Vindafjord is a

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

in Rogaland

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 the ...

. It is part of the traditional district of

Haugaland 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 ...

. Since 2005, the administrative centre of the municipality has been the village of

Ølensjøen Ølensjøen or Ølen is the administrative centre of Vindafjord municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located at the southern end of the Ølsfjorden, along the European route E134 highway, just east of the village of Ølensv� ...

(prior to that time it was the village of Sandeid). Other villages in the municipality include

Bjoa Bjoa is a village in Vindafjord municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located along the coast of the Bjoafjorden, just across the fjord from the island of Borgundøya. The village has a kindergarten and an elementary school, serv ...

, Imslandsjøen,

Ølensvåg Ølensvåg or Ølsvågen is a village in Vindafjord municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located at the southwestern end of the Ølsfjorden, along the European route E134 highway, just west of the municipal centre of Ølensj� ...

, Skjold, Vats,

Vikebygd Vikebygd is a village in Vindafjord 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 port ...

, and Vikedal. The municipality is centered on the

Vindafjorden Vindafjorden ( en, Vinde Fjord or Vinda Fjord) is a fjord in Rogaland county, Norway. The long fjord is a northern branch off of the main Boknafjorden. The fjord marks the municipal boundaries between Vindafjord, Suldal, and Tysvær. The fjor ...

and Sandeidfjorden in the east and it lies north and east of the

Skjoldafjorden Skjoldafjorden is a fjord in Rogaland county, Norway. The long fjord is a northern branch of vast Boknafjorden which dominates Rogaland county. The fjord is located in the municipalities of Tysvær and Vindafjord. The north end of the Skjolda ...

in the west. The municipality is the 186th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Vindafjord is the 122nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 8,775. 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 3.9% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

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 new municipality of Vindafjord was created from several areas in northern Rogaland county: *all of Sandeid municipality (population: 876) *the Liarheim og Langeland areas of Skjold municipality on the north side of the Skjoldafjorden (population: 1,262) *all of Vats municipality except for the Breidal and Stølsvik farms (population: 1,128) * all of

Imsland Imsland is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1923 until its dissolution in 1965. The municipality included the area surrounding the inner part of the Vindafjorden in the present-day municipalitie ...

municipality located north of the

(population: 372) * all of Vikedal municipality except for the Hapnes and Dokskar farms (population: 978) Initially, Vindafjord had 4,616 residents. On 1 January 1969, the Sponevik farm (population: 6) was transferred from Vindafjord to the neighboring municipality of

Tysvær Tysvær is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is part of the Haugalandet region. The municipality is located on the Haugalandet peninsula on the northern side of the Boknafjorden, just east of the towns of Kopervik and Haugesund. Th ...

. Then on 1 January 1978, the Vormestrand area along the southern shore of the

(population: 13) was transferred to neighboring

Suldal Suldal is a municipality in the northeast corner of Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Ryfylke. Since 1965, the administrative centre of Suldal is the village of Sand i Ryfylke (prior to that it was the villa ...

municipality. On 1 January 2006, Vindafjord merged with the neighboring municipality of

Ølen Ølen is a former municipality in the Vestlandet region of Norway. The municipality existed from 1916 until 2006, and originally it was a part of Hordaland county, but in 2002 it was transferred to Rogaland county prior to its dissolution in 20 ...

(population: 3,420). Ølen had transferred from

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Munici ...

county to Rogaland county 2002. After the merger, the municipal centre of Vindafjord was moved from Sandeid to the village of

, which had been the administrative centre of

Name

The municipality (created in 1965) is named after the

, a

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, Förden and East Jutland Fjorde, Germany, ...

that runs through the eastern part of the municipality. The first element is probably derived from the verb ''vinda'' which means "turn" or "twist" referring to the sharp turn of the fjord at Dragneset.

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 ...

were granted on 10 March 2006, shortly after the merger of Ølen with Vindafjord. The new arms are a mix of the old arms of the two municipalities before the merger. The swirling design is taken from the old coat-of-arms of

and the colours (red and silver/white) are from the old arms of Vindafjord. The swirling design of the arms show in a symbolized way all the roads that come together in the municipality. The municipality thus is an important centre of

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

. Vindafjord komm.svg, Current arms since 2006. Vindafjords_kommunevåpen_1986.svg, Arms from 1986 until 2005. Ølen komm.svg, Arms of Ølen (used from 1986 to 2005 when it merged with Vindafjord)

Churches

The Church of Norway has eight parishes () within the municipality of Vindafjord. It is part of the

Haugaland 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 ...

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Vindafjord, 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

Haugaland og Sunnhordland District Court Haugaland og Sunnhordland District Court ( no, Haugaland og Sunnhordland tingrett) is a district court located in Vestland and Rogaland counties in Norway. This court is based at two different courthouses which are located in Haugesund and Leir ...

and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

() of Vindafjord is made up of 25 representatives that are elected to four year terms. Currently, 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 is as follows:

Geography

The municipality of Vindafjord lies south of the

Hardangerfjorden The Hardangerfjord ( en, Hardanger Fjord) is the fifth longest fjord in the world, and the second longest fjord in Norway. It is located in Vestland county in the Hardanger region. The fjord stretches from the Atlantic Ocean into the mountain ...

and north of the

and

. The Sandeidfjorden flows through the municipality also. The lake Vatsvatnet lies in the central part of the municipality. The municipality sits near the base of the

et peninsula, connecting the mainland to the city of Haugesund on the western end of the peninsula. The

European route E134 European highway E 134 ( no, Europavei 134) is a European highway that crosses Norway starting at Haugesund Airport, Karmøy near the city of Haugesund on the west coast, heading over Haukeli, passing the city of Drammen, and ending in Vas ...

highway runs through the municipality. Jens Hundseid

Notable people

Knud Baade Knud Baade (28 March 1808 - 24 November 1879) was a Norwegian painter, mostly of portraits and landscapes. He was particularly known for his moonlight paintings which are characterized by strong and dramatic contrasts between light and shadow. ...

(1808 in Skjold - 1879) a Norwegian painter of portraits and landscapes, particularly moonlight paintings *

Jens Hundseid Jens Valentinsen Hundseid (6 May 1883 – 2 April 1965) was a Norwegian politician from the Agrarian Party. He was a member of the Norwegian parliament from 1924 to 1940 and the 20th prime minister of Norway from 1932 to 1933. Hundseid felt f ...

(1883 in Vikedal – 1965) a Norwegian politician,

Prime Minister of Norway The prime minister of Norway ( no, statsminister, which directly translates to "minister of state") is the head of government and chief executive of Norway. The prime minister and Cabinet (consisting of all the most senior government department ...

1932 to 1933; joined

Nasjonal Samling Nasjonal Samling (, NS; ) was a Norwegian far-right political party active from 1933 to 1945. It was the only legal party of Norway from 1942 to 1945. It was founded by former minister of defence Vidkun Quisling and a group of supporters such ...

in 1940 * Thormod Næs (1930 in Skjold – 1997) a sport shooter, competed at the 1964 Summer Olympics * Per Øyvind Heradstveit (1932 in Skjold – 2004) a Norwegian TV journalist and non-fiction writer *

Agnes Ravatn Agnes Ravatn (born 8 February 1983, in Ølen) is a Norwegian novelist, columnist and journalist. She debuted in 2007 with the novel ''Veke 53'' ('Week 53'). Ravatn is a columnist and journalist for Nynorsk newspaper ''Dag og Tid''. A series of es ...

(born 1983 in Ølen) a Norwegian novelist, columnist and journalist

Gallery

File:Skjold kyrkje.jpg, Skjold kyrkje File:Pecon1.jpg, Building of Ekofisk wall in Vikebygd File:Vikedal gamle kirkegård.jpg, Vikedal gamle kirkegård File:E134 Skjold Vindafjord.jpg, E134 Skjold Vindafjord

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway * * * {{use dmy dates, date=June 2020 Municipalities of Rogaland 1965 establishments in Norway