Bokn is a municipality in the Rogaland county, Norway. Bokn was separated from Skudenes in 1849.

Bokn is one of the smaller municipalities of Rogaland, consisting of 3 islands: Ognøy, Austre (eastern) Bokn, and Vestre (western) Bokn. The three islands are now linked via bridges to Tysvær on the mainland, and the main coastal highway between Stavanger and Bergen now pass over Bokn, connecting southwards by ferries to Rennesøy. There are specific plans of building an undersea tunnel directly to the mainland north of Stavanger.

General information

Name

The municipality is named after the islands of Austre and Vestre Bokn (Old Norse: Bókn). The name is probably very old and its meaning is unknown. Before 1889, the name was written "Bukken".

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 8 August 1986. The arms show six silver coins on a blue background. The blue background represents the sea and the coins symbolize the richness from the sea, as the municipality is on an island and dependent on fishing and sailing.

Economy

Apart from a factory producing various tanks made of glassfiber-reinforced plastic (Bokn Plast), there is no industry on the islands other than some fish farming. People have traditionally lived off fishing and farming, but more recently, some work has been in the North Sea petroleum industry. Tourism is likely to play a bigger part in the future.

Geography

Geographically, the islands are rugged with lots of small hills with small lakes in the valleys. The hills are largely covered with heather, but bushes and trees are increasingly competing, especially birch. The highest point is the 297 meter high Boknafjellet, a small mountain on Vestre Bokn island.

References