Strand, Norway

Strand kommune
Municipality
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Coat of arms Rogaland within Norway
Strand within Rogaland
Coordinates:
Country	Norway
County	Rogaland
District	Ryfylke
Administrative centre	Jørpeland
Government
• Mayor (2008)	Helge Steinsvåg (Ap)
Area
• Total	218 km2 (84 sq mi)
• Land	195 km2 (75 sq mi)
Area rank	321 in Norway
Population (2012)
• Total	11,533
• Rank	98 in Norway
• Density	53/km2 (140/sq mi)
• Change (10 years)	7.3 %
Demonym(s)	Strandbu Strandabu
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code	NO-1130
Official language form	Neutral
Website	www.strand.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Strand is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is part of the region of Ryfylke. Strand was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Høle (with Forsand) was separated from Strand in 1842. Sørskår (Sundgardene area) was transferred from the municipality of Årdal to Strand in 1965.

Sørskår is located in the northern end, north of Fiskå, on the south side of Årdalsfjord. Fiskå. Strand produces fruit, vegetables and dairy products, along with Fiskå Mølle (Fiskå Mill). To the south, Tau is the communication hub with ferry connections to Stavanger and bus services to Hjelmeland and deeper into Ryfylke. About 10 kilometres (6 mi) southeast, Jørpeland is the largest settlement with about 5,500 people. Following the road southwards one passes Botne before entering into Forsand. To the east Bjørheimsbygd is a thriving agricultural site.

The cross-country and marathon mountain biker Gunn-Rita Dahle comes from Bjørheimsbygd. She has won a gold medal in the Summer Olympics 2004, in Athens. Holtaheia was the mountain behind Holta farm where 34 school boys, 2 teachers and 3 crew died, when the Cunard Viking flight 'Papa Mike' crashed into the mountain, en route to Stavanger.

General information

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Strand farm (Old Norse: Strönd), since the first church was built there. The name is identical with the word strönd which means "strand" or "beach".

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms was granted on 25 May 1973. The arms show three red water wheels on a gray background. The wheels are a symbol for the hydropower, which has been of importance to the municipality, first (since 1850) by using watermills, and now using modern hydro-electric plants.

Industry

Scana Steel Stavanger AS is the largest company in Strand. Main activities are special steel alloys and casting for the shipping and oil/gas industry. Propellers of RMS Queen Mary 2 were made here. About 220 workers.

Comrod Communication ASA, manufacturer of radio communication aerials. Deliveries to fisheries, shipping, oil and gas and also military defence. About 65 employees.

Culture

There are several festivals in Strand, including Ryfylke Ungdomsfestival (Ryfylke Youth Festival), Strandadagane (Strand Days) and Melting Pot (art seminar, mostly making decorative art out of scrap-iron). The annual race between Jørpeland and Tau, Strandamila, is an event which attracts hundreds of people. The race is along the highway, either by bike or on foot. Strand also has many sport facilities: There are a lot of football pitches spread around the municipality, as well as local fitness centres. Tau also has two tennis courts, a beach-volleyball field, and a basketball court, as well as Ryfylkehallen, the largest indoor football arena in the county of Rogaland.

Strand experienced a strong influx of newcomers from Stavanger and Jæren starting in the late 1970s. The original social fabric was divided into factory workers at the iron mill, farmers, and the strong Lutheran tradition. The divides were in many ways exclusive, and only limited movement between the social groups was seen. In later years these divides have become significantly weaker.

External links

• The dictionary definition of Strand at Wiktionary
• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
• Rogaland travel guide from Wikivoyage
• http://www.ryfylke.com