Prior to its dissolution in 2020, the 378-square-kilometre (146 sq mi) municipality was the 247th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Fusa was the 234th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 3,895. The municipality's population density is 11 inhabitants per square kilometre (28/sq mi) and its population has increased by 3.9% over the last decade.[4]
General information
The district of Fusa was separated from the municipality of Os in 1856 to become a separate municipality. Initially, Fusa had 3,173 residents. On 1 January 1903, the municipality of Fusa was divided into three separate municipalities: Hålandsdal in the east (population: 647), Strandvik in the south (population: 1,876), and a much smaller Fusa in the west (population: 1,072).[5]
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, there were two changes to Fusa municipality. The Bogstrand area of Fusa, located on the west side of the Fusafjorden (population: 28) was transferred to the municipality of Os. Also on that date, the municipalities of Hålandsdal (population: 528) and Strandvik (population: 2,053) were merged with Fusa (population: 1,466) to form a much larger municipality of Fusa.[5]
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Fusa farm (Old Norse: Fúsar) since the first Fusa Church was built there. The meaning of the name is uncertain. The name could be the plural form of the word fúss which means "eager" or "longing". Another possibility is that it comes from the verb fusa or its alternate spelling fuse which both mean "to rush" (as in rushing water).[7] Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Fuse. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Fusa.[8]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 27 September 1991 and it was in use until 1 January 2020 when the municipality was dissolved. The official blazon is "Argent, three gurgesazurein pall" (Norwegian: På kvit grunn tre blå spiralar stilte i trepass). This means the arms have a field (background) 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 charge is a set of three spirals, two over one. The design was chosen to symbolise the strong currents in the Fusafjorden and Bjørnafjorden. The spirals also symbolise the many giant's kettles (Norwegian: jettegryte) in the municipality, which were created by the water in the rocks. The arms were designed by Arvid Sveen. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[9][10]
Note: The municipal borders were changed in 1903 and 1964, causing a significant change in the population. Source: Statistics Norway[11][12] and Norwegian Historical Data Centre[13]
The municipal council(Kommunestyre) of Fusa was made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:
In 2007, Fusa participated in a trial where the mayor was directly elected. The sitting mayor, Hans S. Vindenes, won the election with 51.8% of the votes.