Stord is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

Vestland Vestland is a county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the city of Bergen, whe ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

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 ...

. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. Stord is sometimes called "Norway in miniature" since it has such a variety of landscapes: coastline, fjords, forests, agricultural land, and mountain areas. The

administrative centre An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, L ...

of the municipality is the town of Leirvik, which is also the largest town in the municipality and the whole region of Sunnhordland. Leirvik was declared a town in 1997. Other population centres in the municipality include the large village of Sagvåg and the smaller villages of Litlabø and Grov. Storddøra

The municipality is the 316th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Stord is the 69th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 18,919. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

is and its population has increased by 5.4% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

of ''Stordøen'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () is the name for Norwegian local self-government districts that were legally enacted on 1 January 1838. This system of municipalities was created in a bill approved by the Parliament of Norway and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 Janua ...

law). In 1863, the northern district of the municipality (population: 2,313) was separated to become the new municipality of Fitjar. On 15 May 1868, the southern district of Stordøen located on the mainland (population: 900) was separated to form the new municipality of

Valestrand Valestrand is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1868 until its dissolution in 1964. It was located on a peninsula on the southern shore of the Bømlafjorden inside the present-day municipa ...

. On 1 January 1898, the southern part of the island of Huglo (population: 117) was transferred from the neighboring municipality of Fjelberg to Stord. On 1 January 1970, the small uninhabited part of the island of Stord along the Valvatnavågen that belonged to Bømlo was transferred to Stord municipality.

Name

The municipality is named after the large island of Stord ( non, Storð). The name is old and it was (and still is) used in

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

ic literature meaning "ground" or "earth". Before 1889, the name was written ''"Stordøen"''.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

was granted on 19 June 1987. The arms show a yellow twig of holly on a red background. The holly was chosen since it is a common tree in the municipality. The designer was Truls Nygaard. Stord komm.svg, Current arms since 1987. Stord komm 1955.svg, Arms from 1955 until 1987.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. ...

has two parishes () within the municipality of Stord. It is part of the Sunnhordland prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or reside ...

) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Geography

Stord is located on the southern half of the island of Stord (the northern part is part of Fitjar Municipality). The municipality also includes the islands of Huglo Storstøya, Nautøya, and Føyno. The Hardangerfjorden runs along the southern border of the island municipality, separating it from the municipalities of Kvinnherad, Vindafjord, and Sveio. The Langenuen strait runs along the eastern side, separating it from Tysnes municipality. The Stokksundet and Digernessundet straits runs along the western border, separating it from the municipality of Bømlo. The mountain Mehammarsåto is the highest point in the municipality.

History

The battle of Stord was fought on or by this island between the Norwegian king Hakon Haraldsson and the Danish king Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson, supported by Hakon's brother's sons led by Harald "Greycloak" Eiriksson.

Economy

The 3 largest private employers in Stord municipality are: Kværner, Wärtsilä Norway AS and

Leirvik AS Leirvik is a town and the administrative centre of Stord municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The town lies along the southern coast of the large island of Stord, along the Hardangerfjorden. The town gained "town status" in 1997. The ...

. Together these three companies employ more than 3000 people. Kværner Stord, situated south of Leirvik on the peninsula of Eldøyane, is the largest yard in Norway. Aker Stord has built the biggest oil production platforms in the world, Gullfaks C and

Troll A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human be ...

Transport

An extensive tunnel and bridge system, the

Triangle Link The Triangle Link ( no, Trekantsambandet) is a fixed link with three branches that connects the islands of Stord and Bømlo to each other and to the mainland at Sveio, Norway. It consists of the underwater Bømlafjord Tunnel from Sveio to th ...

, connected Stord to the mainland on 27 December 2000 and to the neighboring island of Bømlo on 30 April 2001. The bridges involved are the Bømla Bridge and

Stord Bridge The Stord Bridge ( no, Stordabrua) is a suspension bridge which crosses Digernessundet between the islands of Stord and Føyno in Stord Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The bridge is long, has a main span of and a clearance below of . ...

and the tunnel is the

Bømlafjord Tunnel The Bømlafjord Tunnel ( no, Bømlafjordtunnelen) is a subsea road tunnel under Bømlafjorden which connects the island of Føyno in Stord Municipality to the mainland at Dalshovda in Sveio Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The tunnel is ...

. The airport in Stord is

Stord Airport, Sørstokken Stord Airport ( nn, Stord lufthamn; ) is a municipal regional airport located at Sørstokken in Stord Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. Located from Leirvik and on the island of Stord, it is the only airport with scheduled services in S ...

, is located northwest of Sagvåg on the Sørstokken peninsula. On 10 October 2006, Atlantic Airways Flight 670 skidded off the runway at the airport. Four people died.

Healthcare

Stord Hospital is a local hospital for the municipalities in Sunnhordland, with a total of around 50,000 inhabitants. The hospital has specialist health services in medicine, surgery, X-ray, and gynecology. Stord District Psychiatric Center (DPS) is close by and has specialist health services within mental health care for adults and children. Stord ambulance station has premises in the same area and Sunnhordland inter-municipal emergency room is co-located with the hospital.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Stord, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wiktionary:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physical and menta ...

senior citizen Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usag ...

services,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refer ...

and other

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or adminis ...

zoning Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a s ...

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals a ...

, and municipal

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

s. The municipality is governed by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural coun ...

of elected representatives, which in turn elect a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

. The municipality falls under the Haugaland og Sunnhordland District Court and the

Gulating Court of Appeal The Gulating Court of Appeal ( no, Gulating lagmannsrett) is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Bergen. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Vestland and Rogaland plus Sirdal Munic ...

Municipal council

The

() of Stord is made up of 35 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Stord (incomplete list): *2017–present: Gaute Straume Epland ( Ap) *2015-2017:

Harry Herstad Harry Herstad (12 August 1946 – 2 May 2017) is a Norwegian civil servant, sports administrator and politician for the Labour Party. He was born and grew up in Bergen. He served as organizational director of Nordland County Municipality and Rog ...

(Ap) *2007-2015: Liv Kari Eskeland ( H) *1991-2007: Magne Rommetveit (Ap)

Notable people

Lars Eskeland Lars Eskeland (6 March 1867 – 30 September 1942) was a Norwegian educator and writer, and proponent for Nynorsk. Personal life Eskeland was born at Stord as the son of farmers Øystein Larsson Eskeland and Mari Larsdotter Vatna, and was a b ...

(1867–1942) a Norwegian educator, writer and proponent of

Nynorsk Nynorsk () () is one of the two written standards of the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. From 12 May 1885, it became the state-sanctioned version of Ivar Aasen's standard Norwegian language ( no, Landsmål) parallel to the Dano- ...

Olaf Lange Olaf Helliesen Lange (11 February 1875 – 19 April 1965) was a Norwegian painter and print maker. Lange's '' fin-de-siècle'' art has its own special approach visualizing the complexity of the modern urban life. Olaf Lange is best known for h ...

(1875–1965) a Norwegian painter who visualised the complexity of the modern urban life with

symbolistic Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction against naturalism and realis ...

paintings; lived in Stord around 1950 *

Olaf Kullmann Olaf Bryn Kullmann (2 July 1892 – 9 July 1942) was a Norwegian naval officer and peace activist. Early life and career He was born in Stord in the county of Hordaland, Norway. He was a son of vicar and school manager Jakob Kullmann (1852–191 ...

(1892–1942) a Norwegian naval officer and then peace activist * Magne Rommetveit (1918–2009) a Norwegian lexicographer * Ragnar Rommetveit (1924–2017) a Norwegian psychologist and academic * Ivar Eskeland (1927–2005) a Norwegian

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as ...

, publisher, translator, biographer, literary critic, newspaper editor, theatre worker and radio personality * Hans J. Røsjorde (born 1941) a politician and County Governor of Oslo and Akershus 2001 to 2011 *

Jan Kåre Hystad Jan Kåre "Hysen" Hystad (born 9 July 1955) is a Norwegian jazz musician (saxophone, clarinet, flute), and the older brother of jazz saxophonist Ole Jacob Hystad. He is known as leader of his own Quartet and as part of the Bergen Big Band with c ...

(born 1955) a Norwegian jazz musician, plays saxophone, clarinet and flute *

Rune Belsvik Rune Belsvik (born 14 April 1956) is a Norwegian novelist, playwright, short story writer and children's writer. Belsvik was born in Stord. He made his literary debut in 1979 with the children's book ''Ingen drittunge lenger''. He was awarded ...

(born 1956) a Norwegian novelist, playwright, short story writer and children's writer * Magne Rommetveit (born 1956) a politician, Mayor of Stord, 1992–2007 *

Ole Jacob Hystad Ole Jacob Hystad (born 20 July 1960) is a Norwegian jazz musician ( tenor saxophone and clarinet). He was born in Stord, and is the brother of jazz saxophonist Jan Kåre Hystad. Career Hystad is leader of his own Ole Jacob Hystad Quartet, o ...

(born 1960) a Norwegian jazz musician, plays tenor saxophone and clarinet * Janove Ottesen (born 1975) a Norwegian musician, sings and plays guitar and barrels *

Synnøve Macody Lund Synnøve Macody Lund (born 24 May 1976) is a Norwegian journalist, film critic, model, and actress. , she appears in the 2020 Netflix series '' Ragnarok'' and the 2020 Sky TV series ''Riviera''. Early life Lund was born on 24 May 1976 in Stord, ...

(born 1976) a Norwegian journalist, film critic, model and actress IMDb Database
retrieved 13 December 2020 * Obtained Enslavement (formed 1989 in Stord - 2000) a black metal band from Stord

Sport

Geirmund Brendesæter Geirmund "Geddi" Brendesæter (born 22 March 1970) is a Norwegian former professional football defender. Club career Brendesæter played 13 seasons for Brann. His debut was on 1 June 1991, and he played his last match against Vålerenga in the ...

(born 1970) a Norwegian former footballer with nearly 300 club caps * Gro Espeseth (born 1972) a former Norwegian footballer, with 105 caps for Norway women *

Odd Christian Eiking Odd Christian Eiking (born 28 December 1994) is a Norwegian cyclist, who rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Born in Stord, Eiking was named in the startlist for the 2016 Vuelta a España. In August 2017, Eiking signed a contract with and joined ...

(born 1994) a Norwegian cyclist *

Anders Mol Anders Berntsen Mol (born 2 July 1997) is a Norwegian beach volleyball player. He won the gold medal at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Beach career Mol learned to play beach volleyball as a teenager. His parents introduced him to the sport. Toget ...

(born 1997) a Norwegian beach volleyball player

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every ye ...

{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Municipalities of Vestland 1838 establishments in Norway