# Hisøy

Hisøy (historically: Hisø) is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county in Norway. The 10-square-kilometre (3.9 sq mi) municipality existed from 1881 until 1992 when it was merged into the municipality of Arendal in what is now Agder county. At the time of its dissolution, it was the smallest municipality in the whole county. The municipality encompassed the islands of Hisøya, Gjervoldsøy, Havsøya, Ærøya, Store Torungen, Lille Torungen, and several other small, unpopulated islands. The administrative centre was the village of Kolbjørnsvik on Hisøya island.
Hisøy Church was the main church for the municipality, located in the village of His in the central part of Hisøya.

## History

The municipality of Hisø was created on 1 January 1881 when the municipality of Øyestad was split into Øyestad (population: 4,474) and Hisø (population: 2,652). On 1 January 1992, there was a major municipal merger involving Hisøy. The municipalities of Hisøy (population: 4,026), Tromøy (population: 4,711), Øyestad (population: 8,679), Moland (population: 8,148), and the town of Arendal (population: 12,478) all merged, forming a new, much larger municipality of Arendal.

### Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named Hisøy (or historically Hisø) after the old His farm (Old Norse: Hís) since the first Hisøy Church was built there. The meaning of the first element of the name is uncertain. It could come from the word hís which means "the cut" (possibly referring to how the river Nidelva turns near the island). Another The last element is øy which means "island". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Hisø. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to His. On 19 July 1930, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Hisøy.

### Coat of arms

The coat of arms for Hisøy municipality was granted on 12 December 1986 and it was in use until 31 December 1991 when the municipality ceased to exist. The official blazon is "Gules, two lighthouses argent issuant from the base" (Norwegian: I rødt to oppvoksende sølv fyrtårn). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is two twin lighthouses. The lighthouses have a tincture of argent which means they are commonly colored white, but if the arms are made out of metal, then silver is used. The lighthouses were chosen to represent the two local lighthouses: Store Torungen Lighthouse and Lille Torungen Lighthouse which mark the waters around the island of Hisøya and the entrance to the harbour for the town of Arendal. The arms were designed by Thorleif Bredesen.

## 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.

### Mayors

The mayors (Norwegian: ordfører) of Hisøy:
* 1881-1886: Søren P. Nielsen
* 1887-1891: Ommund Christensen
* 1892-1893: S. Røer
* 1894-1895: M.B. Nielsen
* 1896-1897: Niels Bakke
* 1897-1898: Isaac Kløcker
* 1899-1901: Harald Kallevig
* 1902-1904: J. Sverdrup
* 1905-1913: G. Moland
* 1914-1917: O. Aarstøl
* 1917-1919: Anton Gundersen
* 1920-1940: Jørgen P. Jensen
* 1945-1945: Jørgen P. Jensen
* 1945-1945: Alf Dannevig
* 1946-1946: K. Seljås
* 1946-1947: I. Olsen
* 1948-1960: Alf Dannevig
* 1960-1963: Helge Bjørnholm
* 1964-1967: Gunnar Dannevig
* 1968-1975: Arthur J. Knutsen
* 1975-1975: Johan Guldal
* 1976-1983: Frithjof Holst-Pedersen (H)
* 1984-1987: Bjørn Altenborg (H)
* 1988-1989: Kåre Thorsen (V)
* 1990-1991: Liv Marit Moland Olsen (Ap)

### Municipal council

The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Hisøy 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.
Hisøy kommunestyre 1988–1991 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 6 |
| | Conservative Party (Høyre) | 7 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) | 1 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 3 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 17 |
Hisøy kommunestyre 1984–1987 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 6 |
| | Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet) | 1 |
| | Conservative Party (Høyre) | 7 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) | 1 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 2 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 17 |
Hisøy kommunestyre 1980–1983 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 5 |
| | Conservative Party (Høyre) | 8 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) | 1 |
| | Liberal People's Party (Liberale Folkepartiet) | 1 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 2 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 17 |
Hisøy kommunestyre 1976–1979 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 5 |
| | Conservative Party (Høyre) | 6 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) | 2 |
| | New People's Party (Nye Folkepartiet) | 3 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 1 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 17 |
Hisøy kommunestyre 1972–1975 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 7 |
| | Conservative Party (Høyre) | 5 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) | 1 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 4 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 17 |
Hisøy kommunestyre 1968–1971 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 8 |
| | Conservative Party (Høyre) | 5 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 4 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 17 |
Hisøy kommunestyre 1964–1967 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 8 |
| | Conservative Party (Høyre) | 5 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 4 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 17 |
Hisøy herredsstyre 1960–1963 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 7 |
| | Conservative Party (Høyre) | 7 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 3 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 17 |
Hisøy herredsstyre 1956–1959 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 7 |
| | Conservative Party (Høyre) | 7 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 3 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 17 |
Hisøy herredsstyre 1952–1955 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 7 |
| | Conservative Party (Høyre) | 6 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 3 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 16 |
Hisøy herredsstyre 1948–1951 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 6 |
| | Conservative Party (Høyre) | 6 |
| | Joint list of the Liberal Party (Venstre) and the Radical People's Party (Radikale Folkepartiet) | 4 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 16 |
Hisøy herredsstyre 1945–1947 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 7 |
| | Joint list of the Liberal Party (Venstre) and the Radical People's Party (Radikale Folkepartiet) | 3 |
| | Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister) | 6 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 16 |
Hisøy herredsstyre 1938–1941* :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 4 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 4 |
| | Joint list of the Conservative Party (Høyre) and the Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 8 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 16 |
| 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. |||

## Media gallery

* View of Hisøya from Arendal city centre
* Alternate view of Hisøya
* Kolbjørnsvik, the municipal centre
* View of Hisøy Church in His
* Two local Torungene lighthouses that inspired the coat of arms