The 679-square-kilometre (262 sq mi) municipality is the 168th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Alver is the 37th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 29,920. The municipality's population density is 46 inhabitants per square kilometre (120/sq mi) and its population has increased by 10.1% over the previous 10-year period.[4][5]
General information
The municipality was established on 1 January 2020 when the three neighboring municipalities of Lindås, Radøy, and Meland were merged into one large municipality.[6]
Name
The municipality is named after the old Alver farm (Old Norse: Alviðra). The first element is allr which means "whole" or "entire". The last element is the genitive case of the word veðr which means "weather". Thus it is probably referring to the location which is exposed to the weather from all directions. It is the same root as the other local names like Alversund and Alverstraumen.[6][7][8]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was adopted in 2019 for use starting on 1 January 2020. The blazon is "Azure, a bridge over a boat argent". This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is an arched road bridge with a boat going underneath. The charge has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. It symbolizes that the fact that bridges tie the municipality together and the boat has been a means of transportation in the area for centuries.[9][10]
The municipal council(Kommunestyre) of Alver is made up of 41 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.