Hå 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' ...

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, Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. As of 1 January 2024, it had a population of 49 ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It is the southernmost municipality in the traditional district of

Jæren Jæren is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in Rogaland county, Norway. The other districts in Rogaland are Dalane, Ryfylke, and Haugalandet. Jæren is one of the 15 districts that comprise Western Norway. At about , Jæren is the large ...

. The

administrative centre An administrative centre 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 the administrative language, such as Belgi ...

of the municipality is the village of

Varhaug Varhaug is the administrative centre of Hå municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located in the district of Jæren and it is the second largest village in Hå municipality after Nærbø. It was also the administrative centre ...

. Other villages in Hå include

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 ...

Hæen Hæen or Stokkalandsmarka is a village in Hå municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located between the villages of Vigrestad and Brusand. The Sørlandet Line runs along the south side of the village. The village is known as ...

Nærbø Nærbø is the largest village in Hå municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located in the district of Jæren, about half-way between the town of Bryne and the village of Varhaug. The village sits about south of Norway's fourth ...

, Obrestad,

Ogna Ogna is a village in Hå municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located immediately north of the village of Sirevåg on the shores of the Ognaelva river. The village was the administrative centre of the historic municipality o ...

Sirevåg Sirevåg is a village in Hå municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located in the southeastern part of the municipality, about northwest of the village of Hellvik in neighboring Eigersund municipality. The village of Ogna sits ...

, and

Vigrestad Vigrestad is a village in Hå municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located about northeast of the southwestern coast of Norway, facing the North Sea. The village sits about southeast of the village of Varhaug and about nort ...

. The municipality is the 281st largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Hå is the 67th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 19,649. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

is and its population has increased by 11.4% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

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

formannskapsdistrikt () was the name of a Norwegian self-governing municipality. The name was used from the establishment these municipalities in 1838 until the name fell out of use in 1863. The municipalities had their legal basis from two laws enacted on 14 Jan ...

law). In 1894, the municipality of Haa was dissolved and divided into two new municipalities:

(population: 1,806) and

(population: 1,801). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee () was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a ...

. On 1 January 1964, the municipality of Hå was recreated by merging of the neighboring municipalities of Nærbø (population: 3,926), Varhaug (population: 3,454), and

(population: 1,470). In local politics, the divisions between the three previous municipalities remain very visible.

Name

The municipality (originally the

) is named after the old ''Hå'' farm ( or ) where the local church priest's

parsonage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, pa ...

was located. The river running past this farm is similarly named the Hååna, meaning the "Hå river". It is not known if the river is named after the farm or vice versa. The meaning of the original name is uncertain. It is possible that it comes from the plural

dative case In grammar, the dative case ( abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob a drink". In this examp ...

of the word which means "aftergrass" (the grass that grows after the first crop has been cut down). Ti may also come from the word which means "

rowlock A rowlock (), sometimes spur (due to the similarity in shape and size), oarlock (American English) or gate, is a brace that attaches an oar to a boat. When a boat is rowed, the rowlock acts as a fulcrum for the oar. On ordinary rowing craft, ...

" (possibly referring to the shape of the

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, Jo ...

on which the farm is located). On 21 December 1917, a royal resolution enacted the 1917 Norwegian language reforms. Prior to this change, the name was spelled ''Haa'' with the

digraph Digraph, often misspelled as diagraph, may refer to: * Digraph (orthography), a pair of characters used together to represent a single sound, such as "nq" in Hmong RPA * Ligature (writing), the joining of two letters as a single glyph, such as " ...

" aa", and after this reform, the name was spelled ''Hå'', using the letter å instead.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

was granted on 5 July 1991. The official

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

is ''"Sable, a winch stand argent."'' (). This means the arms have a black

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

(background) and the

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

is a

winch A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in (wind up) or let out (wind out) or otherwise adjust the tension (physics), tension of a rope or wire rope (also called "cable" or "wire cable"). In its simplest form, it consists of a Bobb ...

stand. The winch stand has a

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. It is a special type of winch that has historically been used in this area to remove stones from the many farm fields. The arms were chosen to symbolize the hard living on the rocky

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

s of the municipality. A winch of this type (called a "") is used locally for the removal of large stones from the soil for agricultural purposes. It's three legs also represent the three previous municipalities of

, and

that were merged to creat Hå in 1964. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

has three parishes () within the municipality of Hå. It is part of the

Jæren prosti This list of churches in Rogaland is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Stavanger in Norway. It includes all of the parishes in Rogaland county. The diocese is based at the Stavanger Cathedral in the city of Stavanger (city) ...

(

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the 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 residence of ...

) in the

Diocese of Stavanger The Diocese of Stavanger () 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 Lise Ådnøy, who has held the p ...

Government

Hå Municipality is responsible for

primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

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

senior citizen Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

services,

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

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. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

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

economic development In economics, economic development (or 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 object ...

, and municipal

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

s and utilities. 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, borough cou ...

of directly elected representatives. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

indirectly elected An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting,'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office ( direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the o ...

by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the

Sør-Rogaland District Court Sør-Rogaland District Court () is a district court located in Rogaland and Agder counties in Norway. This court is based at three different courthouses which are located in Stavanger, Sandnes, and Egersund. The court serves the southern part of ...

and the

Gulating Court of Appeal The Gulating Court of Appeal () 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 Municipality in Agder county ...

Municipal council

The

() of Hå is made up of 33 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, 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 oft ...

Mayors

The

mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

() of Hå (incomplete list - missing 1838-1894): * 1964-1967: Erik Årsland ( LL) * 1968-1969: Erik P. Skretting ( LL) * 1970-1975: Kjell Lund ( LL) * 1976-1979: Kåre Sandve ( KrF) * 1980-1983: Gabriel S. Rimestad ( LL) * 1984-1985: Mindor Jelsa ( LL) * 1986-1987: Rasmus Pollestad ( KrF) * 1988-1989: Kjell Lund ( Ap) * 1990-1991: Eldar Odland ( LL) * 1992-1993: Ingvar Gausland ( LL) * 1994-1995: Tobias Skretting ( Sp) * 1995-1999: Eldar Odland ( Sp) * 1999-2003: Gunnar Siqveland ( H) * 2003-2011: Terje Mjåtveit ( LL) * 2011-2015: Mons Skrettingland ( H) * 2015-2023: Jonas Skrettingland ( KrF) * 2023-present: Andreas Bjorland ( KrF)

Population

Geography

Hå municipality is located on the southwestern shore of Norway, along the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

. The municipality is located mostly in the very flat, coastal

district. The southeastern part of the municipality begins to get a little hilly and rocky and it marks the border of the

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 ...

district (located to the south and east). Much of the land in Hå is used for agriculture because of its flat landscape. The river Hååna runs through the municipality. The shoreline of the municipality is marked by the Kvassheim Lighthouse and

Obrestad Lighthouse Obrestad Lighthouse () is a coastal lighthouse located on the north side of the small farming village of Obrestad in Hå municipality, Rogaland county, Norway. It sits on a promontory about west of Nærbø. The square tower was first lit in 1 ...

Settlements

Weather

Hå has a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb), also known as marine west coast climate. The average date for the last overnight freeze (low below ) in spring is 16 April and average date for first freeze in autumn is 10 November giving a frost-free season of 207 days (1981-2010 average).

Transportation

The

Sørlandet Line The Sørlandet Line () is a railway line between Drammen (though this is connected to Oslo by means of the Drammen Line) via Kristiansand to Stavanger. The line is long between Oslo and Stavanger. History The railway was constructed in several ...

runs through the municipality, making several stops. The stations in Hå include Brusand Station,

Nærbø Station Nærbø Station () is a railway station located at Nærbø in Hå, Norway on Sørlandet Line. The station is served by the Jæren Commuter Rail between Stavanger and Egersund, and one of the two bihourly train services as Nærbø as its terminal s ...

Ogna Station Ogna Station () is a railway station located at Ogna in Hå, Norway on the Sørland Line. The station is served by the Jæren Commuter Rail between Stavanger and Egersund Egersund is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Eigersund muni ...

Sirevåg Station Sirevåg Station () is a railway station located at Sirevåg in Hå, Norway on the Sørlandet Line. The station is served by the Jæren Commuter Rail between Stavanger and Egersund. The station is south of the Stavanger (city), city of Stavanger ...

Varhaug Station Varhaug Station () is a railway station located at Varhaug in Hå, Norway on the Sørlandet Line. The station is served by the Jæren Commuter Rail between Stavanger and Egersund Egersund is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Eigersu ...

, and Vigrestad Station.

Notable people

Jacob Rasch Jacob Rasch (né Michelsen; 27 December 1669 – 1 October 1737) was a Norwegian educator. He was born in Ogna to district stipendiary magistrate (sorenskriver) Michel Gundersen and Sophie Jacobsdatter Rasch. He was an uncle of songwriter ...

(1669 in Ogna – 1737), the rector of Christiania Cathedral School from 1706 to 1737 *

Sven Aarrestad Sven Eivindsen Aarrestad (8 October 1850 – 19 January 1942) was a writer, politician, and leader in the Norwegian temperance movement during the 19th century. Biography Sven Aarrestad was born at Varhaug in Rogaland county, Norway. He w ...

(1850 in Varhaug – 1942), a writer, politician, and leader in the Norwegian

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...

Tor Obrestad Tor Obrestad (12 February 1938 – 25 January 2020) was a Norwegian novelist, poet and documentary writer. Early and personal life Obrestad was born in Hå Municipality on 12 February 1938. His parents were farmer Jon R. Obrestad and Sophie Riis ...

(1938 in Hå – 2020), a Norwegian novelist, poet, and documentary writer * Gunnar Torvund (1948 in Nærbø – 2019), a sculptor * Kjell Arild Pollestad (born 1949 in Hå), an author, theologian, philologist, and Dominican priest * Magnus Matningsdal (born 1951 in Hå), a judge and a

Supreme Court Justice The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest-ranking judicial body in the United States. Its membership, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1869, consists of the chief justice of the United States and eight associate justices, any six of ...

from 1997 * Helge Torvund (born 1951 in Hå), a psychologist, poet, literary critic, and children's writer *

Geir Pollestad Geir Pollestad (born 13 August 1978) is a Norwegian solicitor and politician for the Centre Party. He served as the minister of agriculture and food from 2023 to 2025, and has been a member of parliament for Rogaland since 2013. Early life and e ...

(born 1978 in Høyland), a politician and government minister * Vidar Nisja (born 1986 in Vigrestad), a football midfielder with 324 club caps

References

External links

* * *
Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway (, 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 year on its web site. All rele ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haa Municipalities of Rogaland Jæren 1838 establishments in Norway 1894 disestablishments in Norway 1964 establishments in Norway