Klepp 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

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 ...

. 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

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, Norway, Bore lies about northwest of Kleppe and t ...

. Other villages in Klepp include

Klepp stasjon Klepp Stasjon is a village in Klepp municipality in Rogaland county, Norway, on the lakeshore of Frøylandsvatnet, about east of the village of Kleppe and southwest of Orstad. It is named after the Klepp railway station on the Jæren Line ...

, 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 Pollestad is a village in Klepp municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located south of the lake Orrevatnet and about southwest of the town of Bryne. Orre Church is located in Pollestad. It was built in 1950 to replace the nearl ...

Verdalen Verdalen is a village in Klepp Municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located immediately northwest of the municipal centre of Kleppe Kleppe is the administrative centre of Klepp municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The ...

, and Voll. Klepp is a flat and open

agricultural 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 f ...

landscape. The highest point, ''Tinghaug'', is at above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. There are long stretches of sand beaches along the

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

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 20,615. 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 13.1% over the previous 10-year period. The population around Kleppe is growing rapidly, mostly in the form of suburban

single-family home A single-family detached home, also called a single-detached dwelling, single-family residence (SFR) or separate house is a free-standing residential building. It is defined in opposition to a multi-family residential dwelling. Definitions ...

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 jurisdiction. ...

s. There is a shopping mall in Kleppe called ''Jærhagen''.

General information

The old

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 ''Klep'' 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). The boundaries of the municipality have not changed since that time.

Name

The municipality (originally the

) is named after the old ''

Klepp Klepp 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 Kleppe. O ...

'' farm () since the first

Klepp Church Klepp Church () 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) in the Diocese ...

was built there. The name is the

dative case In grammar, the dative case ( abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob a drink". In this examp ...

of the word which means "rocky hill". 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. Before 1912, the name was written ''"Klep"''.

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 18 February 1972. 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 ''"

Azure Azure may refer to: Color * Azure (color), a hue of blue ** Azure (heraldry) ** Shades of azure, shades and variations Arts and media * ''Azure'' (Art Farmer and Fritz Pauer album), 1987 * Azure (Gary Peacock and Marilyn Crispell album), 2013 * ...

, a

Cossack cross The Cossack cross () is a type of the Templar cross used by the Ukrainian Ground Forces. It is frequently used in Ukraine as a memorial sign to fallen soldiers and as military awards. History Historically it was used by Cossacks, most prominen ...

Or"'' (). This means the arms have a blue

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

. 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 ...

of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. 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 focuses ...

met for centuries. The

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

word ''haugr'' means "mound", hence the name "kross-haug" is the cross-mound. The cross was considered a representative historic symbol for the municipality. 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 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 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 ...

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 An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

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 focuses ...

for many centuries during the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

. Tinghaug probably acted as a site for the local court and assembly for many centuries.

Population

Geography

The municipality is located south of the city of

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 ...

. Neighbouring municipalities are

Hå Hå is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is the southernmost municipality in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Jæren. The administrative centre of the municipality is the v ...

to the south,

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

to the south and east,

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 ...

and

Sandnes Sandnes () is a city and municipality in Rogaland, Norway. It lies immediately south of Stavanger, the 4th largest municipality in Norway, and together the Stavanger/Sandnes area is the third-largest urban area in Norway. The urban city of Sand ...

to the north. The coastline is agricultural and consists of, from south to north, the areas Orre, Reve, Bore and

Sele Sele may refer to: Places Africa *Sele, Burkina Faso, a village in the Ouéleni Department of Burkina Fase. * Sele, Ethiopia, a town in Agbe municipality Asia *Sele, Turkey, a Turkish village in Kailar in Ottoman times *Şələ, Azerbaijan *Seleu ...

. 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 whi ...

empties into the North Sea in Klepp. The small island of Feistein lies off shore and is the site of the

Feistein Lighthouse Feistein Lighthouse () is a coastal lighthouse in Rogaland county, Norway. The lighthouse is located on a small island in Klepp municipality, off the coast of Jæren. It was established in 1859, and automated in 1990. The tall cast iron tower ...

. 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 separat ...

and

Frøylandsvatnet Frøylandsvatnet is a lake in Rogaland county, Norway. The lake is located in the district of Jæren. It forms part of the municipal boundary line between Klepp and Time. The lake is quite shallow, with an average depth of . The town of Bryn ...

Weather

Transportation

The Sørlandet railway line, historically called the

Jæren Line The Jæren Line () was a 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 Bane NOR, the line has doub ...

, runs through Klepp along lake

. The village of

, east of Kleppe, is built around the train station

Klepp Station Klepp Station () is a railway station in the municipality of Klepp in Rogaland county, Norway. The station is located in the village of Klepp stasjon, about east of the municipal centre of Kleppe. The station on the Sørlandet Line. The statio ...

. 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 Kverneland Group is an international company developing, producing and distributing agricultural implements, electronics and digital services to the farming community.Kvernaland 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, Norway, Time (and ...

, 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 t ...

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. Career 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 ...

and the national team captain

Ane Stangeland Horpestad Ane Stangeland Horpestad (née Stangeland; born 2 June 1980) is a Norwegian people, Norwegian former Association football, footballer who Captain (association football), captained the Norway women's national football team. A cultured central Def ...

. 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

Klepp 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 ...

Municipal council

The

() of Klepp is made up of 31 representatives that are elected to four year terms. 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 Klepp (incomplete list): * 1838–1846: Ingebret Grude * 1846–1849: Erik Eriksson Stangeland * 1849–1851: Ingebret Grude * 1851–1851: Henrik Ødegaard * 1852–1855: Johan Garmann Grude * 1856–1859: Paul Hauge * 1860–1863: Karl Grude * 1864–1867: Tore Ellingsen * 1868–1869: Johan Garmann Grude * 1872–1879: Johan Garmann Grude * 1880–1881: Rasmus O. Kleppe * 1913–1916: Thore Larsen Braut ( V) * 1945–1947: A.M. Stangeland * 1947–1951: Sven Grude * 1951–1955: Ommund Thu * 1955–1961: Hans K. Sveinsvoll ( Bp) * 1971–1981: Enok E. Stangeland ( Sp) * 1981–1987: Lars Brunes ( H) * 1987–1991: Asbjørn Kverneland ( H) * 1991–1999: Ole I. Bore ( Sp) * 1999–2011: Elfin Lea ( H) * 2011–2019: Ane Mari Braut Nese ( H) * 2019–2023: Sigmund Rolfsen ( Ap) * 2023–present: Kjetil Maudal ( FrP)

Parliament

There have been many members of the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional represe ...

from Klepp. Thore Larsen Braut and Karl K. Kleppe were members of Parliament prior to the Second World War. After the war

Lars Storhaug Lars Storhaug (born 28 September 1935) is a Norwegian farmer and politician. Biography Storhaug was born in Klepp to farmers Lars Storhaug Sr. (1898–1977) and Borghild née Skadsem (1914–2000). He was elected representative to the S ...

, Oddbjørg Ausdal Starrfelt, and

Knut Haus Knut Haus (8 June 1915 – 23 June 2006) was a Norwegian politician for the Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Chr ...

have been members of Parliament.

Notable people

Theodor Dahl Theodor Dahl (4 November 1886 – 5 May 1946) was a Norwegian journalist, short story writer, novelist and poet. Personal life Dahl was born in Klepp to watchmaker and schoolteacher Kristian Dahl and Karen Torkildsdotter Engelsvoll. In 1905 he ma ...

(1886–1946), a 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 Stavan ...

(1892–1973), a historian who was the

National archivist of Norway The national archivist () 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 with regard to leg ...

from 1933 to 1960 *

Torvald Tu Torvald Tu (22 July 1893 – 15 January 1955) was a Norwegian poet, playwright, novelist and writer of humoresques. He was born in Klepp as a son of farmers. His literary debut was the 1914 play ''Storbrekkmyri'', and his first poetry collection ...

(1893–1955), a poet, playwright, novelist, and writer of humoresques *

Sigve Tjøtta Sigve Tjøtta (1 March 1930 – 28 August 2023) was a Norwegian mathematician. Early life He was born in Klepp. He took the cand.real. degree in 1954 and the dr.philos. degree in 1960, both at the University of Oslo. His doctoral thesis was ''On ...

(born 1930), a mathematician and long-distance runner *

Åse-Marie Nesse Åse-Marie Nesse ( 29 April 1934 – 13 July 2001) was a Norwegian philologist, translator and poet. Biography Åse-Marie Nesse was born in Klepp, in Rogaland county, Norway. She examen artium, finished her secondary education in 1952 at ''Rogala ...

(1934–2001), a philologist, academic, and poet *

Arne Sølvberg Arne Sølvberg (born 13 February 1940) is a Norwegian computer scientist, professor in computer science at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, Norway, and an expert in the field of information modelling. Care ...

(born 1940), a computer scientist, academic, and 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 ...

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 ...

Pictures from Klepp
{{use dmy dates, date=June 2020 Jæren Municipalities of Rogaland 1838 establishments in Norway