Sandnes


is municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It lies immediately south of the city of Stavanger, the 4th largest city in Norway and together, the Stavanger/Sandnes area is the 3rd largest urban area in Norway.
Sandnes is part of the district of North-Jæren. The western part of the municipality is very urbanized while the eastern part of the municipality is very rural. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sandnes. The city is divided into 13 boroughs and the administrative centre is located in the borough of Trones og Sentrum in the city centre. There are several village areas in the rural parts of the municipality including Hommersåk, Høle, Foss-Eikeland, Stokka, Forsand, Lysebotn, and Vatne.
The municipality is the 109th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Sandnes is the 11th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 79,537. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 20.8% over the previous 10-year period.

History

The small port village of Sandnes was granted ladested status in 1860. On 6 April 1861, the small city was separated from the municipality of Høyland to form a separate self-governing municipality of its own. Initially, the municipality had 440 residents. On 1 July 1957, a small part of Høyland municipality was transferred to the city of Sandnes.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the city of Sandnes was merged with the municipality of Høyland and parts of the municipalities of Høle and Hetland.
On 1 January 2017, a small area on the southwestern edge of the village of Solakrossen was transferred from Sandnes municipality to the neighboring municipality of Sola.
On 1 January 2020, the neighboring municipality of Forsand was merged with Sandnes to form one large municipality called Sandnes.

Name

The city and municipality is named after an old "Sandnæs" farm, since the city was built on its grounds. The first element is sand which means "sand" or "sandy beach" and the last element is nes which means "headland". The farm was located at the end of the Gandsfjorden where the city centre is located today.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 21 April 1972. The arms show a white piece of pottery on a green background. Pottery was chosen since it was one of the main industries in the late 18th century. The symbol is a leirgauk, which in English would be a ceramic cuckoo-bird. The ceramic Sandnes-cuckoo is an ocarina or simple flute which was made by the potteries in Sandnes and used to advertise their products. Later it also became a nickname for people from Sandnes.

Geography

The municipality lies in the Jæren region and stretches nearly from the west coast of Norway to the rugged mountainous interior. The city of Sandnes is located at the base of the Stavanger Peninsula, about south of the city of Stavanger, and these two cities have expanded so as to form a conurbation. The municipality of Sola is located to the west, Klepp and Time, Gjesdal to the south, Sirdal and Bykle to the east, Strand and Hjelmeland to the northeast, and Stavanger to the northwest. The fjord Gandsfjorden is situated north–south at the west end of the municipality and the Høgsfjorden and Lysefjorden dominate the eastern part of the municipality. The international airport for Sandnes/Stavanger is situated in Sola, just to the west of Sandnes.
Prior to 2020, the city-municipality of Sandnes was divided into 13 boroughs: Austrått, Figgjo, Ganddal, Hana, Høle, Lura, Malmheim og Soma, Riska, Sandved, Stangeland, Sviland, and Trones og Sentrum.
The landscape of western Sandnes is quite flat. On the long west coast there are several beaches and further inland the land is raised to form low plains with some small peaks rising up to above sea level. From Stavanger and Sandnes it is approximately one hour by car to alpine and skiing resorts. In Sandnes there are some easily accessible small mountain peaks, such as Dalsnuten and Lifjell, with a view over the Sandnes/Stavanger area. The renowned Lysefjorden is also easily accessible by car or boat. The lake Frøylandsvatnet, the river Figgjoelva, and the mountain Hanafjellet are all located in Sandnes.
The Lysefjorden in the eastern part of the municipality is surrounded by very steep tall cliffs such as Kjerag and Preikestolen, with the Lysefjord Bridge crossing the fjord near the western end. The famous Kjeragbolten boulder and Kjeragfossen waterfall are located along the inner part of the fjord. The village of Lysebotn lies at the eastern end of the fjord. The lake Nilsebuvatnet is located high up in the mountains, north of Lysebotn on the border of Strand and Forsand municipalities. It is regulated for hydroelectric power use at the Lysebotn Hydroelectric Power Station.

Location

Sandnes is located on the west coast of Norway. Here are some distances from the city of Sandnes to other major cities in Norway:
The Storting decided in 2013/2014 that the number of municipalities in Norway has to be lowered. The process is as of 26 May was still ongoing, with the last ballot to be counted on 30 May.
If the municipalities of Sandnes, Stavanger and Sola merges, the new municipality will be called Nord-Jæren, after the geographic location of the three municipalities. The city council have said no to this merging, but the majority of the parties in the city council will with the people's opinion, in other words, if the result of the elections on 30 May says no, the grand majority of parties will also vote no for the merging to be decided and sent to the Fylkesmann, and with that, end the Nord-Jæren debates.
In the case of a no to the merging, an alternative solution is to merge Sandnes with the municipality of Forsand. Gjesdal municipality was a part of what the politicians call the "neighbour's talk", but the conversations between Sandnes and Gjesdal ended as an argument regarding tax on property. Sandnes did not want to introduce this tax, but Gjesdal did.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Sandnes, 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 Jæren District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Sandnes is made up of 49 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows:

Media gallery

Economy

Sandnes hosts a large array of retail shops of most kinds and is used by the neighbouring municipalities appreciating the service and wide range of selections. Sandnes is known as Norway's bicycle city, mainly due to the fact that the bicycle manufacturer Øglænd DBS was situated here for decades. The city offers a variety of routes for everyday riders and tourists. Since 1996, a public bicycle rental program has been in operation in the city.
The city has a vibrant industrial base, mainly in the Ganddal area in the south and the Lura and Forus area in the north along the municipal boundary with Stavanger. There is significant activity related to oil exploration in the North Sea and also some IT related companies. In this suburban region between Sandnes and Stavanger, malls and department stores have also been established. Among these malls is one of Norway's biggest malls, Kvadrat meaning "square".
Around 30% of the population is employed in Stavanger. Sandnes was formerly known as the pottery town of Norway – due to the important ceramics industry based on the extensive occurrence of clay in the surroundings. The Vatneleiren military base is also located in Sandnes, just outside Vatne.

Culture and sports

Since 2016, the primary football team, Sandnes Ulf, has played in the second tier, 1. divisjon, of Norwegian professional football.
The major tourist attraction in Sandnes is the Science Factory. It is a science museum with science and art exhibitions, a planetarium, sun telescopes, and chemistry shows.
Sandnes is the only city in Norway which is a member of the World Health Organization’s network of Healthy Cities. Sandnes and Stavanger were chosen along with Liverpool, United Kingdom, to be a European Capital of Culture for 2008.
Higher education facilities include Forus Upper Secondary School, Sandnes Upper Secondary School, Gand Upper Secondary School, Akademiet Upper Secondary School and Lundehaugen Upper Secondary School. In 2010 Forus and Lundehaugen were no longer upper secondary schools; Lundehaugen is now a high school. Most of Forus and Lundehaugen merged into a new school named Vågen.
Sandnes is also known for its Rugby League team, Sandnes Raiders which has supplied the Norwegian national team with players.

Churches

The Church of Norway has nine parishes within the municipality of Sandnes. It is part of the Sandnes prosti in the Diocese of Stavanger.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
BogafjellBogafjell ChurchBogafjell2012
ForsandForsand ChurchForsand1854
ForsandLyse ChapelLysebotn1961
GandGand ChurchSandved1978
GandJulebygda ChapelMalmheim og Soma1957
HanaHana ChurchHana1997
HøleHøle ChurchHøle1860
HøylandHøyland ChurchAustrått1841
HøylandSviland ChapelSviland1913
LuraLura ChurchLura1987
RiskaRiska ChurchHommersåk1999
RiskaOld Riska ChurchHommersåk1877
SandnesSandnes ChurchSandnes sentrum1882

Notable residents