Vindafjord Municipality

Vindafjord is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Haugaland. Since 2005, the administrative centre of the municipality has been the village of Ølen (prior to that time it was the village of Sandeid). Other villages in the municipality include Bjoa, Imslandsjøen, Ølensvåg, Skjold, Vats, Vikebygd, and Vikedal. The municipality is centered on the Vindafjorden and Sandeidfjorden in the east and it lies north and east of the Skjoldafjorden in the west.

The 620.53-square-kilometre (239.59 sq mi) municipality is the 185th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Vindafjord Municipality is the 123rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 9,181. The municipality's population density is 14.8 inhabitants per square kilometre (38/sq mi) and its population has increased by 4.5% over the previous 10-year period.^[5][6]

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the new Vindafjord Municipality was created from several areas in northern Rogaland county:^[7]

• all of Sandeid Municipality (population: 876)
• the Liarheim and Langeland areas of Skjold Municipality on the north side of the Skjoldafjorden (population: 1,262)
• most of Vats Municipality except for the Breidal and Stølsvik farms (population: 1,128)
• the part of Imsland Municipality located north of the Vindafjorden (population: 372)
• most of Vikedal Municipality except for the Hapnes and Dokskar farms (population: 978)

Initially, Vindafjord Municipality had 4,616 residents. On 1 January 1969, the Sponevik farm (population: 6) was transferred from Vindafjord Municipality to the neighboring Tysvær Municipality. Then on 1 January 1978, the Vormestrand area along the southern shore of the Vindafjorden (population: 13) was transferred to the neighboring Suldal Municipality.^[7]

On 1 January 2006, Vindafjord Municipality merged with the neighboring Ølen Municipality (population: 3,420). Ølen Municipality had transferred from Hordaland county to Rogaland county 2002. After the merger, the municipal centre of Vindafjord Municipality was moved from the village of Sandeid to the larger village of Ølensjøen, which had been the administrative centre of the old Ølen Municipality.^[8]

The municipality (created in 1965) is named after the Vindafjorden (Old Norse: Vindafjǫrðr), a fjord that runs through the eastern part of the municipality. The first element is derived from the verb vinda which means "to turn" or "to twist", referring to the sharp turn of the fjord at Dragneset. The last element is fjǫrðr which means "fjord".^[9][10]

The original coat of arms was granted on 12 December 1986 and it was in use until a new coat of arms was approved on 10 March 2006. The official blazon is "Gules, five chevrons argent two over two over one" (Norwegian: På raud grunn fem svevande kvite sparrar, 2-2-1). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a set of five chevrons. The charge has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The design was meant to give the appearance of a collection of rorbuer or nauster (these are typical Norwegian boat houses that are often painted red and white). There were five shapes used in order to represent the five predecessor municipalitites that were merged into Vindafjord in 1965: Sandeid, Vikedal, Imsland, Vats, and Skjold. The arms were designed by John Digernes. The municipal flag had the same design as the coat of arms.^[11][12][13]

A new coat of arms was granted on 10 March 2006, shortly after the merger of Ølen Municipality with Vindafjord Municipality. The new arms were a mix of the arms of the two municipalities which were merged. The swirling design is taken from the old coat of arms of Ølen Municipality and the colours (red and silver/white) are from the old arms of Vindafjord Municipality. The official blazon is "Gyronny embowed argent and gules" (Norwegian: Åttedelt av kvitt og raudt ved virvelsnitt). This means the arms are a whirl design that divides the shield into 8 curved sections. The field (background) alternates colors, with half having a tincture of green and the other half have a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The design was chosen to symbolise the way that several major roads come together in the municipality, making it an important centre of trade. The arms were designed by Vigdis Viland. The new municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.^[11][12][14]

• Current arms of Vindafjord (since 2006)
• Old arms of Vindafjord Municipality (1986-2005)
• Old arms of Ølen Municipality (1986-2005)

The Church of Norway has eight parishes (sokn) within Vindafjord Municipality. It is part of the Haugaland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger.

Vindafjord Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.^[15] The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Haugaland og Sunnhordland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Vindafjord Municipality is made up of 25 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

The mayor (Nynorsk: ordførar) of Vindafjord Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:^[28]

Vindafjord Municipality lies south of the Hardangerfjorden and north of the Skjoldafjorden and Vindafjorden. 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 Haugalandet peninsula, connecting the mainland to the city of Haugesund on the western end of the peninsula. The European route E134 highway runs through the municipality. The highest point in the municipality is the 1,013.75-metre (3,326.0 ft) tall mountain Bjørndalsnuten, located on the border with Etne Municipality.^[1]

Kvinnherad Municipality is located to the north, Etne Municipality is located to the northeast, Suldal Municipality is located to the southeast, Tysvær Municipality is located to the southwest, and Sveio Municipality is located to the west.

• Knud Baade (1808 in Skjold - 1879), a painter of portraits and landscapes, particularly moonlight paintings
• Jens Hundseid (1883 in Vikedal – 1965), a Norwegian politician who was Prime Minister of Norway from 1932 to 1933;
• Ragnvald Eikeland (1921 – 1960, Øvre Vats), an artist and painter
• Thormod Næs (1930 in Skjold – 1997), a sport shooter who competed at the 1964 Summer Olympics
• Per Øyvind Heradstveit (1932 in Skjold – 2004), a TV journalist and non-fiction writer
• Agnes Ravatn (born 1983 in Ølen), a novelist, columnist, and journalist

• Skjold Church
• Building of Ekofisk wall in Vikebygd
• Old Vikedal churchyard

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway (in Norwegian)