Sandnes () is a city and 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 ...

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 lies immediately south 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 ...

, the 4th largest municipality in Norway, and together the

Stavanger/Sandnes Stavanger/Sandnes is the third largest urban area in Norway. It consists of the densely built-up areas in the municipalities of Stavanger, Sandnes, Sola, and Randaberg, most of which are located on the Stavanger Peninsula, its surrounding islan ...

area is the third-largest urban area in Norway. The urban city of Sandnes lies in the extreme western part of the vast municipality and it makes up about 5% of the total land area of the municipality. Sandnes is part of the traditional

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

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 western part of the municipality is very urbanized while the eastern part of the municipality is very rural. The municipality is divided into 13 boroughs and the administrative centre is located in the borough of

Trones og Sentrum Trones og Sentrum is a borough of the city of Sandnes in the west part of the large municipality of Sandnes in Rogaland county, Norway. It encompasses the downtown part of the city, at the inner end of the Gandsfjorden Gandsfjorden or Gandafj ...

, a borough in the city. There are several villages in the rural parts of the municipality including

Hommersåk Hommersåk is a village in Sandnes municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located in the borough of Riska in the northern part of the municipality. It is situated about northeast of the centre of the city of Sandnes, along the ...

Høle Høle is a previous borough and a village in the eastern part of Sandnes municipality in Rogaland county, Norway, located along the Høgsfjorden. The area was historically a part of the municipality of Høle. Høle Church and Høle School ...

Foss-Eikeland Foss-Eikeland or Foss Eikjeland is a village in the western part of the large Sandnes municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village lies just south of the city of Sandnes, just north of the river Figgjoelva and the municipal border. The ...

, Stokka,

Forsand Forsand is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1871 until 2020 when it was merged into Sandnes municipality. It was located in the traditional district of Ryfylke. The administrative centre of the m ...

Lysebotn Lysebotn is a village in Sandnes municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located at the eastern end of the Lysefjorden in a very isolated valley that is only accessible by a seasonal road or by boat. The name itself means the "bo ...

, and Vatne. The municipality is the 109th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Sandnes is the 7th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 83,382 in 2023. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 20.8% over the previous 10-year period.

History

The small port village of Sandnes was granted '' ladested'' (small seaport city) status in 1860. On 6 April 1861, the small city was separated from the municipality of

Høyland Høyland is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The municipality was located at the innermost end of the Gandsfjorden in the western part of the present-day municipality of Sandnes. The muni ...

to form a separate self-governing municipality of its own. Initially, the municipality had 440 residents. On 1 July 1957, a small part of Høyland municipality (population: 18) was transferred to the city of Sandnes. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across 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 1 January 1965, the city and municipality of Sandnes (population: 3,961) was merged with the municipality of Høyland (population: 20,353) and parts of the municipalities of

(population: 926) and

Hetland Hetland is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until 1965 when it was dissolved. The municipality included the Stavanger Peninsula and the land surrounding both sides of the Gandsfjorden, but ...

(population: 2,077). In 2014, the

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

decided that the number of municipalities in Norway would be lowered. If the municipalities of Sandnes, Stavanger and Sola were to merge, a new municipality would be formed called Nord-Jæren, after the name of the geographical location the municipalities are located in. After the city council said no to the merge, proposals for

to merge with Sandnes were enacted instead. On 1 January 2017, a small area on the southwestern edge of the village of

Solakrossen Solakrossen or Sola is the administrative center of Sola municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located at the south end of the Hafrsfjorden on the Stavanger Peninsula, just northwest of the city of Sandnes. The large Stavang ...

was transferred from Sandnes municipality to the neighboring municipality of

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 ...

. On 1 January 2020, most of the neighboring municipality of Forsand was merged with Sandnes to form one large municipality called Sandnes.

Name

The municipality (and city) is named after an old farm, since the city was built on its grounds. The first element is which means '

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

' or 'sandy beach' and the last element is which means '

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, Jo ...

'. The farm was located at the end of the

Gandsfjorden Gandsfjorden or Gandafjorden is a fjord in Rogaland county, Norway. The long Gandsfjorden is an arm off of the large Boknafjorden. It runs between the mainland and the Stavanger Peninsula in the western parts of the municipalities of Stavanger ...

where the city centre is located today.

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 ...

, granted on 21 April 1972, shows a white piece of

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

against a green background. Pottery was chosen since it was one of the main industries in the late 18th century. The symbol is a , which in English would be a

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...

cuckoo Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae ( ) family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes ( ). The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals, and anis. The coucals and anis are somet ...

bird (, '

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

, ceramic' and , 'cuckoo bird'). The ceramic Sandnes cuckoo () is an

ocarina The ocarina (otherwise known as a potato flute) is a wind musical instrument; it is a type of vessel flute. Variations exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the bo ...

or simple flute which was made by the potteries in Sandnes and used to advertise their products. Later it also became a nickname for people from Sandnes.

Geography

The municipality lies in the

region and stretches nearly from the west coast of Norway to the rugged mountainous interior. The city of Sandnes is located at the base of the

Stavanger Peninsula Stavanger Peninsula () is a peninsula in Rogaland County, Norway. The peninsula is named for the city of Stavanger, located on its northeastern shore and it includes the most populous parts of the Greater Stavanger urban area. The peninsula ex ...

, about south of the city of

, and these two cities have expanded so as to form a

conurbation A conurbation is a region consisting of a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ...

. The municipality of

is located to the west,

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 ...

and

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 ...

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 ...

to the south,

Sirdal Sirdal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the northwestern part of the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Lister Region, Lister. The administrative centre of the mun ...

and

Bykle Bykle is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Setesdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bykle (vil ...

to the east,

Strand Strand or The Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * ...

and

Hjelmeland is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Ryfylke. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hjelmelandsvågen. Other villages in the municipality include Fister, Årdal, ...

to the northeast, and Stavanger to the northwest. The

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

is situated north–south at the west end of the municipality and the

Høgsfjorden Høgsfjorden is a fjord in Rogaland county, Norway. It lies in the municipalities of Stavanger, Sandnes, Strand, and Gjesdal. The innermost part of the fjord is located at the village of Frafjord in the municipality of Gjesdal. It flows west ...

and

Lysefjorden Lysefjord or Lysefjorden is a fjord located in the Ryfylke area in Rogaland county in southwestern Norway. The long fjord lies in the municipalities of Strand and Sandnes, about east of the city of Stavanger. The name means ''light fjord'' ...

dominate the eastern part of the municipality. The international airport for Sandnes/Stavanger is situated in Sola, just to the west of Sandnes. Prior to 2020 (when the municipality was enlarged), the city-municipality of Sandnes was divided into 13 boroughs:

Austrått Austrått or Austrått Manor () is a manor in Ørland Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. Since the 10th century, Austrått has been the residence for many noblemen, noblewomen, and officials who played a significant role in Norwegian hist ...

Figgjo Figgjo is a borough of the Sandnes (town), city of Sandnes in the west part of the large municipality of Sandnes in Rogaland county, Norway. The borough is located in the southern part of the city. It has a population (2016) of 2,213. The borou ...

Ganddal Ganddal is a borough of the city of Sandnes in the west part of the large municipality of Sandnes in Rogaland county, Norway. The borough is located in the southwest part of the municipality. Ganddal has a population (2016) of 7,318. It has on ...

, Hana,

, Lura,

Malmheim og Soma Malmheim og Soma is a borough of the city of Sandnes in the west part of the large municipality of Sandnes in Rogaland county, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinav ...

Riska Riska is a borough of the city of Sandnes in Rogaland county, Norway. The borough sits in the northern part of the municipality, northeast of the city centre of Sandnes. The Gandsfjorden runs along the west side of the borough and the Høgsfjo ...

, Sandved, Stangeland, Sviland, and

. The landscape of western Sandnes is quite flat. On the long west coast there are several beaches and further inland the land is raised to form low plains with some small peaks rising up to above sea level. From Stavanger and Sandnes it is approximately one hour by car to alpine and skiing resorts. In Sandnes there are some easily accessible small mountain peaks, such as Dalsnuten and Lifjell, with a view over the Sandnes/Stavanger area. The renowned

is also easily accessible by car or boat. The lake

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 ...

, 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 ...

, and the mountain Hanafjellet are all located in Sandnes. The Lysefjorden in the eastern part of the municipality is surrounded by very steep tall cliffs such as

Kjerag Kjerag or Kiragg is a mountain in the Sandnes municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The tall mountain sits on the southern shore of Lysefjorden, just southwest of the village of Lysebotn. Its northern side is a massive cliff, plunging al ...

and

Preikestolen Preikestolen or Prekestolen () is a tourist attraction in the municipality of Strand in Rogaland county, Norway. Preikestolen is a steep cliff which rises above Lysefjorden. Atop the cliff, there is an almost flat top of approximately . Preike ...

, with the

Lysefjord Bridge Lysefjord Bridge is a suspension bridge over the Lysefjorden in Rogaland county, Norway. The bridge connects the municipalities of Strand, Norway, Strand (on the north end of the bridge) and Sandnes (on the south end of the bridge). Construction ...

crossing the fjord near the western end. The famous

Kjeragbolten Kjeragbolten ( English: ''Kjerag Bolt'') is a boulder on the mountain Kjerag in Sandnes municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The rock itself is a glacial deposit wedged in a large crevice in the mountain. It is a popular tourist desti ...

boulder and

Kjeragfossen Kjeragfossen is a waterfall in the municipality of Sandnes in Rogaland county, Norway. The waterfall cascades down from the Kjerag plateau on the south shore of the Lysefjorden. It is one of the highest waterfalls in Norway and one of the hig ...

waterfall are located along the inner part of the fjord. The village of

lies at the eastern end of the fjord. The lake

Nilsebuvatnet Nilsebuvatnet is a lake in the municipalities of Sandnes and Hjelmeland in Rogaland county, Norway. The lake lies in the Lyseheiane mountains about north of the village of Lysebotn and about east of the village of Årdal. The lake is regulat ...

is located high up in the mountains, north of Lysebotn on the border of Strand and Forsand municipalities. It is regulated for hydroelectric power use at the

Lysebotn Hydroelectric Power Station The Lysebotn Power Station is a hydroelectric power station located in the municipality Sandnes in Rogaland, Norway. The facility operates at an installed capacity of . The average annual production is 1,242 GWh. It has produced 63 TWh since ...

Climate

Sandnes is in a common urban area with Stavanger and thus the weather station for the international airport of Stavanger Sola is the closest weather station to Sandnes proper. Situated on the southwest coast of Norway, the local climate is greatly influenced by the temperate water in the North Sea, and Atlantic lows giving mild westerlies also in winter. This creates warmer temperatures throughout the year compared to other cities at similar latitudes, and also gives plentiful precipitation in the form of rain, especially in late autumn and winter. Sandnes is a little bit more inland than the airport so thus may have slightly warmer summer days and cooler winter nights as a result. According to

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, Sandnes experiences a temperate

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 ...

(''Cfb'') with five months with a mean temperature above . Spring and early summer is the driest season. The all-time high at the airport was recorded August 1975. The warmest high recorded in the Stavanger area is at the weather station Stavanger-Våland (72 m) in July 2018. The warmest month on record at Stavanger Airport is August 2002 with mean and average daily high . The all-time low was recorded January 1987. The coldest month on record is February 1963 with mean and average daily low . The average date for the last overnight freeze (low below ) in spring is April 20 and average date for first freeze in autumn is October 31 giving a frost-free season of 193 days (Stavanger Airport Sola 1981-2010 average).

Location

Sandnes is located on the west coast of Norway. Here are some distances from the city of Sandnes to other major cities in Norway:

Government

Sandnes 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, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a Municipal council (Norway), municipal council of Direct election, directly elected representatives. The mayor is Indirect election, indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Sør-Rogaland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The Municipal council (Norway), municipal council () of Sandnes is made up of 49 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. Elections are always held two years from the parliamentary elections. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political Political party, party.

Ruling party timeline

# All measures are in pixels ImageSize = width:960 height:100 PlotArea = left:20 right:10 bottom:20 top:40 AlignBars = early DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:1896 till:2025 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1896 Legend = orientation:horizontal left:0 top:90% Define $dx = 25 # shift text to right side of bar Colors = id:PM_LIB value:rgb(0.55, 0.84, 0) Legend: Liberal id:PM_FML value:rgb(0.93, 0.68, 0.93) Legend: Temperance id:PM_CON value:rgb(0.53, 0.68, 0.84) Legend: Conservative id:PM_LAB value:rgb(0.84, 0.04, 0.15) Legend: Labour id:PM_CEN value:rgb(0, 0.52, 0.24) Legend: Agrarian/Centre id:PM_CD value:rgb(1, 0.85, 0.35) Legend: Christian_Democrat PlotData= bar:Party width:30 mark:(line,white) align:right fontsize:S from:start till:1898 color:PM_LIB from:1898 till:1899 color:PM_CON from:1899 till:1902 color:PM_LIB from:1902 till:1903 color:PM_CON from:1903 till:1904 color:PM_LIB from:1904 till:1905 color:PM_CON from:1905 till:1906 color:PM_LIB from:1906 till:1908 color:PM_CON from:1908 till:1922 color:PM_FML from:1922 till:1929 color:PM_LIB from:1929 till:1936 color:PM_CEN from:1936 till:1938 color:PM_LIB from:1938 till:1941 color:PM_LAB from:1941 till:1945 color:PM_CEN from:1945 till:1946 color:PM_LIB from:1946 till:1950 color:PM_LAB from:1950 till:1952 color:PM_LIB from:1952 till:1955 color:PM_LAB from:1955 till:1956 color:PM_LIB from:1956 till:1958 color:PM_CD from:1958 till:1960 color:PM_CEN from:1960 till:1962 color:PM_LIB from:1962 till:1964 color:PM_CON from:1964 till:1968 color:PM_LIB from:1968 till:1970 color:PM_CON from:1970 till:1972 color:PM_LIB from:1972 till:1974 color:PM_CD from:1974 till:1978 color:PM_CON from:1978 till:1980 color:PM_CD from:1980 till:1982 color:PM_CON from:1982 till:1986 color:PM_CD from:1986 till:1991 color:PM_CON from:1991 till:1994 color:PM_CD from:1994 till:2011 color:PM_CON from:2011 till:2023 color:PM_LAB from:2023 till:end color:PM_CON

Mayors

The Mayor#Scandinavia, mayors () of Sandnes: *1861-1864: Jan Adolph Budde *1864-1864: Anders Tvedt *1864-1864: Gabriel Sandved *1865-1866: Abraham Hobberstad *1866-1867: Sven Njeldson Oftedahl *1867-1868: Mauritz Kartevold *1869-1870: Gabriel Sandved *1871-1873: Mauritz Kartevold *1873-1875: Jonas Eivindson Lura *1875-1876: K.M. Sørensen *1876-1877: Sven Njeldson Oftedahl *1877-1877: Martin Nygaard *1878-1878: Svend O. Mouland *1878-1879: Sven Svendson Haaland *1879-1880: K.M. Sørensen *1880-1882: Sven Njeldson Oftedahl *1882-1882: Svend O. Mouland *1883-1884: Ole Svendsen *1885-1885: Andreas O. Anfindsen *1886-1888: Ole Svendsen *1889-1890: Petter Simon Øgland *1890-1891: Samuel Jonasson Sandved *1891-1895: Petter Simon Øgland *1895-1896: Lars Adamson Sporaland *1896-1897: Olaf Anfindsen (Liberal Party (Norway), V) *1898-1898: O.C. Østraadt (Conservative Party (Norway), H) *1899-1901: Olaf Anfindsen (Liberal Party (Norway), V) *1902-1902: O.C. Østraadt (Conservative Party (Norway), H) *1903-1903: Olaf Anfindsen (Liberal Party (Norway), V) *1904-1904: O.C. Østraadt (Conservative Party (Norway), H) *1905-1905: Olaf Anfindsen (Liberal Party (Norway), V) *1906-1907: O.C. Østraadt (Conservative Party (Norway), H) *1908-1912: L.O. Nygaard (Temperance Party (Norway), AvH) *1913-1913: Thorvald S. Øglænd (Temperance Party (Norway), AvH) *1914-1915: L.O. Nygaard (Temperance Party (Norway), AvH) *1916-1916: Thorvald S. Øglænd (Temperance Party (Norway), AvH) *1917-1919: Enok Berge (Temperance Party (Norway), AvH) *1920-1921: Thorvald S. Øglænd (Temperance Party (Norway), AvH) *1922-1929: Lars Øglænd (Liberal Party (Norway), V) *1929-1934: Johan Martinson Haga (Centre Party (Norway), Bp) *1935-1936: Monrad Øksnevad (Centre Party (Norway), Bp) *1936-1938: Gunvald Rasmussen (Liberal Party (Norway), V) *1938-1941: Edvard Astad (Labour Party (Norway), Ap) *1941-1941: Monrad Øksnevad (Centre Party (Norway), Bp) *1945-1945: Gunvald Rasmussen (Liberal Party (Norway), V) *1946-1947: Louis Torgersen (Labour Party (Norway), Ap) *1947-1948: Tollef Fjermestad (Labour Party (Norway), Ap) *1948-1949: Andreas J. Båstøl (Labour Party (Norway), Ap) *1950-1950: Jakob Skretting (Labour Party (Norway), Ap) *1950-1951: Gunvald Rasmussen (Liberal Party (Norway), V) *1952-1953: Andreas J. Båstøl (Labour Party (Norway), Ap) *1953-1955: Louis Torgersen (Labour Party (Norway), Ap) *1955-1956: Gunvald Rasmussen (Liberal Party (Norway), V) *1956-1957: Arthur O. Berge (Christian Democratic Party (Norway), KrF) *1958-1959: Kristian Rønneberg (Centre Party (Norway), Sp) *1960-1961: Audun Schance Olsen (Liberal Party (Norway), V) *1962-1963: Torleiv Tengs-Pedersen (Conservative Party (Norway), H) *1964-1964: Audun Schance Olsen (Liberal Party (Norway), V) *1965-1967: Lars Vatsendvik (Liberal Party (Norway), V) *1968-1969: Lauritz B. Sirevåg (Conservative Party (Norway), H) *1970-1971: Arne Tunheim (Liberal Party (Norway), V) *1972-1973: Beint Bentsen (Christian Democratic Party (Norway), KrF) *1974-1977: Arne Sandnes (Rogaland), Arne Sandnes (Conservative Party (Norway), H) *1978-1979: Odd Arnøy (Christian Democratic Party (Norway), KrF) *1980-1981: Arne Sandnes (Rogaland), Arne Sandnes (Conservative Party (Norway), H) *1982-1985: Sigurd Aarsland (Christian Democratic Party (Norway), KrF) *1986-1990: Roald G. Bergsaker (Conservative Party (Norway), H) *1991-1993: Geir Mykletun (Christian Democratic Party (Norway), KrF) *1994-2007: Jostein W. Rovik (Conservative Party (Norway), H) *2007-2011: Norunn Østråt Koksvik (Conservative Party (Norway), H) *2011-2023: Stanley Wirak (Labour Party (Norway), Ap) *2023-present: Kenny Rettore (Conservative Party (Norway), H)

Media gallery

File:Sandnes City Map.png, Map of Sandnes city center File:Sandnes 01.jpg, The bus station, known as ''Ruten'' (The Route) File:Jaeren Tingrett.jpg, Jæren Tingrett (District Court) File:Sandnes idrettspark fra luften.jpg, Sandnes sports park from the air File:Sandnes om natta.jpg, Sandnes by night File:Sandnesgauk.png, A Sandnesgauk. A clay toy originating in Sandnes.

Economy

Sandnes hosts a large array of retail shops of most kinds and is used by the neighbouring municipalities appreciating the service and wide range of selections. Sandnes is known as Norway's bicycle city, mainly due to the fact that the bicycle manufacturer Øglænd DBS was situated here for decades. The city offers a variety of routes for everyday riders and tourists. Since 1996, a public bicycle rental program has been in operation in the city. The city has a vibrant industrial base, mainly in the

area in the south and the Lura and Forus area in the north along the municipal boundary with Stavanger. There is significant activity related to oil exploration in the North Sea and also some IT-related companies. In this suburban region between Sandnes and Stavanger, malls and department stores have also been established. Among these malls is one of Norway's biggest malls, Kvadrat Storsenter, Kvadrat, meaning 'square' (although it is not square shaped anymore as it has expanded several times since it opened in 1984). Around 30% of the population is employed in Stavanger (Q4 2004). Sandnes was formerly known as the ''pottery town'' of Norway – due to the important ceramics industry based on the extensive occurrence of clay in the surroundings. The Vatneleiren military base is also located in Sandnes, just outside Vatne.

Culture, sports, and education

Since 2016, the primary football team, Sandnes Ulf, has played in the second tier, Norwegian First Division, 1. divisjon, of Norwegian professional football. Sandnes is also known for its Rugby League team, Sandnes Raiders which has supplied the Norwegian national team with players. The major tourist attraction in Sandnes is the Science Factory (Vitenfabrikken). It is a science museum with science and art exhibitions, a planetarium, sun telescopes, and chemistry experiments. Sandnes is the only city in Norway which is a member of the World Health Organization's network of Healthy Cities. Sandnes and Stavanger were chosen along with Liverpool, United Kingdom, to be a European Capital of Culture for 2008. Higher education facilities include Sandnes Upper Secondary School, Gand Upper Secondary School, Akademiet Norge, Akademiet Upper Secondary School, and Vågen Upper Secondary School. In 2010 Forus Upper Secondary School and parts of Lundehaugen Upper Secondary School, Lundehaugen merged to become Vågen. Lundehaugen still exists as a middle school. The city is also home to the VID Specialized University Sandnes campus, a private Christian college.

Churches

The Church of Norway has nine parishes () within the municipality of Sandnes. It is part of the Sandnes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger. The main church for the city is Sandnes Church (Rogaland), Sandnes Church, which is the seat of the deanery which covers the whole municipality.

Notable people

* Karen Grude Koht (1871 in Høyland – 1960) educationalist, essayist and feminist pioneer * Theodor Thjøtta (1885 in Sandnes – 1955) physician, dealt with bacteriology and serology * Elise Ottesen-Jensen (1886 in Hoyland − 1973) sex educator, journalist and anarchist * Aaslaug Aasland (1890 in Sandnes – 1962) politician, Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion, Minister of Social Affairs, 1948 to 1953 * Toralv Øksnevad (1891 in Høyland – 1975) politician, journalist, newspaper editor and radio personality - the ''"voice from London"'' during WWII * Sigrid Stray (1893 in Sandnes – 1978) barrister and proponent of women's rights * Soffi Schønning (1895–1994) operatic soprano, lived in Sandnes in later life * Kasper Idland Military Medal, MM, (1918 in Figgjo – 1968) Norwegian heavy water sabotage, Norwegian heavy water saboteur in 1943 * Kåre Berven Fjeldsaa (1918 in Sandnes – 1991) ceramic designer, early user of stoneware * Tormod Førland (1920 in Høyland – 1995) chemist, worked on inorganic and physical chemistry * Arne Sandnes (Rogaland), Arne Sandnes (1925-2006) politician, mayor of Sandnes in the 1970s * Roald G. Bergsaker (born 1942) sports official and politician, mayor of Sandnes, 1986 to 1990 and Rogaland county mayor, 1999 to 2007 * Julie Ege (1943 in Sandnes – 2008) actress and model * Ivar Braut (born 1956 in Sandnes) a theologian and priest, the Diocese of Stavanger, Bishop of Stavanger, 2017-2019 * Roger Rasmussen (born ca.1965 in Sandnes) stage name ''Nattefrost,'' vocalist and founder of Carpathian Forest, a black metal band * Mette Grøtteland (born 1969 in Sandnes) first female fighter pilot, Royal Norwegian Air Force * Kjartan Salvesen (born 1976 in Sandnes) winner of Norwegian Idol (Norwegian TV series), Idol TV series in 2004 * Thomas Dybdahl (born 1979 in Sandnes) singer-songwriter * Anh Vu (born 1986 in Sandnes) singer and actress IMDb Database
retrieved 02 April 2021 * Annette Obrestad (born 1988) professional poker player; won the 2007 World Series of Poker Europe aged 18; lives in Sandnes

Sport

* Bjarne Berntsen (born 1956 in Sandnes) a former football player with 33 caps with Norway national football team, Norway and coach with Norway women's national football team, Norway women (2005–2009), Viking FK, and Sandnes Ulf * Anne Brit Skjæveland (born 1962) retired heptathlete, lives in Sandnes * Linda Medalen (born 1965 in Sandnes) former footballer, 152 caps with Norway women's national football team, Norway women * Gjert Ingebrigtsen (born 1966) sports coach, father and coach of sons Henrik Ingebrigtsen, Henrik, Filip Ingebrigtsen, Filip and Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Jakob; lives in Sandnes * Rolf Bae (1975 in Sandnes – 2008) Arctic adventurer and mountaineer * Arild Haugen (born 1985) former strongman, currently a professional boxer; lives in Sandnes * Stine Borgli (born 1990 in Sandnes) racing cyclist * 1500-metre runner brothers: **Henrik Ingebrigtsen (born 1991 in Sandnes), competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics **Filip Ingebrigtsen (born 1993 in Sandnes), competed at the European Athletics Championships, European and World Athletics Championships **Jakob Ingebrigtsen (born 2000 in Sandnes), two gold medals at the 2018 European Athletics Championships, Olympic champion over 1500 meters in Tokyo 2020.