Kvitsøy County is happy to have you as a visitor on this homepage. We are unfortunately not able to give you a complete translation of our homepage, but we hope you will enjoy reading some of the interesting things about the Island of Kvitsøy here. (Feel free to browse the Norwegian pages as well of course, there are some nice pictures to view there!)

 

Kvitsøy, "perle i havet", the "pearl in the ocean" as we like to call our island, has an area of not more than 5.7 square kilometers, and is with that Norway’s smallest county in area. There are, however, four counties which have fewer inhabitants than Kvitsøy. The number of inhabitants on the island has risen from 505 to almost 550 in the last five years. In other words, Kvitsøy is a very popular county. You can buy neither house nor land here, it is "sold out"! Besides more than 200 residential homes there are around 120 cottages in Kvitsøy.

 

Norwegian counties and their services are organized differently from those in most English-speaking countries. Counties in Norway are responsible for most of the public services offered in their county. Kvitsøy County therefore runs its own school (first to tenth grade, approx. 80 students and 12 teachers) and a day-care center with about 30 children. The county also has its own physician, physiotherapists and a children’s nurse. In the county there is a public nursing home, a public library and a municipal engineering team responsible for area-planning, building questions and the maintenance of the municipal buildings. Kvitsøy County has a working force of around 75 highly qualified people! The people employed in the "kommunehus" (the Town Hall) are for the most part residents of Kvitsøy.

 

Kvitsøy consists of 365 small islands and rocks jutting out of the ocean, at least at low tide! Five of these islands are connected by bridges. Kvitsøy is of course known for its fishery, though this industry has lost some of its importance in later years. Today large amounts of crab are caught in the area, and in the lobster season quite a bit of lobster. Lobster is to a certain extent an informal trademark of Kvitsøy.

 

There has been lobster research and lobster fishing for more than one hundred years in Kvitsøy! Today Kvitsøy has become the world’s first commercial lobster-breeders and there is a really interesting lobster museum in a part of the island called "Grøningen".

 

The Kvitsøy method of producing lamb is famous throughout the Stavanger region. The meat is known for its excellent quality due to the existence of salty water in the lambs’ food. It therefore gets a far better price than "normal" lamb does! Milk is another of the farming products Kvitsøy produces.

 

Kvitsøy is proud of its handicraft traditions. One shipyard here builds small fishing boats, one building company has developed into a large company with almost 50 employees in the Stavanger area and by the ferry-harbor there is a factory that makes doors and windows. Gaskets for the oil industry are also produced in a specialized factory in Kvitsøy. In addition there are artists and artisans who enrich life on the island.

 

The lighthouse in Kvitsøy is widely known and is one of the oldest of its kind in Norway. Next to the lighthouse a new "ocean traffic center" was opened in the year 2000. The whole coast of south-west Norway is supervised by radar from this center. The center also provides the naval pilots for the whole region.

 

The Protestant Church in Kvitsøy was built in the 16th Century. It is a small but beautiful wooden church. In the part of the island called "Leiasundet" there is an ancient stone cross, 4 meters high and most likely more than one thousand years old.

 

In the north-east of Kvitsøy you can see a big radio tower. BBC, among others, sends radio-broadcasts to the whole world from here. The radio tower was built here in the 1970s with the co-operation of a large German company.

 

The following link leads to a private homepage. Click on "Fotoalbum" on the homepage and you will find hundreds of pictures of beautiful Kvitsøy! home.online.no/~ari-st/

 

If you follow the link you will see the location of Kvitsøy between Stavanger and Bergen, and the weather right now! www.yr.no/sted/norge/rogaland/kvits%F8y/kvits%F8y/

 

Attractions and other useful information. For the moment it is in Norwegian, but hopefully relatively easy to understand: See it your self...

 

To get to Kvitsøy you need to take the large, comfortable car-ferry "Fjordveien". The trip from Mekjarvik in Stavanger takes only 30 minutes and the ferry departs 8 times a day. You will find the ferry timetable here: rogtraf.no/ruter0108/skudeneshavn-mekjarvik.pdf

 

Staying overnight

"Kvitsøy-Turistsenter" has apartments and boats for rent at its disposal. On their homepage you can find more information.

Homepage: www.kvitsoy-turistsenter.no

Telephone: 51 73 51 88 / +47 98472090 – Fax: 51 73 53 96

Email: post@kvitsoy-turistsenter.no

 

You can actually swim anywhere on Kvitsøy. However, two beaches are especially recommended: one of them is right by the ferry-harbor, "Sandrenna", the other one is close to the Lobster Museum, "Grøningen". See also "Map of Kvitsøy".

 

You can go for a walk anywhere on Kvitsøy roads, but there is also a designated path from Ydstebøhavn on the west coast of Kvitsøy. This walk takes about 45 minutes and is especially recommended! See also "Map of Kvitsøy".

 

Kvitsøy is an Eldorado for boat tourists. Every year more than 1000 big and small yachts visit Kvitsøy.

 

Harbours and quays

"Gamlekaien i Ydstebøhavn" - the "old quay in Ydstebøhavn". Here you will find a place to moor your boat, and you will have access to electricity, showers and washing machines. In the summer it can get a bit crowded, a lot of people want to visit Kvitsøy!

 

Rossøy – a visitor’s harbor across from the old quay in Ydstebøhavn.

 

Sandrenna - a visitor’s harbor in "Hønsavika", close to the ferry harbor. In addition there are numerous natural harbors. Whoever searches will find!

 

Here are the most important telephone numbers:

 

Firedepartement	+47 110
Police	+47 112
Ambulance	+47 113
Doctor	+47 51736353 / +47 91777408
Town hall	+47 51736300 post@kvitsoy.kommune.no