Jæren is a traditional district in

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Vestfold og Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. In 2020, it had a population of 47 ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. The other districts in Rogaland are

Dalane Dalane is a traditional district in the southwestern part of Norway, consisting of the municipalities of Lund, Sokndal, Eigersund, and Bjerkreim. Dalane is one of the 15 districts in Western Norway. It sits to the southeast of the very flat J� ...

Ryfylke Ryfylke is a traditional district in the northeastern part of Rogaland county, Norway. The district is located northeast of the city of Stavanger and east of the city of Haugesund and it encompasses about 60% of the county's area. It includes ...

, and

Haugalandet Haugaland or Haugalandet is a traditional district situated on the western coast of Norway. Haugaland is one of the 15 traditional districts located within the Vestlandet region. Geographically, Haugaland is a peninsula between Bømlafjorden in ...

. Jæren is one of the 15 districts that comprise

Western Norway Western Norway ( nb, Vestlandet, Vest-Norge; nn, Vest-Noreg) is the region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrativ ...

. At about , Jæren is the largest flat lowland area in

, stretching from the municipality of

Randaberg Randaberg is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Jæren, at the northern end of the Stavanger Peninsula. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Randaberg. Randaberg ...

in the north to

Hå Hå is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is the southernmost municipality in the traditional district of Jæren. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Varhaug. Other villages in Hå include Brusand, Hæen, ...

in the south. It includes the whole Stavanger Peninsula and the mainland area at its base. The coast is flat compared to the rest of the mountainous Norwegian coast, and it has sandy beaches along most of the coastline. The largest urban area in Jæren is the adjoining cities of

Stavanger/Sandnes Stavanger/Sandnes is the third largest urban area in Norway. It consists of the densely built-up areas in the municipalities of Stavanger, Sandnes, Sola, and Randaberg, most of which are located on the Stavanger Peninsula, its surrounding islands, ...

(pop. 210,874 in 2015).

Economy

The petroleum industry around Stavanger is an important part of the economy of Jæren, with the headquarters of the country's largest oil company

Equinor Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian state-owned multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger. It is primarily a petroleum company, operating in 36 countries with additional investments in renewable energy. I ...

being located in Jæren, as well regional offices of international companies like ExxonMobil, Eni,

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

, ConocoPhillips, BP, Schlumberger,

Halliburton Halliburton Company is an American multinational corporation responsible for most of the world's hydraulic fracturing operations. In 2009, it was the world's second largest oil field service company. It has operations in more than 70 countries ...

, Baker Hughes, and several others. Jæren is also one of the most important

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

areas of Norway, with a long crop period and varied and well-developed livestock production. Industry here is also strongly connected to the farming industry, with one of the largest producers of agricultural machines in the world,

Kverneland Group Kverneland Group is an international company developing, producing and distributing agricultural implements, electronic solutions and digital services to the farming community.

, located in

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

and

Klepp Klepp is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Jæren. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Kleppe. Other villages in Klepp include Klepp stasjon, Orre, Orstad, ...

Name

The

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

form of the name was . The name is identical with the word which means "edge" or "brim". Several farms in Norway (around 30) have the same name. The name refers to the 60 km long coastline stretching from

Brusand Brusand is a village in Hå municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The small village is located on a small isthmus of land between the lake Bjåvatnet and the North Sea. The village sits along the Sørlandet Line (traditionally called the Jær ...

in the south to

Tungenes A number of steamships operated by Det Stavangerske Dampskibsselskab have carried the name ''Tungenes''. * , shelled and sunk 24 January 1945 * , ex ''Grimsnes'', in service 1947–61 * , built as ''Rogaland'', carried name ''Tungenes'' 1964–65, ...

in the north.

Location

Jæren is the largest flat lowland area in

. It comprises the coastline from the Stavanger Peninsula near the mouth of the great

Boknafjorden Boknafjord or Boknafjorden ( en, Bokna Fjord) is a fjord located in Rogaland county, Norway. The huge fjord lies between the cities of Stavanger and Haugesund and dominates the central part of the county. The main part of the fjord is shared ...

all the way, south nearly to

Egersund Egersund is a town in Eigersund municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The town is located along the southwestern coast of Norway, about south of the city of Stavanger. The town is situated along a strait which separates the mainland from t ...

. Unlike most of the Norwegian coastline, there are very few offshore islands and few

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...

s cutting into the shoreline.

Jærens rev Jærens rev (Jæren's reef) is the westernmost sandbank on the coast of Jæren, located approximately off Reve in Klepp municipality, between Orrestranda and Borestranda. Its location has been used to define the limits of the Norwegian fishery z ...

(Jæren's reef) is a partly stony sandbar which extends almost 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) to the west in front of the Revtangen headland in Klepp municipality, the westernmost point of Jæren.Jæren geographical region, Norway
''"Unlike most of the Norwegian coast, the plain is not protected by islands; instead, a dangerous reef, Jærens Rev, lies about 3 miles (5 km) offshore."'' ''www.britannica.com'', accessed 17 January 2021

Municipalities

The geographical region of Jæren has eight municipalities:

Alternate descriptions

The geographical region of Jæren constitutes the above-mentioned municipalities, but the description of Jæren varies. Legally speaking, the Jæren District Court constitutes only the municipalities of

Sandnes Sandnes () is a city and municipality in Rogaland, Norway. It lies immediately south of Stavanger, the 4th largest city in Norway and together, the Stavanger/Sandnes area is the third-largest urban area in Norway. The urban city of Sandnes lies ...

Gjesdal Gjesdal is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Jæren. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ålgård. Other villages in Gjesdal include Dirdal, Frafjord, Gilja, ...

Forsand Forsand is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1871 until 2020 when it was merged into Sandnes municipality. It was located in the traditional district of Ryfylke. The administrative centre of the m ...

, and

. Some areas not traditionally in the area included in the district, and other areas are part of the Stavanger District Court. Religiously speaking, the Jæren deanery constitutes the churches in the municipalities of Hå, Klepp, Time, and Gjesdal. Geographically speaking, the municipality of Gjesdal lies in the transition between Jæren and

districts, but it is traditionally considered to be part of Jæren. Confusion over the extent of the district is added by the fact that in everyday language, the name ''Jæren'' for most people does not include the towns of Stavanger and Sandnes but only the more rural area to the south.

Notable residents

* Erik Thorvaldsson (ca.950–ca.1000) better known as Erik the Red *

Arne Garborg Arne Garborg (born Aadne Eivindsson Garborg) (25 January 1851 – 14 January 1924) was a Norwegian writer. Garborg championed the use of Landsmål (now known as Nynorsk, or New Norwegian), as a literary language; he translated the Odyssey into ...

(1851–1924) Author and Poet *

Alfie Haaland Alfie Haaland (born Alf-Inge Rasdal Håland; 23 November 1972) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a right-back or midfielder. He is the father of current Manchester City player Erling Haaland. Haaland played in the Prem ...

(1972-) Footballer * Filip Ingebrigtsen (1993-) Distance Runner *

Jakob Ingebrigtsen Jakob Ingebrigtsen (born 19 September 2000) is a Norwegian Middle-distance running, middle- and Long-distance running, long-distance runner. He won the gold medal in the 1500 metres at the Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics, 2020 Tokyo Olympic ...

(2000-) Distance Runner * Erling Braut Haaland (2000-) Footballer

Gallery

Knudaheio.jpg, Further inwards, the lowland meets the rocky areas. The sculpture is of the poet

House at Jæren in Norway Garborgheimen.JPG, The childhood home of poet Arne Garborg is a typical traditional house in Jæren

References

External links

Nordsjøvegen 2003 (Explore Fjord Norway)

Reisemål Jæren (only Norwegian)

Store Norske Leksikon (only Norwegian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaeren Districts of Rogaland