Editing Karmøy (section)

==General information==
[[File:Karmøy tettsteder 2005.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Map of Karmøy with the urban areas marked]]
The municipality of Karmøy is a recent creation. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the [[Schei Committee]]. On 1 January 1965, Karmøy municipality was created upon the merger of two towns and parts of five municipalities into one large municipality with 23,217 residents. The areas that were merged were:<ref name="Dag">{{Cite book |last=Jukvam |first=Dag |year=1999 |title=Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen |url=http://www.ssb.no/emner/00/90/rapp_9913/rapp_9913.pdf |publisher=[[Statistics Norway|Statistisk sentralbyrå]] |language=no |isbn=9788253746845}}</ref>
*the town of [[Kopervik]] (population: 1,737)
*the town of [[Skudeneshavn]] (population: 1,275)
*the whole municipality of [[Skudenes]] (population: 3,583)
*the whole municipality of [[Stangaland]] (population: 2,678)
*the whole municipality of [[Åkra]] (population: 6,008)
*the part of the municipality of [[Avaldsnes (municipality)|Avaldsnes]] located west of the Førresfjorden (population: 4,153)
*most of the municipality of [[Torvastad]] (population: 3,783), except for the island of Vibrandsøy which went to [[Haugesund Municipality]]

===Name===
The municipality is named after the island of [[Karmøy (island)|Karmøy]] ({{langx|non|Kǫrmt}}), since the majority of the municipality is located on this island. The first element is derived from the word {{lang|non|karmr}} which means "bargeboard", likely in the sense of a "sheltering island". The last element, {{wikt-lang|no|øy}} which means "[[island]]", was added later.<ref name="snl">{{Cite web |last=Store norske leksikon |author-link=Store norske leksikon |title=Karmøy – kommune |url=https://snl.no/Karm%C3%B8y%2Fkommune |access-date=2015-12-01 |language=no}}</ref>

===Coat of arms===
The [[coat of arms]] was granted on 18 April 1975. The official [[blazon]] is ''"[[Gules (heraldry)|Gules]], a [[Fret (heraldry)|fret]] [[argent]]"'' ({{langx|no|I rødt et sølv gitterkryss}}). This means the arms have a red [[field (heraldry)|field]] (background) and the [[ordinary (heraldry)|ordinary]] is a [[Fret (heraldry)|fret]] (a diamond interwoven with a cross). The ordinary has a [[tincture (heraldry)|tincture]] of [[argent]] which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The design is [[Canting arms|canting]], as the central diamond shape stands for {{wikt-lang|no|karm}} (which is Norwegian for a "frame"). The island forms a border (or frame) against the sea and protects the inland areas from its forces. The cross in the design symbolizes the local [[Avaldsnes Church]] that was the royal chapel here during the [[Middle Ages]]. The island is said to be a central location and medieval kings would often choose to stay there to be able to "get everywhere in haste" if needed. The arms were designed by Magnus Hardeland. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen |url=https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Karmøy |access-date=2023-07-01 |publisher=Heraldry of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Karmøy, Rogaland (Norway) |url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/no-11-49.html |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=Flags of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1975-04-18 |title=Godkjenning av våpen og flagg |url=https://lovdata.no/dokument/LF/forskrift/1975-04-18-3 |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=Lovdata.no |publisher=Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet |language=no}}</ref>

===Churches===
The [[Church of Norway]] has eight parishes ({{lang|no|sokn}}) within the municipality of Karmøy. It is part of the [[Karmøy prosti]] ([[deanery]]) in the [[Diocese of Stavanger]].

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ style="font-size:medium"|'''''Churches in Karmøy'''''
!Parish ({{lang|no|sokn}})!!Church name!!Location of the church!!Year built
|-
||Avaldsnes||[[Avaldsnes Church]]||[[Avaldsnes]]||1250
|-
||Falnes||[[Falnes Church]]||[[Skudeneshavn]]||1851
|-
||Ferkingstad||[[Ferkingstad Church]]||[[Ferkingstad]]||1854
|-
||Kopervik||[[Kopervik Church]]||[[Kopervik]]||c. 2017
|-
||Norheim||[[Norheim Church]]||[[Norheim, Rogaland|Norheim]]||1978
|-
||Torvastad||[[Torvastad Church]]||[[Torvastad]]||1880
|-
||Vedavågen||[[Vedavågen Church]]||[[Veavågen]]||2009
|-
|rowspan="2"|Åkra||[[Åkra Church]]||[[Åkrahamn]]||1985
|-
|[[Old Åkra Church]]||[[Åkrahamn]]||1821
|}