Hillesøy


Hillesøy is a former municipality in the old Troms county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1855 until its dissolution in 1964. It was located on both sides of the Malangen fjord in what is now the present-day municipalities of Tromsø and Senja. The administrative centre was located at Brensholmen on the western shore of the island of Kvaløya. Brensholmen is also the location of Hillesøy Church, the main church for the municipality.
Hillesøy Municipality included about of land with on the island of Senja, about on the island of Kvaløya, and about of smaller islands including Hillesøya and Sommarøya. On Senja island, Hillesøy Municipality included the larger villages of Fjordgård, Husøy, and Botnhamn. On Kvaløya island, it included Ersfjordbotn and Brensholmen. The island of Sommarøya is connected to the large island of Kvaløya by the Sommarøy Bridge. Most of the other islands are only accessible by boat.

History

The municipality of Hillesøy was established in 1855 when it was separated from the large Lenvik Municipality. The initial population of Hillesøy was around 800 people. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Hillesøy Municipality was dissolved and its lands were divided as follows:
The municipality is named after the old Hillesøy farm on the island of Hillesøya since that is where the Hillesøy Church was originally located. The first element of the old name comes from the old male name Hildulfr and the last part is identical with the word for "island". Another possibility for the meaning of the name is Hellisøy, where the first element comes from the work hellir which means "rock slab" and the last element again meaning "island".

Government

Municipal council

The municipal council of Hillesøy was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council was as follows: