Forsand is a former municipality in Rogaland 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 the ...

. The municipality existed from 1871 until 2020 when it was merged into

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 ...

municipality. It was located in the traditional district of

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 ...

. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of

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 ...

. Other villages in the municipality included

Lysebotn Lysebotn is a village in Sandnes municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located at the eastern end of the Lysefjorden in a very isolated valley that is only accessible by one road or by boat. The name itself means the "bottom nd ...

, Øvre Espedal,

Oanes Oanes is a small farming village in Strand Municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located at the intersection between the Lysefjorden and Høgsfjorden, just north of the village of Forsand. The Norwegian National Road 13 runs th ...

, Kolabygda, and Fløyrli. Forsand municipality surrounded the famous

Lysefjorden Lysefjord or Lysefjorden is a fjord located in the Ryfylke area in Rogaland county in southwestern Norway. The long fjord lies in the municipalities of Strand, Norway, Strand and Sandnes, about east of the Stavanger (city), city of Stavanger. T ...

and it was located on the east side of the

Høgsfjorden Høgsfjorden is a fjord in Rogaland county, Norway. It lies in the municipalities of Stavanger, Sandnes, Strand, and Gjesdal. The innermost part of the fjord is located at the village of Frafjord in the municipality of Gjesdal. It flows west to ...

. In 1999, evidence of a population here dating back to around 7500 BC was located. Prior to its dissolution in 2020, it was one of the largest municipalities within the county of Rogaland in terms of area, and one of the smallest in terms of population. The municipality was the 141st largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Forsand was the 376th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,245. 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 ...

was and its population has increased by 12.9% over the last decade.

General information

The municipality of ''Fossan'' was established on 1 January 1871 when the very large municipality of Høgsfjord was divided into two: Fossan (located east of the

and south of the

Frafjorden Frafjorden is a fjord in the municipalities of Gjesdal and Sandnes in Rogaland county, Norway. The fjord is the innermost branch of the Høgsfjorden. The Frafjorden has steep sides with no habitation along its shores, except for the village of F ...

) and Høle (located west of the Høgsfjorden). Initially, Fossan had 2,081 residents. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee ( no, Schei-komitéen) was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II. It convened in 1946, and its formal name was (The 1946 Committee on Municip ...

. On 1 January 1965, the municipality was split, with everything located south and east of the

being transferred to the neighboring municipality of

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, ...

. The reason for this border change was because this area had no road connection with the rest of Forsand, but it was connected by road to Gjesdal. On 1 January 2020, Forsand municipality was dissolved. The area on the northwestern shore of the Lysefjorden around the

Preikestolen Preikestolen or Prekestolen ( en, 'The Pulpit Rock', 'Pulpit', or 'Preacher's Chair') is a tourist attraction in the municipality of Strand in Rogaland county, Norway. Preikestolen is a steep cliff which rises above Lysefjorden. Atop the cliff, ...

became a part of the neighboring Strand Municipality and the rest of Forsand became part of Sandnes Municipality.

Name

The municipality (originally 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 o ...

) is named after the old ''

'' farm ( non, Forsandr), since the first Forsand Church was built there. The first element is the prefix ''for'' which means "outsticking" and the last element is ''sandr'' which means "

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class o ...

" or "sandy

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc sh ...

". Before 1918, the name was written ''"Fossan"''.

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 its ...

was granted on 11 March 1988. The arms show a white heron on a green background. They were designed by John Digernes to represent a common bird in the area.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish () within the municipality of Forsand. It is part of the

Ryfylke prosti This list of churches in Rogaland is a list of the Church of Norway churches in Rogaland county, Norway. The churches are all part of the Diocese of Stavanger. The diocese is based at the Stavanger Cathedral in the city of Stavanger. The list ...

( deanery) in the

Diocese of Stavanger The Diocese of Stavanger ( no, Stavanger bispedømme) is a diocese in the Church of Norway. It covers all of Rogaland county in western Norway. The cathedral city is Stavanger, where the Stavanger Cathedral is located. The bishop is Anne Li ...

Geography

Forsand was a large municipality that is very mountainous with a long, narrow fjord running through the middle from east to west. The

is surrounded by very steep tall cliffs such as

Kjerag Kjerag or Kiragg is a mountain in the Sandnes municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The tall mountain sits on the southern shore of Lysefjorden, just southwest of the village of Lysebotn. Its northern side is a massive cliff, plunging alm ...

and

, with the Lysefjord Bridge crossing the fjord near the western end. The famous

Kjeragbolten Kjeragbolten (English: ''Kjerag Bolt'') is a boulder on the mountain Kjerag in Sandnes municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The rock itself is a glacial deposit wedged in a large crevice in the mountain. It is a popular tourist destination ...

boulder and

Kjeragfossen Kjeragfossen is a waterfall in the municipality of Sandnes in Rogaland county, Norway. The waterfall cascades down from the Kjerag plateau on the south shore of the Lysefjorden. It is one of the highest waterfalls in Norway and one of the hig ...

waterfall are located along the inner part of the fjord. The village of

lies at the eastern end of the fjord. The lake Nilsebuvatnet is located high up in the mountains, north of

on the border of

Strand Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * Strand Street ...

and Forsand municipalities. It is regulated for hydroelectric power use at the Lysebotn Hydroelectric Power Station.

Government

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

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 usage ...

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 refere ...

and other social services,

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 si ...

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 and ...

, 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 counc ...

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 ...

. The municipality falls under the

Ryfylke District Court Ryfylke District Court ( no, Ryfylke tingrett) was a district court in Rogaland county, Norway. The court was based in the city of Stavanger. The court existed from 1591 until 2007. It had jurisdiction over the Ryfylke area of the county which ...

and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

() of Forsand was made up of 17 representatives that were 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 featur ...

breakdown for the councils was as follows:

References

External links

* *
Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway
Ryfylke visitors websiteLive web camera from Lysefjord, Forsand
{{use dmy dates, date=July 2020 Sandnes Strand, Norway Former municipalities of Norway 1871 establishments in Norway 2020 disestablishments in Norway