Hå kommune
Municipality

View of the Brusandstrand beach in Hå

Coat of arms

Rogaland within
Norway

Hå within Rogaland
Coordinates: 58°36′23″N 05°43′29″E / 58.60639°N 5.72472°E / 58.60639; 5.72472Coordinates: 58°36′23″N 05°43′29″E / 58.60639°N 5.72472°E / 58.60639; 5.72472
Country Norway
County Rogaland
District Jæren
Administrative centre Varhaug
Government
  Mayor (2015) Jonas Skrettingland (KrF)
Area
  Total 257.99 km2 (99.61 sq mi)
  Land 247.78 km2 (95.67 sq mi)
  Water 10.21 km2 (3.94 sq mi)
Area rank 297 in Norway
Population (2016)
  Total 18,591
  Rank 64 in Norway
  Density 75.0/km2 (194/sq mi)
  Change (10 years) 24.9 %
Demonym(s) Håbu[1]
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
  Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code NO-1119
Official language form Neutral
Website www.ha.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is the southernmost municipality in the traditional district of Jæren. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Varhaug. Other villages in Hå include Brusand, Hæen, Nærbø, Obrestad, Ogna, Sirevåg, and Vigrestad.

General information

View of the Hå landscape

The parish of Haa was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). In 1894, the municipality of Haa was dissolved and divided into two new municipalities: Nærbø (population: 1,806) and Varhaug (population: 1,801). In the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the municipality of Hå was recreated by merging of the neighboring municipalities of Nærbø (population: 3,926), Varhaug (population: 3,454), and Ogna (population: 1,470).[2] In local politics, the divisions between the three previous municipalities are very visible.

Name

The municipality is named after the old farm (Old Norse: Háar) where the local church priest's parsonage was located. The meaning of the name is unknown. The river running past this farm is similarly named the Hååna, meaning the "Hå river". It is not known if the river is named after the farm or vice versa.[3]

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times; they were granted on 5 July 1991. The arms are black with a silver/white winch in the centre. It is a special type of winch that has historically been used in this area to remove stones from the many farm fields. The arms were chosen to symbolize the hard living on the rocky soils of the municipality.[4]

Churches

The Church of Norway has three parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Hå. It is part of the Jæren deanery in the Diocese of Stavanger.

Churches in Hå
Parish (Sokn)Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
NærbøNærbø ChurchNærbø2005
Old Nærbø ChurchNærbø1834
OgnaOgna ChurchOgna1250
VarhaugVarhaug ChurchVarhaug1904

Government

Historical population
YearPop.±%
197110,607    
198112,327+16.2%
199113,022+5.6%
200114,017+7.6%
201116,822+20.0%
201618,591+10.5%
Source: Statistics Norway.[5]

All municipalities in Norway, including Hå, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), 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.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Hå is made up of 33 representatives that are elected to every four years. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows:[6]

Hå Kommunestyre 2015–2019
Party NameName in NorwegianNumber of
representatives
 Labour PartyArbeiderpartiet3
 Progress PartyFramstegspartiet3
 Conservative PartyHøgre6
 Christian Democratic PartyKristelig Folkeparti7
 Centre PartySenterpartiet3
 Local ListsLokale lister11
Total number of members:33

Geography

Sandy beaches at Ogna, in the southern part of the municipality.

Hå municipality is located on the southwestern shore of Norway, along the North Sea. The municipality is located mostly in the very flat, coastal Jæren district. The southeastern part of the municipality begins to get a little hilly and rocky and it marks the border of the Dalane district (located to the south and east). Much of the land in Hå is used for agriculture because of its flat landscape. The river Hååna runs through the municipality. The shoreline of the municipality is marked by the Kvassheim Lighthouse and Obrestad Lighthouse.[7]

Settlements

List of the largest villages in Hå[8]
NamePopulationArea (km²)Population density per km²
Brusand4280.22,140
Hæen5880.431,367
Nærbø6,9953.282,133
Ogna3600.311,161
Sirevåg6270.7896
Varhaug3,1141.571,983
Vigrestad2,1161.181,793

Weather

Climate data for Obrestad Lighthouse, Hå
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 3.1
(37.6)
2.9
(37.2)
4.5
(40.1)
7.1
(44.8)
11.3
(52.3)
13.8
(56.8)
15.1
(59.2)
15.9
(60.6)
13.8
(56.8)
11.1
(52)
7.4
(45.3)
4.8
(40.6)
9.2
(48.6)
Daily mean °C (°F) 1.1
(34)
0.7
(33.3)
2.3
(36.1)
4.5
(40.1)
8.4
(47.1)
11.3
(52.3)
12.8
(55)
13.5
(56.3)
11.6
(52.9)
9.0
(48.2)
5.1
(41.2)
2.7
(36.9)
6.9
(44.4)
Average low °C (°F) −1.4
(29.5)
−1.8
(28.8)
−0.2
(31.6)
1.8
(35.2)
5.8
(42.4)
8.8
(47.8)
10.6
(51.1)
10.9
(51.6)
9.1
(48.4)
6.5
(43.7)
2.6
(36.7)
0.0
(32)
4.4
(39.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 114
(4.49)
77
(3.03)
88
(3.46)
64
(2.52)
77
(3.03)
77
(3.03)
97
(3.82)
117
(4.61)
156
(6.14)
160
(6.3)
156
(6.14)
126
(4.96)
1,309
(51.54)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) 15.0 11.2 13.3 11.2 11.5 10.7 11.4 13.9 16.6 17.5 18.3 16.6 167.2
Source: Norwegian Meteorological Institute[9]


Transportation

The Sørlandsbanen railway line runs through the municipality, making several stops. The stations in Hå include Brusand Station, Nærbø Station, Ogna Station, Sirevåg Station, Varhaug Station, and Vigrestad Station.

References

  1. "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
  2. Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå.
  3. Rygh, Oluf (1915). Norske gaardnavne: Stavanger amt (in Norwegian) (10 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 104.
  4. "Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 2016-06-23.
  5. Projected population - Statistics Norway
  6. "Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway. 2015.
  7. Store norske leksikon. "Hå" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2016-06-23.
  8. Statistisk sentralbyrå (1 January 2015). "Urban settlements. Population and area, by municipality.".
  9. "eKlima Web Portal". Norwegian Meteorological Institute.
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