Orust Municipality

Orust Municipality Orusts kommun
Municipality
Orust town hall
Coat of arms
Coordinates: 58°14′N 11°41′E
Country	Sweden
County	Västra Götaland County
Seat	Henån
Area
• Total	882.99 km2 (340.92 sq mi)
• Land	386.52 km2 (149.24 sq mi)
• Water	496.47 km2 (191.69 sq mi)
	Area as of 1 January 2014.
Population  (31 December 2023)
• Total	15,333
• Density	17/km2 (45/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	SE
Province	Bohuslän
Municipal code	1421
Website	www.orust.se

Orust Municipality (Orusts kommun) is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Henån, with an approximate population of 1,800.

The municipality includes Sweden's third largest island Orust and some other small adjacent islets. The year-round population of around 15,000 increases significantly in the summer due to an influx of summer vacationers.

The former municipal entities on the island Orust and adjacent minor islands were grouped into larger units in 1952 and united into a single municipality in connection with the nationwide municipal reform of 1971.

Sigfrid Edstrom, Former president of the IOC, Industrialist & Chairman of the Sweden-America Foundation, was born here

Geography

The island Orust has a land area of 346 square kilometres (134 sq mi), Sweden's fourth largest island.

The villages in the municipality are Ellös, Henån, Hälleviksstrand, Mollösund, Svanvik and Varekil.

Demographics

This is a demographic table based on Orust Municipality's electoral districts in the 2022 Swedish general election sourced from SVT's election platform, in turn taken from SCB official statistics.

In total there were 15,322 residents, including 12,490 Swedish citizens of voting age. 44.3% voted for the left coalition and 54.5% for the right coalition. Indicators are in percentage points except population totals and income.

Location Residents Citizen
adults Left vote Right vote Employed Swedish
parents Foreign
heritage Income
SEK Degree % % Långelanda C 1,429 1,130 39.0 60.1 86 90 10 27,394 31 Långelanda 1,806 1,406 46.3 52.1 82 85 15 24,682 41 Morlanda V 1,029 983 44.2 55.1 77 94 6 24,195 42 Morlanda Ö 1,723 1,458 45.5 53.2 80 90 10 23,864 28 Myckleby 1,317 1,060 48.0 50.6 83 91 9 25,991 37 Röra V 1,068 865 47.3 51.5 83 90 10 23,895 35 Röra Ö 1,900 1,455 43.5 54.9 78 85 15 23,649 31 Stala 2,157 1,742 42.0 56.7 84 89 11 25,729 30 Tegneby 1,287 1,080 42.2 56.5 86 94 6 26,756 35 Torp 1,606 1,311 47.4 51.5 84 91 9 26,557 37 Source: SVT

History

Historically, the area has been inhabited for thousands of years, as evident by ancient remains such as tombs, grave fields and rock carvings. Dating from the Viking Age, runestones are plentiful throughout Orust.

In the Nordisk familjebok the island of Orust is mentioned as a Geatish territory. Ramshult (the modern Swedish form), a hill fort, is mentioned in Beowulf as Hrefnesholt, the Geatish hill fort which became the prison of Onela, Ohthere and their mother until their rescue by Ongenþeow.

Economy

Industry wise, the area has always been dominated by fishing and boat production. Shipyard Hallberg-Rassy is the largest employer nowadays. Its shipyard is located in Ellös, on the north-west part of the island, and it has a significant export of sailing boats. The second largest employer is Najad-varvet, also a shipyard.

Points of interest

Runestone on Orust

The geography offers several sights, with a couple of picturesque small villages. A nature reserve called Morlanda features a lookout point that offers a good overview of the area.

See also

• Orust Eastern Hundred, historical hundred
• Orust Western Hundred, historical hundred
• Varekilsnäs, most southern village on Orust

External links

• Orust Municipality - Official site
• Orust map - From the official site