Sauda ''()'' 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 A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

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 ...

. 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 city of Sauda, where most of the population lives. Other villages in the municipality include Saudasjøen and Amdal. Despite being in the northern part of the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

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

, Sauda participates in the

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 i ...

et Council and is under the jurisdiction of the Haugaland og Sunnhordland District Court. The municipality is the 197th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Sauda is the 190th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 4,543. 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 decreased by 4.3% over the previous 10-year period. The city of Sauda is the fifth largest city in Rogaland county with 4,254 inhabitants (2016), and the city center is home to Northern Europe's largest smelting plant, Eramet Norway AS. The municipality is situated in the mountain valleys surrounding the Saudafjorden.

General information

The municipality of Sauda was established in 1842 when it was separated from the large municipality of

Suldal Suldal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the northeast corner of Rogaland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Ryfylke. Since 1965, the administrative centre of ...

. Initially, Sauda had a population of 1,584. The municipal boundaries have never changed. The municipality declared the urban area of Sauda as a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in 1999.

Name

The municipality (originally 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 ...

) is named after the old '' Sauda'' farm () since the first Sauda Church was built there. The farm is now part of the village of Saudasjøen. The name seems to come from the word which means "

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

", however, the same word is also the singular past indicative of the verb which means "to seethe" or "to boil", possibly referring to a spring of water. Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled ''Søvde'' or ''Saude''. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to ''Sauda''.

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 14 May 1976. 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 ''" Azure, three pallets dancetty

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 ...

"'' (). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a set of three, vertical, jagged lines. The charge 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 ...

which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The jagged lines symbolically represent a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

as a means for

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

(they can also be seen as "electrical sparks"). Historically, power was generated by

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...

s, providing a possibility for the development of an industry in the village. Presently, the power is used for melting metal

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...

in smelters in the municipality. The arms were designed by Johan Matland. 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 one parish () within the municipality of Sauda. It is part of the

Ryfylke 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 ...

History

Archaeological excavation in Saudasjøen shows that people have been living in Sauda since the latest

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

. In 1349, the Plague/

Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

wiped out about two-thirds of the population in Sauda, causing a decline in both population and economy. Despite this, the population was increasing during the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

period, and a new type of industry started to grow. Along the fjord, the power from several waterfalls was used to build and run sawmills, and large-scale lumber production was started. People from all over the world, especially from the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, started to trade with the people of Sauda. This resulted in major ship traffic, giving impetus to further development of the villages and farms in Sauda. By the end of the 19th century, a new type of adventure would change the lives of the inhabitants forever. The mining industry started in the mountains of Hellandsbygd, making Sauda a small industrial area and trading center for the surrounding region. In 1910, the American company Electric Furnace Company (EFP) began the construction of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

's largest smelting plant in Sauda. This could only be done because of the large number of waterfalls and rivers that made it possible to build

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

s situated a short distance from the smelter, which uses large amounts of electricity. Sauda's time as a farming village was now over, and the people of today still live on the foundation of the new city that emerged. By the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

had finished building a large

Aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

Melting Plant in Saudasjøen, but the production was moved to

Årdal Årdal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located at the end of the Årdalsfjorden in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sogn. The village of Årdalstangen is ...

in 1946. The remaining buildings were demolished by the municipality in the 1950s, leaving the industrial area in Saudasjøen empty for decades. In the 1980s, a glass production factory was established together with a couple of mechanic production factories. The population of Sauda reached its peak in the mid-1960s, approximately 6,700 inhabitants. In 1998, the urban area of Sauda was declared to be a city (mostly a symbolic name, with no new municipal authority).

Geography

Sauda is located in the valleys and mountains surrounding the Saudafjorden. Outside of the main valley, most of the municipality is very mountainous terrain, with mountains like Skaulen () and Kyrkjenuten (). The city of Sauda is located about two hours by boat from the city of

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

, about four hours by car from the city of

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

, and about six hours by car from the national capital,

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

. The mountains surrounding the village of Saudasjøen contain one of the biggest ski resorts on the west coast of Norway. The city of Sauda is located on flat land, a delta created by the rivers that empty into the fjord just outside the town centre.

Climate

Sauda has something in between a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(Dfb) and a temperate

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(Cfb). The wettest part of the year is late autumn and winter and the driest is spring and early summer, which demonstrates an oceanic precipitation pattern. December precipitation is almost three times larger than in May. Situated at the innermost part of the long and narrow fjord of Sauda, the oceanic influences are less than in Stavanger, but still enough to moderate winters. Atlantic lows coming from the west goes up against the mountains surrounding Sauda and the result is a large amount of precipitation. The weather station in Sauda has been operating since March 1928. The all-time high temperature was recorded July 2019, and the record low was set in January 2010 (extremes available back to 2003).The average date for the first overnight freeze (below ) in autumn is October 15 (1981-2010 average).

Government

Sauda 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 ...

is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Haugaland og Sunnhordland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

() of Sauda is made up of 19 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 Sauda (incomplete list): *1968-1977: Hans Frette ( Ap) *1999-2005: Torfinn Opheim ( Ap) *2005-2011: Laura Seltveit ( Ap) *2011-2015: Frode Sulen ( Ap) *2015-2023: Asbjørn Birkeland ( Sp) *2023-present: Håvard Handeland ( Ap)

Economy

The main activity is industry, with large companies represented like Eramet, Saint-Gobain,

Statkraft Statkraft AS is a hydropower Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is ac ...

, Sauda Building Center, Statnett, Elkem, and Effektivt Renhold

Tourism

160px, Industrial museum, Sauda, in winter.

Attractions

* Rondahaugen – with views over the city and out towards

* Sauda Church, Solbrekk Chapel, Hellandsbygd Chapel, and Saudasjøen Chapel – local churches * Allmannajuvet – old mines with guided tour * Sauda Smelteverk – melting plant that is still active, guided tour after appointment * Nordag – former aluminium melting plant in Saudasjøen * Old Graveyard in Saudasjøen – containing tombs of Russian POWs who died when building the Nordag aluminium melting plant during

* Tveittunet in Saudasjøen – old refurbished estate in Saudasjøen Svandalsfossen_-_panoramio

* Jonegarden på Hustveit – old refurbished farm and a lumber mill * Løyning – old farm about 10 kilometers away from Sauda * Risvoldtunet – food service, conference center, guided tour on a mini power plant * Åbøbyen – best conserved North-American styled village area in Norway * Honganvikfossen – a waterfall * Svandalsfossen – a waterfall * Jetegrytene in Åbødalen – rivers and waterfalls * Sauda museum – collection in downtown Sauda featuring local heritage * Industriarbeidermuseet – museum about the life of local workmen (1920s to 1950s) * Fagerheimsaminga – exhibition of carved wooden figures in Saudahallen * City walk – arrangement in summer time with a guided tour through the city of Sauda * City center – during winter, heated streets are free of snow

Notable people

* Jakob Aano (1920–2016), a politician who was a member of the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional represe ...

* Paul Engstad (1926–2012), a politician, journalist, and author * Hans Frette (1927–1989), a politician, local mayor, and member of the

* Dr. Arne Fjørtoft (born 1937), a Norwegian politician, journalist, and author * Odd Bondevik (1941–2014), the Bishop of the Diocese of Møre in the

Kjartan Fløgstad Kjartan Fløgstad (born 7 June 1944) is a Norwegian author. Fløgstad was born in the industrial city of Sauda in Ryfylke, Rogaland. He studied literature and linguistics at the University of Bergen. Subsequently, he worked for a period as an ...

(born 1944), an author who was associated with magic realism in Norway * Svein Mathisen (1952–2011), a footballer with 329 club appearances and 25 for

* Bjørn Eidsvåg (born 1954), a singer, songwriter, and ordained Lutheran minister * Torfinn Opheim (born 1961), a former mayor and member of the

* Hildeborg Juvet Hugdal, (Norwegian Wiki) (born 1983), a powerlifter known as the ''World's Strongest Woman''

Twin towns — sister cities

Sauda has

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

agreements with the following places: * San Juan del Sur,

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

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 ...

{{use dmy dates, date=June 2020 Municipalities of Rogaland 1842 establishments in Norway