Skudenes

Skudenes is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It was part of the traditional district of Haugaland. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1965. Today the area is part of the municipalities of Bokn and Karmøy. Skudenes originally encompassed the southern part of the island of Karmøy and the three islands to the east: Vestre Bokn, Austre Bokn, and Ognøya. In 1849, the three smaller islands were separated to form Bokn municipality.

Today, the Skudenes area refers to the southern part of Karmøy island. In 2009, there were about 3,226 inhabitants.

History

The parish of Skudesnæs was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). In 1849, the three islands of Vestre Bokn, Austre Bokn, and Ognøya (population: 1,035) were separated from Skudenes to form the municipality of Bukken. The split left Skudenes with a population of 5,044.

In 1857, the port village of Skudeneshavn on the southern tip of the island of Karmøy was designated as a ladested (a port of lading). Shortly thereafter, on 10 February 1858, Skudeneshavn (population: 1,209) was separated from Skudenes municipality, constituting a municipality of its own. The split left Skudenes with a population of 5,044. On 1 January 1892 the northern part of Skudenes was split off to form the new municipality of Åkra (population: 1,962). This left Skudenes with a population of 2,732.