Varhaug
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Varhaug is 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
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 ...
and it is the second largest village in
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 after
Nærbø Nærbø is the largest village in Hå municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located in the district of Jæren, about half-way between the town of Bryne and the village of Varhaug. The village sits about south of Norway's fourth ...
. It was also the administrative centre for the former municipality 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 ...
from 1894 until its dissolution in 1964. The village was founded in the late 19th century and expanded during the 20th century around the local railway station:
Varhaug Station Varhaug Station () is a railway station located at Varhaug in Hå, Norway on the Sørlandet Line. The station is served by the Jæren Commuter Rail between Stavanger and Egersund Egersund is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Eigersu ...
. Varhaug lies 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 ...
coastline. The village of Varhaug lies between the two neighbouring villages of
Nærbø Nærbø is the largest village in Hå municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located in the district of Jæren, about half-way between the town of Bryne and the village of Varhaug. The village sits about south of Norway's fourth ...
and
Vigrestad Vigrestad is a village in Hå municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located about northeast of the southwestern coast of Norway, facing the North Sea. The village sits about southeast of the village of Varhaug and about nort ...
, and the people live in a "love-hate relationship" with these villages. There are no one that are more important to beat in a football match. The official demonym for a person coming from the village is Varhaugsbu. An unofficial but friendly nickname for people from Varhaug is Trausk (pl: Trausker). Trausk is a word from Jæren, meaning
Frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...
or
Toad Toad (also known as a hoptoad) is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. In popular culture (folk taxonomy ...
. The nickname is decades old, and all local villages had one, though Varhaug's nickname is one of the few still somewhat in use. Other words describing a person from Varhaug can be Håbu or Jærbu. With an elevation of between , Varhaug is the highest elevated village in the municipality. The future development of Varhaug is uncertain. Agricultural land protection is a hot topic in the local newspapers since the farm land is so important to the nations food supply. The future policy of the Norwegian Government will decide how much the villages of Jæren are allowed to expand in the future. Maybe high-rise buildings are the answer, maybe Norway decides to rely more on foreign food production or perhaps there will be new villages established east of the prime agricultural land.


History

Before
Varhaug Station Varhaug Station () is a railway station located at Varhaug in Hå, Norway on the Sørlandet Line. The station is served by the Jæren Commuter Rail between Stavanger and Egersund Egersund is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Eigersu ...
was opened in 1878 as a part of 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 ...
, there was basically only farms in the area. When the train station was built, a lot of services were located near the station, and people started settling down around the station.


Origin of the name

The name of the village is derived from a farm with the same name, located closer to the sea. It is uncertain why this name was chosen for the train station, but the farms close to the sea have traditionally been wealthy and important in
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 ...
. Varhaug is a word with two elements, the latter "haug" is from 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'' and refers in this case to a
tumulus A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found through ...
. The first "Var" is believed to be
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 ...
meaning "stone made". Varhaug became the approved name for the village in 1958 by the
Norwegian Mapping and Cadastre Authority The Norwegian Mapping Authority (NMA) () is Norway's national mapping agency, dealing with land surveying, geodesy, hydrographic surveying, cadastre and cartography. The current director is Johnny Welle. Its headquarters are in Hønefoss in Ring ...
, though it had been in use long before this.


Population development

The village has a population (2019) of 3,239 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 population has been more or less steadily growing ever since
Varhaug Station Varhaug Station () is a railway station located at Varhaug in Hå, Norway on the Sørlandet Line. The station is served by the Jæren Commuter Rail between Stavanger and Egersund Egersund is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Eigersu ...
was opened in 1878.
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 ...
publish population numbers for every large village but only provides detailed information at the municipality level. Hå municipality has always ranked high on fertility rate compared to the Norwegian average. There is no demographic or geographic factors that indicates that the numbers for the municipality is not representative for the village. In 2008, about two-thirds of the population increase in Hå municipality was from new settlers, the rest was from population growth within. Due to the heavy population increase in Nærbø, it's believed that this number is a bit lower in Varhaug. Still there has been a significant number of asylum seekers, foreign workers and Norwegians from other municipalities settling down in the village.


Climate

The village is located middle of Jæren, which is one of the mildest areas in Norway. This and the flat landscape makes it very suitable for agriculture, compared to other parts of Norway. The flat landscape however makes it pretty windy sometimes. There are normally only a few weeks every year when there is snow. Precipitation is typically about per year and the average temperature is . Temperatures have tended to be higher in more recent years.


Economy

Traditionally, agriculture has been the backbone of the villages economy. But as the village has grown, it gradually becomes less important. Agriculture is still important for all the farms around the village, and the farmers are still being important customers for the shops in the village. The Jæren region has traditionally been and still is well known for the good and hard working craftsmen. The biggest employer in Hå municipality is the municipality itself. Most of these workplaces are spread around in the municipality, but the administration is located in this village, meaning it is one of the most important workplaces in Varhaug. Another big employer in Varhaug is Fjordkjøkken AS, a company specializing in producing prefabricated dinner meals for the Norwegian brand
Fjordland Fjordland is a Norwegian food manufacturer that produces easy made dinners, margarine, yogurt and other dessert dairy products. It is owned by the three agricultural cooperatives Tine, Nortura and Hoff and uses raw products from the three o ...
. Many people from the village has jobs in the larger nearby cities 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 ...
,
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
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 ...
. However, Hå municipality is trying to create more jobs locally, such as the food industry park in Kviamarka.


Transportation

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 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 the village, with the
Jæren Commuter Rail The Jæren Commuter Rail () is a commuter train service operated along the westernmost part of the Sørland Line in Jæren, Norway. It is operated by Go-Ahead Norge with nine NSB Class 72, Class 72 electric multiple units. The service acts as a ...
serving
Varhaug Station Varhaug Station () is a railway station located at Varhaug in Hå, Norway on the Sørlandet Line. The station is served by the Jæren Commuter Rail between Stavanger and Egersund Egersund is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Eigersu ...
. Because of the hourly train service, there are not other scheduled bus services than school buses. County Road 44 is the main road along the coast between Stavanger and
Egersund Egersund is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Eigersund municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The town is located along the southwestern coast of Norway, about south of the city of Stavanger (city), Stavanger. The town is situat ...
. County Road 504 connects Varhaug and County Road 44 to 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.


Education

Varhaug has one elementary school, Varhaug School, and one lower secondary school, Varhaug Lower Secondary School. There are no upper secondary schools in Varhaug. Varhaug skule was opened in 1958 and combined the school houses of Auestad, Lerbrekk, Odland, Ualand and Ånestad. Varhaug ungdomsskule was constructed in the mid-1980s. Before this the youth had traveled to Vigrestad to go to lower secondary school.


Sports

Most competitive sports are arranged through
Varhaug Idrettslag Varhaug Idrettslag (Varhaug IL or VIL) is the main sports club for people living in the village of Varhaug, Norway, and was established on 1 August 1932. The club caters for a wide range of sports and activities with the most popular being footbal ...
. Approximately 6 kilometres east of Varhaug is the
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 ...
and
motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...
stadium known as Elgane. The facility is run by the Motorsykkel Elgane Klubb and is one of Norway's leading motorcycle speedway venues and has held multiple international events.


Media

''Varhaugbuen'' is a local printed magazine coming out four times a year. The magazine have articles about local history, upcoming or recent happenings or about people from the village. Varhaugbuen is distributed freely to all households in Varhaug, but is also available for free online a
varhaugbuen.no


Notable residents


References


External links


Weather forecast for Varhaug

Varhaug IL's official page

Hå Municipality's official page
{{Authority control Villages in Rogaland