Stord is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

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, where t ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

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 the ...

. It is located in the traditional district of

Sunnhordland Sunnhordland is a traditional district in the western region of Norway. The district consists of the southern coastal regions of the old Hordaland county (now part of Vestland county). It includes the areas that surround the mouth of the Hardan ...

. Stord is sometimes called "Norway in miniature" since it has such a variety of landscapes: coastline, fjords, forests, agricultural land, and mountain areas. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of

Leirvik Leirvik is a town and the administrative centre of Stord municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The town lies along the southern coast of the large island of Stord, along the Hardangerfjorden. The town gained "town status" in 1997. The town ...

, which is also the largest town in the municipality and the whole region of Sunnhordland. Leirvik was declared a town in 1997. Other population centres in the municipality include the large village of

Sagvåg Sagvåg is a village in Stord municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the southwest coast of the island of Stord, about west of the town of Leirvik. The Stord Airport, Sørstokken lies about northwest of Sagvåg. ...

and the smaller villages of

Litlabø Litlabø is a village and former mining community in the municipality of Stord in Vestland county, Norway. It is located at the northern side of the lake of Storavatnet, just northeast of the village of Sagvåg. The village had about 450 inhabita ...

and Grov. Storddøra

The municipality is the 316th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Stord is the 69th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 18,919. 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 5.4% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

of ''Stordøen'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1863, the northern district of the municipality (population: 2,313) was separated to become the new municipality of

Fitjar Fitjar () is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The municipality is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. Fitjar municipality includes the northern part of the island of Stord and the hundreds of surrounding islands, most ...

. On 15 May 1868, the southern district of Stordøen located on the mainland (population: 900) was separated to form the new municipality of Valestrand. On 1 January 1898, the southern part of the island of

Huglo Huglo is an island in Stord municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island lies in the Hardangerfjorden, just east of the large island of Stord and just south of Tysnesøy. The small island of Skorpo lies immediately northeast of this i ...

(population: 117) was transferred from the neighboring municipality of Fjelberg to Stord. On 1 January 1970, the small uninhabited part of the island of

Stord Stord is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. Stord is sometimes called "Norway in miniature" since it has such a variety of landscapes: coastline, fjords, forests, agricultural ...

along the Valvatnavågen that belonged to

Bømlo Bømlo is a municipality in the southwestern part of Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Svortland. Other villages in Bømlo includ ...

was transferred to Stord municipality.

Name

The municipality is named after the large island of

( non, Storð). The name is old and it was (and still is) used in

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

ic literature meaning "ground" or "earth". Before 1889, the name was written ''"Stordøen"''.

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 its ...

was granted on 19 June 1987. The arms show a yellow twig of

holly ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

on a red background. The holly was chosen since it is a common tree in the municipality. The designer was Truls Nygaard. Stord komm.svg, Current arms since 1987. Stord komm 1955.svg, Arms from 1955 until 1987.

Churches

The Church of Norway has two parishes () within the municipality of Stord. It is part of the Sunnhordland prosti ( deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Geography

Stord is located on the southern half of the island of

(the northern part is part of

Fitjar Municipality Fitjar () is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The municipality is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. Fitjar municipality includes the northern part of the island of Stord and the hundreds of surrounding islands, most ...

). The municipality also includes the islands of

Storstøya, Nautøya, and Føyno. The

Hardangerfjorden The Hardangerfjord ( en, Hardanger Fjord) is the fifth longest fjord in the world, and the second longest fjord in Norway. It is located in Vestland county in the Hardanger region. The fjord stretches from the Atlantic Ocean into the mountain ...

runs along the southern border of the island municipality, separating it from the municipalities of

Kvinnherad Kvinnherad is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland, along the Hardangerfjorden. The municipality was the 5th in size in former Hordaland county. The administrative centre of the mu ...

Vindafjord 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 Ølensjøen (prior to that time it was the village o ...

, and

Sveio Sveio is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. Sveio is a border district that is sometimes considered to be located in the traditional district of Haugalandet since it is located on the Haugalandet peninsula, but it is also considered to ...

. The

Langenuen Langenuen is a strait in Vestland county, Norway. The strait runs between the islands of Stord and Huftarøy on the west, and Tysnesøy and Reksteren on the east. The strait ranges from wide, and it forms the municipal boundaries between th ...

strait runs along the eastern side, separating it from

Tysnes Tysnes () is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. The administrative centre is the village of Uggdal. Other population centres in Tysnes include the villages of Våge and Onarhei ...

municipality. The Stokksundet and Digernessundet straits runs along the western border, separating it from the municipality of

. The mountain Mehammarsåto is the highest point in the municipality.

History

The battle of Stord was fought on or by this island between the Norwegian king Hakon Haraldsson and the Danish king Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson, supported by Hakon's brother's sons led by Harald "Greycloak" Eiriksson.

Economy

The 3 largest private employers in Stord municipality are:

Kværner Kværner was a Norwegian engineering and construction services company that existed between 1853 and 2005. In 2004, it was amalgamated to the newly formed subsidiary of Aker ASA - Aker Kværner, which was renamed Aker Solutions on 3 April 2008 ...

, Wärtsilä Norway AS and Leirvik AS. Together these three companies employ more than 3000 people. Kværner Stord, situated south of Leirvik on the peninsula of

Eldøyane Eldøyane is a partially man-made former island located just outside the town of Leirvik in the municipality of Stord in Vestland county, Norway. The island was connected to the larger island of Stord by land reclamation, and over the years, the ...

, is the largest yard in Norway. Aker Stord has built the biggest oil production platforms in the world,

Gullfaks C Gullfaks is an oil and gas field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea operated by Equinor. It was discovered in 1978, in block 34/10, at a water depth of 130-230 meters.Petterson, O., Storli, A., Ljosland, E., Nygaard, O., Massie, I., and Ca ...

and

Troll A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human be ...

Transport

An extensive tunnel and bridge system, the Triangle Link, connected Stord to the mainland on 27 December 2000 and to the neighboring island of

on 30 April 2001. The bridges involved are the Bømla Bridge and Stord Bridge and the tunnel is the Bømlafjord Tunnel. The airport in Stord is Stord Airport, Sørstokken, is located northwest of

on the Sørstokken peninsula. On 10 October 2006, Atlantic Airways Flight 670 skidded off the runway at the airport. Four people died.

Healthcare

Stord Hospital is a local hospital for the municipalities in Sunnhordland, with a total of around 50,000 inhabitants. The hospital has specialist health services in medicine, surgery, X-ray, and gynecology. Stord District Psychiatric Center (DPS) is close by and has specialist health services within mental health care for adults and children. Stord ambulance station has premises in the same area and

inter-municipal emergency room is co-located with the hospital.

Government

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

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 usage ...

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 refere ...

and other social services,

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 si ...

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 and ...

, 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 counc ...

of elected representatives, which in turn elect 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 ...

. The municipality falls under the Haugaland og Sunnhordland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

() of Stord is made up of 35 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 featur ...

breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Stord (incomplete list): *2017–present: Gaute Straume Epland ( Ap) *2015-2017: Harry Herstad (Ap) *2007-2015: Liv Kari Eskeland ( H) *1991-2007: Magne Rommetveit (Ap)

Notable people

Lars Eskeland Lars Eskeland (6 March 1867 – 30 September 1942) was a Norwegian educator and writer, and proponent for Nynorsk. Personal life Eskeland was born at Stord as the son of farmers Øystein Larsson Eskeland and Mari Larsdotter Vatna, and was a br ...

(1867–1942) a Norwegian educator, writer and proponent of

Nynorsk Nynorsk () () is one of the two written standards of the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. From 12 May 1885, it became the state-sanctioned version of Ivar Aasen's standard Norwegian language ( no, Landsmål) parallel to the Dano-N ...

* Olaf Lange (1875–1965) a Norwegian painter who visualised the complexity of the modern urban life with

symbolistic Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French art, French and Art of Belgium, Belgian origin in poetry and other arts seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction aga ...

paintings; lived in Stord around 1950 * Olaf Kullmann (1892–1942) a Norwegian naval officer and then peace activist * Magne Rommetveit (1918–2009) a Norwegian lexicographer * Ragnar Rommetveit (1924–2017) a Norwegian psychologist and academic *

Ivar Eskeland Ivar Eskeland (30 November 1927 – 23 December 2005) was a Norwegian philologist, publisher, translator, biographer, literary critic, newspaper editor, theatre worker, radio personality and organizational leader. Career He was born in Stord a ...

(1927–2005) a Norwegian

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

, publisher, translator, biographer, literary critic, newspaper editor, theatre worker and radio personality * Hans J. Røsjorde (born 1941) a politician and County Governor of Oslo and Akershus 2001 to 2011 * Jan Kåre Hystad (born 1955) a Norwegian jazz musician, plays saxophone, clarinet and flute * Rune Belsvik (born 1956) a Norwegian novelist, playwright, short story writer and children's writer * Magne Rommetveit (born 1956) a politician, Mayor of Stord, 1992–2007 * Ole Jacob Hystad (born 1960) a Norwegian jazz musician, plays tenor saxophone and clarinet * Janove Ottesen (born 1975) a Norwegian musician, sings and plays guitar and barrels * Synnøve Macody Lund (born 1976) a Norwegian journalist, film critic, model and actress IMDb Database
retrieved 13 December 2020 *

Obtained Enslavement Obtained Enslavement was a black metal band from Stord, Norway. They formed in 1989 and decided to split up in 2000 because Pest moved to the United States, and they did not succeed in finding a new singer. The most notable members, Pest and T ...

(formed 1989 in Stord - 2000) a black metal band from Stord

Sport

* Geirmund Brendesæter (born 1970) a Norwegian former footballer with nearly 300 club caps *

Gro Espeseth Gro Espeseth (born 30 October 1972) is a former Norwegian footballer, world champion and olympic champion. She played for the clubs Sandviken and Trondheims-Ørn, debuted for the Norwegian national team in 1991, and played 105 matches for the ...

(born 1972) a former Norwegian footballer, with 105 caps for Norway women * Odd Christian Eiking (born 1994) a Norwegian cyclist * Anders Mol (born 1997) a Norwegian beach volleyball player

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway {{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Municipalities of Vestland 1838 establishments in Norway