Skåtøy (municipality)

Skåtøy is a former municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The 114-square-kilometre (44 sq mi) municipality included land on the mainland plus many surrounding islands. It existed from 1882 until its dissolution in 1960. The area is now part of Kragerø Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Skåtøy on the island of Skåtøy where the Skåtøy Church is located.[1]

Skåtøy herred
Skaatø herred (historic)
Former municipality
View from Åsvika in Skåtøy
View from Åsvika in Skåtøy
Official logo of Skåtøy herred
Telemark within
Norway
Skåtøy within Telemark
Skåtøy within Telemark
Coordinates: 58°51′51″N 9°30′33″E
CountryNorway
CountyTelemark
DistrictVestmar
Established1 Jan 1882
 • Preceded bySannidal Municipality
Disestablished1 Jan 1960
 • Succeeded byKragerø Municipality
Administrative centreSkåtøy
Area
 (upon dissolution)
 • Total114 km2 (44 sq mi)
Population
 (1960)
 • Total3,208
 • Density28/km2 (73/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-0815
Data from Statistics Norway

History
View of the Skåtøy Church
View of a ferry quay in Skåtøy

The parish of Skaatø (later spelled Skåtøy) was established as a municipality on 1 January 1882 when it was separated from the larger municipality of Sannidal. Initially, the new municipality had 3,907 residents. On 1 January 1891, an area of Skåtøy (population: 809) that was adjacent to the growing town of Kragerø was annexed and transferred from Skåtøy to Kragerø. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1960, the municipality of Skåtøy (population: 3,208) was merged with the neighboring Sannidal Municipality (population: 2,604) and the neighboring town of Kragerø (population: 4,638).[2]

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the island of Skåtøy (Old Norse: Skotøy) since the first Skåtøy Church was built there. The first element is identical to the word skot which means "overhang" or "projection of land". The last element is identical to the word øy which means "island". Prior to the 1917 Norwegian language reform law, the name was written "Skaatø". Then in 1918, the spelling was changed to "Skaatøy" to replace the Danish spelling of island (ø) with the Norwegian spelling (øy). The name was originally spelled with the digraph "aa", in 1920, the spelling was changed again, dropping the digraph and using the letter å was used instead.[3]

Government

While it existed, this municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment, social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.[4]

Mayors

The mayors (Norwegian: ordfører) of Skåtøy (incomplete list):

  • 1886-1902: Peder Rinde (V)
  • 1909-1912: Lars Nilsen Midgaard (V)

Municipal council

The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Skåtøy was made up of representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.

Skåtøy herredsstyre 1956–1959 [5]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) 11
  Conservative Party (Høyre) 2
  Communist Party (Kommunistiske Parti) 1
  Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) 3
  Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) 2
  Liberal Party (Venstre) 2
Total number of members:21
Skåtøy herredsstyre 1952–1955 [6]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) 10
  Conservative Party (Høyre) 2
  Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) 3
  Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) 1
  Liberal Party (Venstre) 4
Total number of members:20
Skåtøy herredsstyre 1948–1951 [7]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) 9
  Communist Party (Kommunistiske Parti) 1
  Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) 5
  Liberal Party (Venstre) 2
  Joint list of the Liberal Party (Venstre) and the Radical People's Party (Radikale Folkepartiet) 3
Total number of members:20
Skåtøy herredsstyre 1945–1947 [8]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) 10
  Conservative Party (Høyre) 1
  Communist Party (Kommunistiske Parti) 1
  Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) 5
  Joint list of the Liberal Party (Venstre) and the Radical People's Party (Radikale Folkepartiet) 3
Total number of members:20
Skåtøy herredsstyre 1938–1941* [9]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) 7
  Conservative Party (Høyre) 4
  Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) 2
  Liberal Party (Venstre) 6
  Local List(s) (Lokale lister) 1
Total number of members:20
Note: Due to the German occupation of Norway during World War II, no elections were held for new municipal councils until after the war ended in 1945.

See also

References
  1. Mæhlum, Lars, ed. (27 January 2020). "Skåtøy (tidligere kommune)". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  2. Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. ISBN 9788253746845.
  3. Rygh, Oluf (1914). Norske gaardnavne: Bratsbergs amt (in Norwegian) (7 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 45.
  4. Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (20 September 2022). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  5. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1955" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo, Norge: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1957.
  6. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1951" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1952.
  7. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1947" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1948.
  8. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1945" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1947.
  9. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1937" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1938.

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