Vindafjord


Vindafjord is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Haugaland. Since 2005, the administrative centre of the municipality has been the village of Ølensjøen. Other villages in the municipality include Bjoa, Imslandsjøen, Ølensvåg, Skjold, Vats, Vikebygd, and Vikedal. The municipality is centered on the Vindafjorden and Sandeidfjorden in the east and it lies north and east of the Skjoldafjorden in the west.
The municipality is the 186th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Vindafjord is the 123rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 8,714. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 6.3% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the new municipality of Vindafjord was created from several areas in northern Rogaland county:
Initially, Vindafjord had 4,616 residents. On 1 January 1969, the Sponevik farm was transferred from Vindafjord to the neighboring municipality of Tysvær. Then on 1 January 1978, the Vormestrand area along the southern shore of the Vindafjorden was transferred to neighboring Suldal municipality.
On 1 January 2006, Vindafjord merged with the neighboring municipality of Ølen. Ølen had transferred from Hordaland county to Rogaland county 2002. After the merger, the municipal centre of Vindafjord was moved from Sandeid to the village of Ølensjøen, which had been the administrative centre of Ølen.

Name

The municipality is named after the Vindafjorden, a fjord that runs through the eastern part of the municipality. The first element is probably derived from the verb vinda which means "turn" or "twist" referring to the sharp turn of the fjord at Dragneset.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms were granted on 10 March 2006, shortly after the merger of Ølen with Vindafjord. The new arms are a mix of the old arms of the two municipalities before the merger. The swirling design is taken from the old coat-of-arms of Ølen and the colours are from the old arms of Vindafjord. The swirling design of the arms show in a symbolized way all the roads that come together in the municipality. The municipality thus is an important centre of trade.

Churches

The Church of Norway has eight parishes within the municipality of Vindafjord. It is part of the Haugaland prosti in the Diocese of Stavanger.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
BjoaBjoa ChurchBjoa1895
ImslandImsland ChurchImslandsjøen1861
SandeidSandeid ChurchSandeid1904
SkjoldSkjold ChurchSkjold1999
VatsVats ChurchVats1855
VikebygdVikebygd ChurchVikebygd1937
VikedalVikedal ChurchVikedal1881
ØlenØlen ChurchØlensjøen1874

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Vindafjord, are responsible for primary education, outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor. The municipality falls under the Haugaland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Vindafjord is made up of 25 representatives that are elected to four year terms. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows:

Geography

The municipality of Vindafjord lies south of the Hardangerfjorden and north of the Skjoldafjorden and Vindafjorden. The Sandeidfjorden flows through the municipality also. The lake Vatsvatnet lies in the central part of the municipality. The municipality sits near the base of the Haugalandet peninsula, connecting the mainland to the city of Haugesund on the western end of the peninsula. The European route E134 highway runs through the municipality.