Vigrestad is a 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 about northeast of the southwestern coast of Norway, facing 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 ...

. The village sits about southeast of 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 ...

and about northwest of the villages of

Hæen Hæen or Stokkalandsmarka is a village in Hå municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located between the villages of Vigrestad and Brusand. The Sørlandet Line runs along the south side of the village. The village is known as ...

and Brusand. Vigrestad Station is located on the

Sørland Line Sørland is a seaside resort, fishing village, and the administrative centre of Værøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the southern side of the island of Værøya. The village is the main population center of the isla ...

, which runs through the village. The station is unstaffed and only local trains stop there, not express or regional ones. The village has a population (2019) of 2,090 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 .

Name

The name probably has its origin from the word ''vig'' meaning "battle" or "war", and ''stad'' meaning "place". There is therefore reason to believe that it was the site of a battle. The name could alternatively originate 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 "vigr" which means "spear". North of the village there are several barrows from 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 ...

and

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

. Vigrestad has been spelled in various ways over the centuries: Wirestad, Virestadt, Wiresteid in 1567, Vigrist in 1606, Wigresta in 1610, Vigrestad in 1616, and Wigrestad in 1723.

Economy

The main source of income in Vigrestad is

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

; mainly dairy, beef, pork, sheep, and potatoes. There are also companies that specialise in high-class timber furniture (for the

Royal family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

, among others), and laser-cutting. A variety of industries and companies can also be found, many of them at Stokkalandsmarka, just southeast of Vigrestad.

Notable residents

* Elin Hetland Mong, a local politician for the party Høyre and was leader of the union Norsk Ergoterapeutforbund * Monica Sandve, a handball player, National team, and Nordstrand (in the top league) * Enevald Flåten, a pastor in Levende Ord Bibelsenter

References

Villages in Rogaland Hå {{Rogaland-geo-stub