Klepp is a
municipality in
Rogaland county,
Norway. It is located in the
traditional district of
Jæren. The
administrative centre
An administrative center 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 administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...
of the municipality is the village of
Kleppe
Kleppe is the administrative centre of Klepp municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located about halfway between the lakes Orrevatnet and Frøylandsvatnet. The village of Bore lies about northwest of Kleppe and the village ...
. Other villages in Klepp include
Klepp stasjon,
Orre,
Orstad
The larger Kvernaland area is an amalgamation of villages in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located along the north end of the lake Frøylandsvatnet. The village is located in both the municipalities of Klepp and Time (and a very small ...
,
Pollestad,
Verdalen
Verdalen is a village in Klepp 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 portion of ...
, and
Voll.
Klepp is a flat and open
agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...
landscape. The highest point, ''Tinghaug'', is at above
sea level. There are long stretches of sand beaches along the
North Sea coastline in the west.
The municipality is the 324th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Klepp is the 63rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 20,163. The municipality's
population density is and its population has increased by 13.6% over the previous 10-year period.
The population around Kleppe is growing rapidly, mostly in the form of suburban
single-family home
A stand-alone house (also called a single-detached dwelling, detached residence or detached house) is a free-standing residential building. It is sometimes referred to as a single-family home, as opposed to a multi-family residential dwelling ...
s, but also in the form of some
apartment block
A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdicti ...
s. There is a shopping mall in Kleppe called ''Jærhagen''.
General information
The old
parish of ''Klep'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see
formannskapsdistrikt law). The boundaries of the municipality have not changed since that time.
Name
The municipality (originally the
parish) is named after the old ''Klepp'' farm ( non, Kleppr), since the first
Klepp Church
Klepp Church ( no, Klepp kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Klepp Municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Kleppe. It is the church for the Klepp parish which is part of the Jæren prosti (deanery ...
was built there. The inscription on the
Klepp I Runestone
The Klepp I Runestone, listed as N 225 in the Rundata catalog, is one of two runestones from Klepp in Rogaland, Norway. It is among the few Viking Age runestones that was raised as a memorial to a woman.
Description
The Klepp I Runestone has three ...
indicates that the name has been in use since the late 10th or early 11th century. The name is identical with the word ''kleppr'' which means "rocky hill". Before 1912, the name was written ''"Klep"''.
Coat of arms
The
coat of arms were granted on 18 February 1972. The arms features a gold cross on a blue background. The cross on the arms symbolizes the large stone cross at ''Krosshaug'' in Klepp. Krosshaug is a grave hill located near the site where the local
thing
Thing or The Thing may refer to:
Philosophy
* An object
* Broadly, an entity
* Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant
* Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuse ...
met for centuries. The
Old Norse word ''haugr'' means mound or barrow, hence the name "kross"-haug. The cross was considered a representative historic symbol for the municipality.
Churches
The
Church of Norway
The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...
has four parishes () within the municipality of Klepp. It is part of the
Jæren 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
A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman 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 ...
) 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 Lise � ...
.
History
The earliest traces of population in the municipality have been dated to around 6000 BC. At that time, the land was covered by large
oak woods. The large stone cross standing on the grave hill ''Krosshaug'' dates from around 1000 AD and is possibly the oldest in Norway. It is adjacent to ''Tinghaug'', the site for a local
Thing
Thing or The Thing may refer to:
Philosophy
* An object
* Broadly, an entity
* Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant
* Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuse ...
for many centuries during the
Iron Age. Tinghaug probably acted as a site for the local court and assembly for many centuries.
Geography
The municipality is located south of the city of
Stavanger. Neighbouring municipalities are
Hå to the south,
Time to the south and east,
Sola and
Sandnes
Sandnes () is a city and municipality in Rogaland, Norway. It lies immediately south of Stavanger, the 4th largest city in Norway and together, the Stavanger/Sandnes area is the third-largest urban area in Norway. The urban city of Sandnes lies ...
to the north. The coastline is agricultural and consists of, from south to north, the areas
Orre,
Reve,
Bore and
Sele.
The long Orrestranda beach, one of the longest sandy beaches in Norway, is in Klepp. The river
Figgjoelva
Figgjoelva or Figgjo is a river in Rogaland county, Norway. The long river begins at the lake Edlandsvatnet in the village of Ålgård in Gjesdal municipality. It then heads north into the municipality of Sandnes before heading west. For a ...
empties into the North Sea in Klepp. The small island of Feistein lies off shore and is the site of the
Feistein Lighthouse. There are two large lakes in Klepp:
Orrevatnet
Orrevatnet is a lake in the municipality of Klepp in Rogaland county, Norway. The lake is the largest lake in Jæren. The lake sits about above sea level and it is situated along the seashore. The wide sandy beach strip of land that separate ...
and
Frøylandsvatnet.
Weather
Transportation
The
Sørlandet railway line, historically called the
Jæren Line
The Jæren Line ( no, Jærbanen) long railway line between Stavanger and Egersund in Jæren, Norway. The name is no longer in official use and the section is regarded as the westernmost part of the Sørlandet Line. Owned by the Norwegian Rail ...
, runs through Klepp along lake
Frøylandsvatnet. The village of
Klepp stasjon, east of Kleppe, is built around the train station
Klepp Station. The nearby
Oksnevadporten Station is the other railway station in Klepp.
Economy
Klepp is the second largest agricultural municipality in Rogaland, with a total of around 600 farms.
Kverneland Group, located in
Kvernaland, is the largest manufacturer of agricultural equipment in the world.
Sports
The local sports club
Klepp IL
Klepp IL is a Norwegian sports club from the municipality of Klepp. It was founded on 1 October 1919, and has sections for football, handball and gymnastics as well as the less active sections for athletics and orienteering.
Best known for th ...
most notably has a women's football team in the
Norwegian top league. Famous players include
Dagny Mellgren
Dagny Mellgren Haugland (; born 19 June 1978) from Ålgård is a former Norwegian footballer. She retired in December 2005 while playing for Klepp. She has also played for Boston Breakers, in the WUSA. She scored the golden goal in the final ag ...
and the national team captain
Ane Stangeland Horpestad
Ane Stangeland Horpestad (née Stangeland; born 2 June 1980) is a Norwegian former footballer who captained the Norway women's national football team. A cultured central defender, she represented Klepp and Kolbotn of the top Norwegian league, ...
. Gymnast
Åge Storhaug
Åge Storhaug (5 April 1938 – 18 April 2012) was a Norwegian gymnast who competed from the late 1950s to the early 1970s.
He was born in Klepp and represented the club Klepp IL. He participated at the 1960 Summer Olympics and at the 1964 ...
also represented the club.
Government
All municipalities in Norway, including Klepp, are responsible for
primary education
Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first ...
(through 10th grade), outpatient
health services,
senior citizen services,
unemployment 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. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...
,
zoning,
economic development, and municipal
roads. 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 council ...
of elected representatives, which in turn elect a
mayor.
The municipality falls under the
Sør-Rogaland District Court
Sør-Rogaland District Court ( no, Sør-Rogaland tingrett) is a district court (Norway), district court located in Rogaland and Agder counties in Norway. This court is based at three different courthouses which are located in Stavanger (city), Sta ...
and the
Gulating Court of Appeal
The Gulating Court of Appeal ( no, Gulating lagmannsrett) 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 Muni ...
.
Municipal council
The
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 council ...
() of Klepp is made up of 31 representatives that are elected to four year terms. Currently, the
party breakdown is as follows:
Mayor
Since 2011, Ane Mari Braut Nese of the
Conservative Party has been the mayor. She succeeded Elfin Lea of the same party, who served from 1999 to 2011. In 2019, Sigmund Rolfsen of the
Labour Party was elected as mayor.
Parliament
There have been many members of the
Parliament of Norway from Klepp.
Thore Larsen Braut and
Karl K. Kleppe were members of Parliament prior to the Second World War. After the war
Lars Storhaug,
Oddbjørg Ausdal Starrfelt, and
Knut Haus have been members of Parliament.
Notable people
*
Theodor Dahl (1886–1946) a Norwegian journalist, short story writer, novelist and poet
*
Asgaut Steinnes
Asgaut Steinnes (11 October 1892 – 6 July 1973) was a Norwegian archivist and historian who specialized in the Middle Ages. He served as National archivist of Norway from 1933 to 1960.
Career
Steinnes was born in Klepp, District of Stavang ...
(1892–1973) historian,
National archivist of Norway
The national archivist ( no, Riksarkivar) of Norway is the professional and administrative manager of the National Archives of Norway and the National Archival Services of Norway. In addition, the national archivist bears direct responsibility wi ...
, 1933 to 1960
*
Torvald Tu (1893–1955) a Norwegian poet, playwright, novelist and writer of humoresques
*
Sigve Tjøtta (born 1930) a Norwegian mathematician and long-distance runner
*
Åse-Marie Nesse (1934–2001) a Norwegian philologist, academic and poet
*
Arne Sølvberg (born 1940) a computer scientist, academic & expert in
information modelling
An information model in software engineering is a representation of concepts and the relationships, constraints, rules, and operations to specify data semantics for a chosen domain of discourse. Typically it specifies relations between kinds of t ...
References
External links
*
*
Municipal fact sheetfrom
Statistics Norway Pictures from Klepp
{{use dmy dates, date=June 2020
Jæren
Municipalities of Rogaland
1838 establishments in Norway