Stad 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 ...

Vestland Vestland is a county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the city of Bergen, whe ...

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 the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. It is located in the traditional district of

Nordfjord Nordfjord ( en, Northern fjord—in contrast to Sunnfjord) is a traditional district of Norway. Geography The region is located in the northern part of Vestland county in Western Norway. It centers on the Nordfjorden and it comprises the muni ...

. The municipality includes much of the northern shore of the Nordfjorden as well as the Stad peninsula. 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, L ...

of the municipality is the village of Nordfjordeid. Other villages in the municipality include Selje,

Barmen Barmen is a former industrial metropolis of the region of Bergisches Land, Germany, which merged with four other towns in 1929 to form the city of Wuppertal. Barmen, together with the neighbouring town of Elberfeld founded the first elect ...

, Ervik, Flatraket, Hoddevik, Hoddevika,

Håvik Håvik is a small village in Stad Municipality, in Vestland county, Norway. Håvik has approximately 35 inhabitants. Håvik has a high mountain at one side and the Nordpollen fjord right on the other side of the little village. Neighbouring vill ...

, Leikanger,

Mogrenda Mogrenda is a village in the municipality of Stad in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located at the western end of the lake Hornindalsvatnet along the river Eidselva. It is about east of the village of Nordfjordeid, about north of the ...

, Stårheim, Haugen,

Kjølsdalen Kjølsdalen is a village in the municipality of Stad in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the northern shore of the Nordfjorden, about west of the village of Stårheim and about east of the village of Bryggja (in Vågsøy ...

Heggjabygda Heggjabygda is a village in Stad Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located along the northern shore of the large lake Hornindalsvatnet. The village of Mogrenda lies about to the west. Heggjabygda Church is located in the ...

, and Lote. The municipality is the 152nd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Stad is the 119th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 9,527. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...

is and its population has increased by 8.5% over the previous 10-year period. The

Stad Ship Tunnel The Stad Ship Tunnel ( no, Stad skipstunnel) is a planned canal and tunnel to bypass the Stad peninsula in Stad Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The peninsula is one of the most exposed areas on the coast, without any outlying islands to ...

is a planned canal and tunnel to bypass the Stad peninsula in Stad Municipality in

county,

. When built it will be the first full-size ship tunnel in the world and will allow boats to avoid traveling around the Stad peninsula—a particularly dangerous sea route.

General information

The municipality of Stad was established on 1 January 2020 when Selje Municipality, Eid Municipality, and the Bryggja area of

Vågsøy Municipality Vågsøy is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane counties of Norway, county, Norway. It was located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Nordfjord. The municipality's administra ...

were merged to form one large municipality.

Name

The municipality is named after the Stad peninsula which is located in the western part of the municipality. The name ( non, staðr) comes from the old word meaning "halt", possibly because the rough waters around the peninsula often caused seafarers here to wait for better weather.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

was approved on 15 May 2019. The arms are blue and white and show a two-part design with

St. Sunniva Saint Sunniva (10th century; Old Norse ''Sunnifa'', from Old English ''Sunngifu'') is the patron saint of the Norwegian Church of Norway Diocese of Bjørgvin, as well as all of Western Norway. Sunniva was venerated alongside her brother Alban, ...

on the left and a

fjord horse The Fjord Horse or Norwegian Fjord Horse ( no, fjordhest) is a relatively small but very strong horse breed from the mountainous regions of western Norway. It is an agile breed of light draught horse build. All Fjord horses are dun gene, dun i ...

on the right. It is a combination of the old arms of the two municipalities of Selje and

Eid Eid as a name may refer to: Islamic holidays An Eid is a Muslim religious festival: * ''Eid Milad un Nabi'', alternate name for Mawlid (, "Birth of the Prophet"), the date of observance of the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad * Eid al ...

which were merged to form Stad. These two figures were chosen because the region is well known for its own race of horses, called the Fjording, that are very common and popular in the area. The Fjording is characterised by its white and black

mane Mane may refer to: * Mane (horse), the line of hair along the spine of the neck * Mane (lion), the hair found around the male mammal's neck In arts and entertainment * ''Mane'' (film) is a 1990 Kannada language film directed by Girish Kasaravall ...

. The woman is a depiction of Saint Sunniva, the royal Irish missionary who died as a martyr on the island of Selja while trying to convert he locals to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesu ...

. Later, the Selje Abbey was built on the spot where she died. She was later named the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholic Church, Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocacy, advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, ...

of the Norwegian

Diocese of Bjørgvin The Diocese of Bjørgvin ( no, Bjørgvin bispedømme) is one of the 11 dioceses that make up the Church of Norway. It includes all of the churches located in the county of Vestland in Western Norway. The cathedral city is Bergen, Norway's second ...

and all of

Western Norway Western Norway ( nb, Vestlandet, Vest-Norge; nn, Vest-Noreg) is the region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrat ...

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 Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. ...

has six parishes () within the municipality of Stad. It is part of the Nordfjord prosti (

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 reside ...

) in the

Geography

Stad Municipality is located in the northwesternmost part of

county, in the

region. It includes the Stad peninsula and the islands of Barmøya, Venøya, and Selja. The Sildagapet bay, the

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

, and the Vanylvsfjorden lie on the western sides of the municipality. The Nordfjorden runs along the south side of the municipality.

Hornindalsvatnet Hornindalsvatnet is Norway's and Europe's deepest lake, and the world's twelfth deepest lake, officially measured to a depth of . Its surface is above sea level, which means that its bottom is below sea level. The village of Grodås lies at ...

, the deepest lake in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, is partially located in the municipality. Stad Municipality is bordered to the southwest by Kinn Municipality, to the north by

Vanylven Municipality Vanylven is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Fiskåbygd. Other villages in the municipality include Åheim, Åram, Rovdane, Eidså, Slagnes ...

, Sande Municipality, and

Volda Municipality Volda is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Volda. Other villages in the municipality include Dravlaus, Fyrde, Straumshamn, Leira, Bjørke, and ...

(in

Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; en, Møre and Romsdal) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is t ...

county). The municipalities of Bremanger and

Gloppen Gloppen is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. Gloppen is generally subdivided into three areas: Hyen in the west, Gloppen in the center, and Breim in the east. Each of the ...

lie to the south, across the fjord. Stryn Municipality lies to the east.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Stad, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profes ...

senior citizen Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usag ...

services,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refer ...

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 adminis ...

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

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, 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 a ...

, and municipal

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

s. 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 coun ...

of elected representatives, which in turn elects a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a 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 responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

. The municipality falls under the Sogn og Fjordane District Court 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 Munic ...

Municipal council

The

of Stad is made up of 33 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a 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 often feature ...

breakdown for the council is as follows:

Notable people

Sophus Lie Marius Sophus Lie ( ; ; 17 December 1842 – 18 February 1899) was a Norwegian mathematician. He largely created the theory of continuous symmetry and applied it to the study of geometry and differential equations. Life and career Marius Sophu ...

(1842 in Nordfjordeid – 1899) a Norwegian mathematician *

Olav L. Os Olav Larsson Os (5 January 1882 – 19 March 1953) was a Norwegian politician for the Agrarian Party. He hailed from Nordfjordeid, and made a career in silver fox breeding. He chaired the Norwegian Silver Fox Breeders' Association (now: the N ...

(1882 in Nordfjordeid – 1953) a politician and silver fox breeder *

Oliver H. Langeland Oliver Hansen Langeland (30 January 1887 – 9 February 1958) was a Norwegian military officer and civil servant. He had careers in both civil service and the military, and is best known as leader of Milorg District 13 from 1942 to 1944. Pre-war ...

(1887 in Eid – 1958) a military officer, civil servant and leader of

Milorg Milorg (abbreviation of militær organisasjon – military organization) was the main Norwegian resistance movement during World War II. Resistance work included intelligence gathering, sabotage, supply-missions, raids, espionage, transport of ...

District 13 in WWII *

Kolbjørn Varmann Kolbjørn Sigurd Werner Varmann (23 December 1904 – 13 August 1980) was a Norwegian priest and politician for the Norwegian Labour Party, Labour Party. He is known as Minister of Transport and Communications (Norway), Minister of Transport and ...

(1904 in Eid – 1980) a priest, politician, Minister of Transport and County Governor of Finnmark *

Sølve Skagen Sølve Skagen (born 17 February 1945) is a Norwegian film director. He was born in Eid, Sogn og Fjordane, and is related to Kaj Skagen. Among his films are '' Hard asfalt'' from 1986 and '' Brun bitter'' from 1988. ''Hard asfalt'' was Norway's ...

(born 1945 in Eid) a Norwegian film director IMDb Database
retrieved 20 November 2020 * Åge Starheim (born 1946 in Eid) a Norwegian politician, Mayor of Selje, 1983-1989 * Harald Aabrekk (born 1956 in Nordfjordeid) a Norwegian football coach and a former player *

Brynjar Rasmussen Brynjar Rasmussen (born 30 June 1977 in Nordfjordeid, Sogn og Fjordane) is a Norwegian jazz musician (clarinet), brother of accordion player, photographer, social commentator, and botanist Sigve Brochmann Rasmussen (b. 1972), known from perfor ...

(born 1977 in Nordfjordeid) a Norwegian jazz musician, plays the clarinet *

Azar Karadas Azar Karadas ( tr, Azar Karadaş; born 9 August 1981) is a Norwegian former footballer. Although he could also play as a central defender, he operated primarily as a centre forward. He had three spells with Brann, where he began and ended hi ...

(born 1981 in Nordfjordeid) a former footballer with over 400 club caps and 10 for

Ingrid Thunem Ingrid Thunem (born 17 July 1989) is a Norwegian Paralympic swimmer. She competes in S1, SB1 (breaststroke) and SM1 (individual medley) events, swimming with motor function in just one arm. She is a multiple world record holder in her classifica ...

(born 1989 in Nordfjordeid) a Paralympic swimmer

References

{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Municipalities of Vestland 2020 establishments in Norway