The charge has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The arms were adopted in 1949 after a local competition. Boat building has been an important industry in Os for a long time. The rowboat design was chosen to symbolize the Oselvar boat which is commonly built and used in this area. The Oselvar is widely known for its good rowing and sailing properties. The roses in the coat of arms stand for the art of rosemåling which has long been used for decorations in the area. The small roses in the design corresponded to the number of school districts in Os when the coat of arms was new. The municipality often includes a mural crown over the shield. The arms were designed by Trygve Eriksen.^[13][14]

The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within Os Municipality. It is part of the Fana prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

While it existed, Os 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.^[15] The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Bergen District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Os Municipality was made up of 35 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

The mayor (Nynorsk: ordførar) of Os Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:^[33][34]

Os Municipality was located on the southwestern part of the Bergen Peninsula, south of Bergen Municipality and southeast of Samnanger Municipality. The Fusafjorden was to the east, the Bjørnafjorden to the south, and the Lysefjorden to the west. Fusa Municipality was located to the east (across the Fusafjorden), Tysnes Municipality was to the south (across the Bjørnafjorden), and Austevoll Municipality was to the west (across the Lysefjorden).

The southwestern part of Os Municipality included many small islands including Skorpo, Strøno, Lysøya, and Innerøya. The village area of Søre Øyane was located on several small islands off the mainland shore.

The municipality was somewhat mountainous, especially in the northeastern part of the municipality. The highest point in the municipality was the 842.6-metre (2,764 ft) tall mountain Sveningen, a tripoint boundary in the extreme northeastern part of the municipality, marking the boundary point where the municipalities of Bergen, Os, and Samnanger meet.^[1] The mountains of Mosnuken and Lyshornet were also located in Os Municipality.

The Oseana Art and Cultural Centre is located in Os Municipality. It hosted art and music events year-round. The building is fairly new and in 2011, it won the "Building of the Year Award" (Årets Bygg) for Norway.^[35]

Os has had a tradition of small boat building since the early 1800s. The Oselvar is the traditional boat of Os Municipality. This small wooden boat was named after its major important building site during the 18th century, at the mouth of the Oselva River. These boats have traditionally been used for everyday work and for traveling to church. These boats were designed as either sailboats or rowboats. They still build these boats the traditional way in Os, and tourists are able to visit and watch them work.^[36]

The Oselvar is now the official boat of Norway. With its traditions, the boat has become a symbol of the nation. The boat is shown on the coat of arms of Os.

The village of Hagavik also had a modern boat building company, Askeladden Boats AS. Askeladden is Norway's largest manufacturer of leisure boats.

The European route E39 highway passed through Os from the city of Bergen (to the north) to the ferry quay at Haljem, on the shore of the Bjørnafjorden. The quay had two different regularly scheduled ferry routes that stopped here to cross the Bjørnafjorden. There was a ferry from Haljem to Våge on the island of Tysnesøya in Tysnes Municipality to the southeast. There is also a ferry (that is part of the E39 highway) from Haljem to Sandvika, just north of the village of Fitjar in Fitjar Municipality to the south.

As of 1 January 2014, Os had a population of 18,678 which gave it a population density of 139.9 inhabitants per square kilometre (362/sq mi), compared to a county average of about 30 inhabitants per square kilometre (78/sq mi) and a national average of about 15 inhabitants per square kilometre (39/sq mi). About 80% of the population of Os lived in urban settlements. About 1.9% of the population were registered as unemployed; the county and national average is 2.6%. About 26% of the workforce were employed in public administration. About 2% were employed in the primary sector of economic activity, 28.2% in the secondary sector, and 69.3% in the tertiary sector.^[40] In the period from 29 October to 4 November 2001, 45.7% of the workforce of Os commuted out of the municipality, mainly to the neighboring city of Bergen. In the same time period, Os received a daily average of 753 commuters from other municipalities, 15.8% of those employed in Os.^[41] In 2006, Os had a daily out-commuting of 3,001 people.^[40]

• Ole Bull, the famous violinist, built his Villa Lysøen on the island of Lysøya in Os. That special building was inspired by his travels, especially his travels to the Middle East. The island of Lysøen was originally owned by Lyse Abbey, the ruins of which still stand and are frequently visited.
• Aurora Aksnes, a singer-songwriter who was born in Stavanger, grew up in Os.^[42]

• List of former municipalities of Norway

• Askeladden Boats AS Official website
• Oselvar Boat Yard