Sirdal 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' ...

Agder Agder is a counties of Norway, county () and districts of Norway, traditional region in the southern part of Norway and is coextensive with the Southern Norway region. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Au ...

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 located in the northwestern part of the traditional district of Lister. 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

Tonstad Tonstad is the administrative centre of the municipality of Sirdal in Agder county, Norway. The village is located at the northern end of the lake Sirdalsvatnet in the Sirdalen valley. The village has a population (2015) of 874, giving the villa ...

. Other villages in Sirdal include Bjørnestad, Haughom, Kvæven, Lunde, and Tjørhom. The municipality is the 52nd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Sirdal is the 290th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,837. 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 inmcreased by 0.3% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The old

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 Sirdal was first established as a municipality in 1849 when it was separated from the large municipality of Bakke. Initially, Sirdal had 1,804 residents. On 1 January 1903, a small area of Sirdal (population: 63) was transferred to the neighboring municipality of

Fjotland Fjotland is a village in Kvinesdal municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located in the northern part of the Kvinesdalen valley on the northeast side of the lake Fjotlandsvatnet. Fjotland is about southeast of the village of Ha ...

. On 1 January 1905, the municipality of Sirdal was dissolved and its territories were divided into two new municipalities:

(population: 828) and

Øvre Sirdal Øvre Sirdal is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality that was located in the old Vest-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1905 until its dissolution in 1960. It was located in the northern part of the ...

(population: 753). These large, sparsely populated municipalities merged along with the Øksendal area of Bakke municipality to recreate the municipality of Sirdal on 1 January 1960. This time, Sirdal started out with a population of 1,426. On 1 January 1987, the Virak and Espetveit areas of northern

Flekkefjord Flekkefjord () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Lister Region, Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the ...

(population: 41) were transferred to Sirdal municipality.

Name

The municipality (originally the

) is named after the Sirdalen valley () since the valley runs through the municipality. The first element is the

genitive case In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive ca ...

of the river name ''Síra'' (now the Sira river). The river name has an unknown meaning, but it could be something like "strong stream". The last element is which means "

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

" or "dale".

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 17 January 1986. 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 "

Vert Vert or Verts may refer to: * Vert (heraldry), the colour green in heraldry * Vert (music producer) (born 1972), pseudonym of Adam Butler, an English music producer * Vert (river), in southern France * Vert (sport), a competition in extreme versio ...

, three ptarmigans

volant Volant may refer to: * Volant (heraldry), an attitude of heraldry, a position of a bird emblazoned as a charge, supporter or crest *Flying and gliding animals A number of animals are capable of aerial locomotion, either by powered flight or b ...

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 green

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

willow ptarmigan The willow ptarmigan ( ); ''Lagopus lagopus'') or willow grouse is a bird in the grouse subfamily Tetraoninae of the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is also known colloquially as awebo bird. The willow ptarmigan breeds in birch and other forests ...

('' Lagopus lagopus''). The ptarmigan 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 green color in the field and the ptarmigans were chosen as a symbol for the hills and

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of Habitat (ecology), habitat found in upland (geology), upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and the biomes of montane grasslands and shrublands, characterised by low-growing vegetation on So ...

which make up the largest part of the municipality. The willow ptarmigan is a typical bird for the area. The arms were designed by Stein Davidsen. 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 Sirdal. It is part of the Lister og Mandal prosti (

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 Agder og Telemark The Diocese of Agder og Telemark () is a diocese of the Church of Norway, covering all of Agder county and Telemark county in Norway. The cathedral city is Kristiansand, Norway's fifth largest city. Kristiansand Cathedral serves as the seat of t ...

Geography

Sirdal municipality includes the westernmost valley in Agder county, bordering

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 to the west. To the south, it borders on the municipality of

and to the east is

Kvinesdal Kvinesdal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Lister Region, Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the villa ...

. Sirdal is the largest municipality by area in

. Lakes in the region include Gravatnet, Kulivatnet, Kvifjorden, Øyarvatnet, Rosskreppfjorden,

Sirdalsvatnet Sirdalsvatnet is a lake in the municipalities of Sirdal and Flekkefjord in Agder county, Norway. The lake is about long running from the village of Tonstad in the north to the village of Sira in the south. The lake is about wide at its wid ...

, and Valevatn. The mountain Urddalsknuten lies at the northern end of the municipality. In 1990, the mountain road opened between the Sirdalen valley and the

Setesdal Setesdal (; older name: Sætersdal) is a valley and a traditional district in Agder County in southern Norway. It consists of the municipalities of Bykle, Valle, Bygland, Iveland, and Evje og Hornnes. The Otra river flows through the val ...

valley over the Suleskard mountain pass. It connected Sirdal to Brokke in the neighboring municipality of

Valle Valle may refer to: * Valle (surname) Geography *"Valle", the cultural and climatic zone of the dry subtropical Interandean Valles of the Andes of Peru, Bolivia, and northwest Argentina * University of Valle, a public university in Cali, Colomb ...

to the east. It shortened the distance from

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 ...

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 ...

by in the summer, and the road passes through barren,

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

-scoured highland. As it passes by the Rosskreppfjorden, it ascends to over

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

Climate

Government

Sirdal 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 Dalane District Court 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 Sirdal 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 Sirdal (incomplete list): *1893-1894: Bernt Andreas Lindeland *1897-1898: Bernt Andreas Lindeland *''(1905-1959: Municipality dissolved)'' *1960-1963: Erik Kvæven *1964-1995: Sven Tjørhom *1995-2003: Torjus Kvæven ( Sp) *2003-2011: Thor Jørgen Tjørhom ( Sp) *2011-2015: Jonny Liland ( Ap) *2015-2019: Thor Jørgen Tjørhom ( Sp) *2019-present: Jonny Liland ( Ap)

Economy

The main source of income for Sirdal is the Sira-Kvina Power Company which gets its power from the big Sira and Kvina rivers. The

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

s on the river Sira are utilized in four power stations owned by Sira-Kvina power company. The company also owns three power stations in the Kvina river system, hence the company's name. Total annual production is , total installation is . The largest power station,

Tonstad Hydroelectric Power Station Tonstad Power Station (''Tonstad kraftverk'') is a hydroelectric power station located in the municipality of Sirdal in Agder county, Norway. The station is in Tonstad, at the northern end of the lake Sirdalsvatnet. It has a total installed ca ...

, was inaugurated in 1968, with two units, each producing . The power station has now 4 units, each 160 MW, and one unit at , giving a total output of . Total annual production in this station is approximately , which makes Tonstad the largest power station in

in terms of production. Sira-Kvina power company applied in 2007 for concession to expand the power station with two new units (reversible turbines), each containing , and the concession is pending. The number of

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that wind power, converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. , hundreds of thousands of list of most powerful wind turbines, large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, were generating over ...

s is 51; in 2024, a political process for more wind turbines, was ended by a municipal council vote.https://www.nrk.no/sorlandet/kommunen-sier-nei-til-vindturbiner_-__ingen-lett-avgjorelse-1.17107052. NRK.no. Retrieved 2024-11-01

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

is also an important source of income for the Sirdal economy, taking advantage of the extensive mountains, mountainous plateaus, lakes, and great views. There are multiple alpine resorts and hotels in the valley, as well as cottages and camping spots. Winter activities include six

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North Am ...

s for winter enjoyment. Downhill ski areas include Tjørhomfjellet, Bjørnestad Ski Centre, Ålsheia Ski Centre, Fidjeland Ski Centre, and Ådneram Ski lift. Cross-country skiers can enjoy dozens of trails over spectacular terrain. Summer activities include

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

horseback riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the u ...

, and river

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

History

From the oldest times the Sirdalen valley was divided by the river Sira with

county controlling the west side and

county controlling the east side. The two sides of the valley, however, was established as one single parish in Christian times, even though it crossed county lines, something that was not very common in Norway. In 1837, it was decided that every

should be a municipality, but no municipality should belong to more than one county (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). Sirdal parish was therefore first divided in two municipalities. This was a bad decision because they had very few inhabitants separately. A new solution was found in 1839 when the two municipalities were re-joined, and the county border was moved so that all of Sirdalen was in Vest-Agder county. At Kvæven, in northern Sirdal one finds the Sirdal Mountain Museum. This museum has a collection of old Sirdal buildings. Former lifestyles are visible in the farmhouse, a schoolhouse, stable,

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

's shop, barn, and mountain farm cottage as well as original equipment.

Notable people

* Berit Kvæven (born 1942 in

), a

sivilingeniør Sivilingeniør (shortened siv.ing), is a legally protected engineering title awarded by technical universities in Norway. To qualify for the title, a student must follow a structured study programme in technology and natural sciences of 5 years d ...

and politician * Gunnar Tjomlid (born 1974), a skeptic, secular humanist, blogger, and author who was brought up in Sirdal *

Linda Grubben Linda Grubben (née Linda Tjørhom; 13 September 1979 in Stavanger) is a retired Norwegian biathlete. She won a silver medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics in the 4 × 7.5 km relay. She won the gold medal in the 4 x 6 km relay at the Biath ...

(born 1979), a

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

biathlete The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not ti ...

Arild Haugen Arild "Hulk" Haugen (born 30 December 1985) is a former strongman and boxer from Sirdal, Norway. At the age of 20 years and 267 days, he is the second youngest World's Strongest Man competitor in history when he participated at 2006 World's Stron ...

(born 1985 in Sirdal), a boxer and former strongman

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Väike-Maarja Parish Väike-Maarja Parish () is a rural municipality of Estonia, in Lääne-Viru County. It has a population of 5,421 (as of 1 January 2009) and an area of 457.39 km². Settlements ;Small boroughs Kiltsi, Rakke, Simuna, Väike-Maarja ;Village ...

, Estonia (since 1994)

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 ...

Map of SirdalSirdal Mountain MuseumSirdal Mountain Museum, Official Website

SirdalsNett
- All you need to know about Sirdal
Sirdalsferie
- Information for tourists
Sirdal kommune

To & From Sirdal Transport Map
{{use dmy dates, date=December 2020 Municipalities of Agder 1849 establishments in Norway 1905 disestablishments in Norway 1960 establishments in Norway Valleys of Agder Ski areas and resorts in Norway