Gjesdal is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Jæren. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ålgård. Other villages in Gjesdal include Dirdal, Frafjord, Gilja, Gjesdal, and Oltedal. The municipality lies about to the southwest of the city ofStavanger in southwestern Norway. The European route E39 highway runs through the western side of the municipality. On the east side of the municipality, the Frafjord Tunnel connects the Frafjord valley with the rest of the municipality. The municipality is the 187th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Gjesdal is the 95th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 12,002. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 17.6% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
Name
The municipality is named after the old Gjesdal farm, since the first Gjesdal Church was built there. The first element is probably an old river name and the last element is the plural form of dalr which means "valley" or "dale". Before 1889, the name was written Gjæsdal, which is the Danish spelling. During the period from 1889-1917 it was spelled Gjesdal. Then starting in 1918, it was spelled Gjestal after the pronunciation of the local dialect. In 1964, the spelling was changed back to the etymologically correct form of Gjesdal.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 15 March 1985. The arms show a white sheep's head on a blue background. The sheet was chosen as a symbol because sheep breeding and wool manufacturing have both been important throughout the history of Gjesdal. The wool industry was centered in the village of Ålgård where wool, textile, and clothing businesses have thrived.
The parish of Gjæsdal was established as a municipality in 1838. It originally was much smaller than it is today, centered on the Gjesdalen valley in the western part of the present-day municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965 several areas were merged to form a much larger municipality of Gjesdal:
The municipal council of Gjesdal is made up of 27 representatives that are elected to four year terms. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows:
Geography
Gjesdal municipality is located in the southern part of the Jæren district in Rogaland county. To the north and northwest, Gjesdal borders the municipality of Sandnes, to the east is Sirdal municipality, to the south is Bjerkreim municipality, and to the west is the municipality of Time. Gjesdal sits at the head of the Høgsfjorden and along the south and east sides of the Frafjorden. The Månafossenwaterfall, the largest waterfall in Rogaland county, is located in the Frafjord valley. There are several large lakes in the municipality such as Edlandsvatnet, Flassavatnet, Limavatnet, and Oltedalsvatnet. The Figgjoelva river has its headwaters in Gjesdal also.
