Fedje
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| Fedje kommune | |||
| — Municipality — | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country | Norway | ||
| County | Hordaland | ||
| District | Nordhordland | ||
| Municipality ID | NO-1265 | ||
| Administrative centre | Fedje | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor (2007) | Kristin Handeland(Ap) | ||
| Area (Nr. 431 in Norway) | |||
| - Total | 9 km² (3.5 sq mi) | ||
| - Land | 9 km² (3.5 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2008) | |||
| - Total | 596 | ||
| - Density | 73/km² (189.1/sq mi) | ||
| - Change (10 years) | -7.3 % | ||
| - Rank in Norway | 423 | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Official language form | Nynorsk | ||
| Demonym | Fedjing[1] | ||
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| Website: www.fedje.kommune.no | |||
Fedje is an island municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway.
Fedje was separated from Austrheim January 1, 1947.
The main island of Fedje is surrounded by about 125 smaller islands and rocks mostly north of the main island, and the name Fedje applies both to the main island, and to all the islands and rocks as a whole. Fedje is an island, covering a total area of about 7.4 square kilometres. Counting the main island and the smaller islands, the area is about 9.4 square kilometres. It has a population of approximately 600 people. Fedje has one whaling ship, and is famous for its fisheries.
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[edit] The name
The Norse form of the name was Feðjar. The meaning of the name is unknown.
[edit] Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from 1990, and shows two oars. See also the coat-of-arms of Herøy and Lenvik.
[edit] The Islands
The best known smaller island is called Holmengrå. Holmengrå has a 16-metre tall lighthouse. In the southern part of Fedje which is called Stormark, there is a lighthouse called Hellisøy fyr, maybe the most famous feature of Fedje. Hellisøy fyr was built in 1855, and is 32.3 metres tall, painted red and white. Fedje travel information
[edit] The People
The population of the island community is decreasing due to the high percentage of people over 60 years (25% as of January 1, 2003), and because many people decide to move from the island, many because of the lack of work. Most of the people live on the lagoon-like northern part of the island, in the vicinity of the grocery shop, the church and the ferry. Fedje is inhabited by many fishermen and whalers, who represent the most important industries on the island.
[edit] Infrastructure
There is an important traffic-station on Fedje. The station surveils the coastal sea-traffic. The island is supplied with power, telephone and internet cables from an underwater pipe connected to the mainland. A ferry, crossing 20 times a day, connects Fedje to the mainland. The voyage lasts for about 30 minutes. Fedje is about a 1 hour 40 minute drive (including a 30-minute ferry voyage) from the city of Bergen.
[edit] Geography
The highest point on Fedje is the 47-meter-high hill called Fedjebjørnen. The largest lake is Storevatnet.
[edit] Education
Fedje has an elementary school, and a junior high school, both of which are situated in the center of the island, and in the same building. The school is also used as a movie theatre twice a week.
[edit] Sports
The main sporting activity on Fedje is football, which can be played on the football grounds in the eastern part of the island. The football ground is also the home ground of the local football team called Fedje A-lag. The club is currently playing in the Norwegian 6th division. Swimming is also popular, as there is a beautiful beach located on Fedje, which is to be found in the centre of the island on the shoreline of Lake Husavatnet. The water is clean and brackish, as a freshwater spring runs out in the vicinity of the beach.
[edit] History
There are traces of human activity on Fedje from as long as 4,000 years ago. In the 1700s, Fedje was an important trading place, with the small island Kræmmerholmen being the location where the trading took place. Kræmmerholmen was reopened in 1991, and is now a restaurant/hotel/museum area, as well as the location where one can buy whale meat. Fedje was previously a substantial producer of peat. The peat led to the construction of Norway's first railway. The railway was given up together with the peat industry in 1920.
During the Second World War Fedje was occupied by over 300 German soldiers. There are still remains of the German cannons and bunkers all over the island, especially in the eastern part close to the traffic station, which is actually built on the remains of a German radar station.
In February 1945 a German submarine called U-864 was sunk by British naval forces outside western Fedje. The U-boat was, unfortunately for the environment, loaded with 70 tons of mercury. The mercury, which was being shipped to Japan, is now resting on the bottom of the North Sea 150 metres below the surface, as a potential environmental disaster like the Minamata disaster in Japan, in the 1960s.
On January 12, 2007, M/V Server sunk outside Fedje. The ship leaked oil and caused major environmental damage.
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