Bjerkreim 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' ...

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,

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 traditional district of

Dalane Dalane is a traditional district in the southwestern part of Norway, consisting of the municipalities of Lund, Sokndal, Eigersund, and Bjerkreim. Dalane is one of the 15 districts in Western Norway. It sits to the southeast of the very flat ...

. 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

Vikeså Vikeså or Vigjeså is the administrative centre of Bjerkreim municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located along the European route E39 highway at a crossroads with the village of Ålgård about to the northwest, the village ...

. Other villages in the municipality include

Bjerkreim Bjerkreim is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Dalane. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vikes ...

and

Øvrebygd Øvrebygd is a small village in Bjerkreim municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located about northeast of the municipal centre of Vikeså along the road leading to the neighboring municipality of Gjesdal Gjesdal is a List ...

. Nature has been generous in giving Bjerkreim many idyllic places, making Bjerkreim a good place to live by living in a countryside environment, but still relatively close to a major city,

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 ...

. Bjerkreim has one of the most important

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

rivers in Norway, ''Bjerkreimselva''. The most important livelihoods are

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and small-scale industries. The municipality is the 173rd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Bjerkreim is the 236th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,848. 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 increased by 2.5% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The

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 ''Birkrem'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (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). On 1 January 1965, there were many municipal changes in Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee () was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a ...

. On that date, the ''Nedre Maudal'' area of Bjerkreim (population: 40) was transferred to the neighboring municipality of

Gjesdal Gjesdal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Jæren. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ålgår ...

Name

The municipality (originally the

) is named after the old ''

'' farm (), since the first Bjerkreim Church was built there 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 which means "

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

". The last element is which means "homestead" or "farm". Before 1889, the name was written ''"Birkrem"''.

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 11 July 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 ...

, a birch branch with six leaves and four catkins

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 vertical branch from a

tree which has six leaves and four

catkin A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster (a spike), with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind- pollinated ( anemophilous) but sometimes insect-pollinated (as in '' Salix''). It contains many, usually unisexual flowers, arra ...

s. The charge 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 design was chosen since the name of the municipality is derived from the Norwegian word for birch, ', thus the arms are

canting ' (International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: , Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, VOS Spelling: , ) is a pen-like tool used to apply liquid hot wax () in the batik-making process in Indonesia, more precisely (). Traditional consists of copper wax-con ...

. The arms were designed by John Digernes. 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 Bjerkreim. It is part of the

Dalane prosti This list of churches in Rogaland is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Stavanger in Norway. It includes all of the parishes in Rogaland county. The diocese is based at the Stavanger Cathedral in the city of Stavanger (city) ...

(

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 Stavanger The Diocese of Stavanger () 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 Ådnøy, who has held the p ...

Government

Bjerkreim 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

Sør-Rogaland District Court Sør-Rogaland District Court () is a district court located in Rogaland and Agder counties in Norway. This court is based at three different courthouses which are located in Stavanger, Sandnes, and Egersund. The court serves the southern part of ...

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 ...

. A notable local politician is Olaf Gjedrem, mayor from 1979 to 1993 and later a member of the national parliament.

Municipal council

The

() of Bjerkreim is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The executive committee of the council has 5 members, who also make up the authority's planning and economic committee. The mayor of Bjerkreim leads both the council and the executive committee. 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 Bjerkreim: * 1838–1839: Thønnis Tollefson Bjerkreim * 1840–1841: Rasmus Rasmusson Osland * 1842–1843: Omund Adsem * 1844–1845: Erik Erikson Espeland * 1846–1849: Erik A. Lauperak * 1850–1853: Sigbjørn Hytland * 1854–1855: Omund Adsem * 1856–1865: Christian Larsson Kløgetvedt * 1866–1869: Ole V. Sagland * 1870–1879: Christian Larsson Kløgetvedt * 1880–1881: Jonas K. Vigesaa * 1882–1893: Tollef Carlsen Laksesvela * 1894–1897: Tollef Asbjørnsen Gjedrem * 1898–1899: Tønnes Tollefsen Bjerkrheim * 1899–1901: Tollef Carlsen Laksesvela * 1902–1904: Sem Johan Jonassen Vaule * 1905–1919: Gitle A. Birkrem * 1920–1922: Peder Carlson Skjæveland * 1923–1925: Arne Gjedrem * 1926–1934: Karl Laksesvela * 1935–1940: Arne Gjedrem * 1945–1947: Arne Gjedrem * 1948–1955: Martin Veen * 1956–1963: Karl L. Skjæveland * 1964–1966: Martin Veen * 1966–1975: Tolleiv Gjedrem * 1976–1979: Lloyd Vaule * 1980–1993: Olaf Gjedrem ( KrF) * 1994–1999: Gunnhild Vassbø * 1999–2003: Asbjørn Gjedrem * 2003–2007: Asbjørn Ramsli ( Sp) * 2007–2015: Marthon Skårland ( H) * 2015–2019: Torbjørn Ognedal ( Sp) * 2019–2023: Kjetil Slettebø ( Sp) * 2023-present: Tone Vaule ( Ap)

Geography

Bjerkreim municipality lies at the northern end of the hilly, rugged

district, just south of the very flat

Jæren Jæren is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in Rogaland county, Norway. The other districts in Rogaland are Dalane, Ryfylke, and Haugalandet. Jæren is one of the 15 districts that comprise Western Norway. At about , Jæren is the large ...

district. There are several large lakes in Bjerkreim including

Austrumdalsvatnet Austrumdalsvatnet is a lake in the municipality of Bjerkreim in Rogaland county, Norway. The lake lies about southeast of the lakes Hofreistæ and Byrkjelandsvatnet. The village of Øvrebygd lies about west of the lake. See also *List of la ...

Byrkjelandsvatnet Byrkjelandsvatnet or Storavatnet is a lake in the municipality of Bjerkreim in Rogaland county, Norway. The lake lies about north of the village of Øvrebygd. The lake flows out through the short river Malmeisåna which flows into the lake H ...

Hofreistæ Hofreistæ is a lake in the municipality of Bjerkreim in Rogaland county, Norway. The lake immediately south of the village of Øvrebygd. The lake is fed by a short river from the lakes Austrumdalsvatnet and Byrkjelandsvatnet. The river Hofr ...

, and

Ørsdalsvatnet Ørsdalsvatnet or Ørdalsvatnet is a lake in the municipality of Bjerkreim in Rogaland county, Norway. The lake lies about northeast of the village of Bjerkreim. The lake is rather narrow, but it is long. See also *List of lakes in Norway ...

Climate

Transportation

The main means of transportation to Bjerkreim is via the

European route E39 European route E39 is the designation of a north–south road in Norway and Denmark from Klett, just south of Trondheim (city), Trondheim, to Aalborg via Bergen, Stavanger and Kristiansand. In total, there are nine ferries, more than any other ...

highway which passes through the municipality from south to north. The municipality lies in the southwestern part of the country. The distance to the nearest airport, Stavanger airport in

Sola Sola may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Albums * ''Saints of Los Angeles'', a 2008 album by Mötley Crüe * ''Sola'', an album by Olga Tañón * ''Sola'', an album by Zayda y los Culpables Songs * Sola (Becky G song), "Sola" (Becky G song ...

, is approximately 40 minutes by car.

Notable people

Knud Spødervold Knud Kittelsen Spødervold (24 July 1791 – 20 March 1848) was a Norwegian author and lay preacher and leader of the Strong Believers (), a theologically conservative Norwegian Christian movement in opposition to the Haugean movement, with root ...

(1791–1848 in Bjerkreim), a lay preacher and leader of the Strong Believers religious movement * Olaf Gjedrem (born 1948 in Bjerkreim), a politician and mayor of Bjerkreim (1979–1993) * Ragnar Bjerkreim (born 1958 in Bjerkreim), a composer of film scores. Retrieved 19 January 2021.

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 ...

The River Bjerkreim (Bjerkreimselva)Fishing equipment
{{use dmy dates, date=June 2020 Municipalities of Rogaland 1838 establishments in Norway