Nærbø
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Nærbø is the largest village in
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 ...
municipality in
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 ...
. The village is located in the 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 ...
, about half-way between the town of
Bryne Bryne (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Time, Norway, Time municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The town is the administrative centre of the municipality of Time and it is also List of urban areas in Norway by population ...
and the village of
Varhaug Varhaug is the administrative centre of Hå municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located in the district of Jæren and it is the second largest village in Hå municipality after Nærbø. It was also the administrative centre ...
. The village sits about south of Norway's fourth largest 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 ...
. The village was 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 old municipality of Nærbø from 1894 until 1964 when it was merged into Hå. The village has a population (2019) of 7,269 and a
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 ...
of . The
Sørlandet Line The Sørlandet Line () is a railway line between Drammen (though this is connected to Oslo by means of the Drammen Line) via Kristiansand to Stavanger. The line is long between Oslo and Stavanger. History The railway was constructed in several ...
, traditionally the Jæren Line, runs through the village, with the Jæren Commuter Rail service stopping at Nærbø Station, while the intercity service is accessible from nearby Bryne Station. County Road 44 passes west of the village. The area around Nærbø is one of the most important agricultural areas of Norway with almost half of the land in the municipality being used for agricultural purposes. The area is sometimes referred to as the breadbasket of Norway because of its large agricultural sector. The name Nærbø dates back to 1834 when the two local church congregations of ''Njærheim'' and ''Bø'' were amalgamated and the resulting congregation was called ''Nærbø''. The church for this congregation was called the ''Nærbø Church'' (today called the Old Nærbø Church since the "new" Nærbø Church was built in 2005).


History

Archaeologists have found traces of human activity dating back as far as 6000 years B.C in the area. Most of these findings have been in the vicinity of the river Hååna, which flows from the hills in the east of the municipality to the ocean in the west. These early inhabitants were mostly hunters that survived on fishing and small game hunting. In 3000 B.C., the area was covered by large oak and pine forests. It is also during that time that people started to settle down and farm the land. The transition from hunting to agriculture led to the clearing of most of the forests. The region also played an important part in the
Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...
(eighth to eleventh centuries). Nærbø is located about south of the Hafrsfjorden, where in 872 the
Battle of Hafrsfjord The Battle of Hafrsfjord () was a naval battle fought in Hafrsfjord sometime between 872 and 900 that resulted in the unification of Norway, later known as the Kingdom of Norway (872–1397), Kingdom of Norway. After the battle, the victorious Vi ...
took place. The western parts of Norway were unified under one monarch after this battle. In 950,
Erik the Red Erik Thorvaldsson (), known as Erik the Red, was a Norse explorer, described in medieval and Icelandic saga sources as having founded the first European settlement in Greenland. Erik most likely earned the epithet "the Red" due to the color o ...
, founder of the first Norse settlement in
Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
was born in Øksnevad, about north of Nærbø. Erik the Red was also the father of the famous Viking explorer
Leif Erikson Leif Erikson, also known as Leif the Lucky (), was a Norsemen, Norse explorer who is thought to have been the first European to set foot on continental Americas, America, approximately half a millennium before Christopher Columbus. According ...
, who was the first European to set foot on the American mainland in 1003. In 968, Olav Trygvason, the King of Norway from 995 to 1000 was born in Obrestad just outside the village of Nærbø. Olav Trygvason played a big part in bringing
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
to Norway and is believed to have built the first church in Norway in 995. He also founded the city of
Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...
in 997. In 1349, the
Black Plague The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...
killed nearly 2/3rds of the population in the area. In 1878, the Jærbanen rail line was completed with Nærbø Station in this village. In 1940, the
Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...
invaded Norway and large areas of the coastline 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 ...
was lined with high explosive mines. The Germans forced many of the Norwegian men in the area to work as labourers for the German occupying forces.


Economy

The region is an important
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 ...
area and subsequently a great proportion of the inhabitants are employed in the agricultural sector. The village has one of Norway's biggest dairies which produces of milk each year. The Tine dairy also makes the famous Jarlsberg and Norvegia cheeses, in addition to other dairy products. The dairy employs 64 people. The Risa group (formerly Brødrene Risa) is run from Nærbø and has several facilities in Nærbø. The village also has an
abattoir In livestock agriculture and the meat industry, a slaughterhouse, also called an abattoir (), is a facility where livestock animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a meat ...
and local shopping centers. Because of Nærbø close proximity to the cities of
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 ...
and
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 ...
, it has attracted many new inhabitants from these two cities. This is mainly due to more affordable real estate prices in Nærbø, and a relatively short commute between Nærbø and Sandnes/Stavanger. Stavanger is approximately away from Nærbø, and Sandnes is away. There are four elementary schools in Nærbø (Motland skule, Bø skule, Vigre skule, Høyland skule), and a secondary school (Nærbø Ungdomsskule). There is also the privat
Tryggheim
Christian high school and college in the village.


Climate

The village centre is located approximately from 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 ...
coast. The climate is classified as mild
oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...
, and the flat open landscape makes the village a rather windy place. Up until the mid-1980s, the village experienced relatively heavy snowfalls, and the snow tended to stay on the ground throughout the winter months. But due to rising temperatures in the last two decades, heavy snowfalls have become less frequent.


Ã…na Prison

One of the largest prisons in Norway, Ã…na Prison, which was originally built as a labor camp in 1912, but later converted into an ordinary prison, is located approximately south of the village center. The prison has a total capacity of 164 inmates, including a low security wing with a capacity to house 24 inmates. The prison is surrounded by farmland and has one of Norway's biggest farms.


Places of interest

The Hå Vicarage was built in 1637 and is located to the west of the village and overlooks the North Sea. It has been fully renovated and these days it's used as an art gallery. There's also a museum on the ground floor. The landscape surrounding the Vicarage has several Viking burial mounds. Grødelandstunet is located to the south west of Nærbø near the coast, and is a traditional farm house that has been turned into a museum. The purpose of the museum is to give visitors an idea of how people in the region used to live in earlier times. Because of Nærbø close proximity to the North Sea the village is blessed with easy access to several beaches, which are popular destinations for the local population during the summer months. The largest beach in Norway, Brusand beach, is only a 15-minute drive away. The beaches are also popular with surfers and are considered to be some of the better spots in Europe for wave surfing due to the rough seas the area experiences in the autumn and the winter months. The Nærbø Park is located about away from the village centre. It contains a big man-made pond, a pine forest, and several footpaths. The park is known for its exotic bird population. The river Hååna which flows through the Hå municipality is one of the best
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 the country and attracts many visitors each year. Special fishing permits can be bought from the local farmers that own the various sections of the river. One also need to pay th
National fishing licence
t
The Directorate for Nature Management
Obrestad Lighthouse is located to the southwest of the village. It was built in 1873 and renovated in 1949. Today it is fully automated and owned by the Norwegian coastal administration. The lighthouse is protected by the Cultural Heritage Act. The lighthouse is open to the public through guided tours. There is also a marina in the area sheltered by a man-made jetty. There is also a weather station at the light house. On 2 June 1975, a minimum temperature of was recorded. This is the lowest temperature recorded for the month of June in Rogaland.


Nærbø Motorfestival

Nærbø is the only place in Norway which hosts an annual
Formula 3 Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...
race. The race takes place on the streets of the village centre. The track is approximately long and ranges from in width. The festival started in 1997 and has been a popular event ever since, attracting people from all over the country. Speeds in excess of has been reached on several occasions. The event has been referred to by the locals as a miniature version of the
Monte Carlo Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...
Grand Prix. In 2006, one of the Formula 3 cars came crashing over one of the concrete guard blocks lining the outer perimeter of the track and smashed into the crowd, killing a 16-year-old spectator. Many feared that this would be the end of the event, but stricter security measures have been introduced and approvals have been granted for future festivals. The festival however has never (as of 2025) been resumed.


Sport

Sport is very popular in Nærbø, and the village has top of the range sports facilities. The village boasts two indoor handball fields, one ice hockey rink, a swimming pool, and several outdoor football pitches. In 1993, the sports administration centre in Loen burnt down to the ground, and an effort to rebuild it was immediately undertaken. The rebuilding process was mainly achieved by voluntary work by the local population, commonly known as dugnad. More than 850 locals were involved in the building process and almost 15,000 working hours were invested to achieve this goal. Two years later, the new administration centre was finally inaugurated. The Idrettslunden staged significant
motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...
events, when it held a qualifying round of the
Speedway World Team Cup The Speedway World Team Cup was an annual motorcycle speedway, speedway event held each year in different countries. The competition started in 1960 and was replaced with the Speedway World Cup in 2001. Format From 1960 until 1985, each team c ...
in 1972 and hosted the final of the Norwegian Individual Speedway Championship in 1974, 1976, 1978 and 1980.


Notable residents

* Georg Fredrik Rieber-Mohn, former National Attorney. * Kjell Arild Pollestad, former Catholic priest, author, and travel guide * Gunnar Torvund, sculptor * Helge Torvund, poet, author, translator, critic, and psychologist * Henriette Henriksen, handball player that has played for the national handball team.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naerbo Villages in Rogaland HÃ¥