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 (prior to that time it was the village of Sandeid). 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 621 km2 municipality is the 186th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Vindafjord is the 122nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 8,844. The municipality's population density is 14.8 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 2.7% 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:
 * all of Sandeid municipality (population: 876)
 * the Liarheim og Langeland areas of Skjold municipality on the north side of the Skjoldafjorden (population: 1,262)
 * all of Vats municipality except for the Breidal and Stølsvik farms (population: 1,128)
 * all of Imsland municipality located north of the Vindafjorden (population: 372)
 * all of Vikedal municipality except for the Hapnes and Dokskar farms (population: 978)

Initially, Vindafjord had 4,616 residents. On 1 January 1969, the Sponevik farm (population: 6) 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 (population: 13) was transferred to neighboring Suldal municipality.

On 1 January 2006, Vindafjord merged with the neighboring municipality of Ølen (population: 3,420). 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 (created in 1965) is named after the Vindafjorden (Vindafjǫrðr), a fjord that runs through the eastern part of the municipality. The first element is derived from the verb which means "to turn" or "to twist", referring to the sharp turn of the fjord at Dragneset. The last element is which means "fjord".

Coat of arms
The original coat of arms was granted on 12 December 1986 and it was in use until a new coat of arms was approved on 10 March 2006. The official blazon is "Gules, five chevrons argent two over two over one" (På raud grunn fem svevande kvite sparrar, 2-2-1). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a set of five chevrons. The charge has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The design was meant to give the appearance of a collection of rorbuer or nauster (these are typical Norwegian boat houses that are often painted red and white). There were five shapes used in order to represent the five predecessor municipalitites that were merged into Vindafjord in 1965: Sandeid, Vikedal, Imsland, Vats, and Skjold. The arms were designed by John Digernes. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

A new coat of arms was granted on 10 March 2006, shortly after the merger of Ølen with Vindafjord. The new arms were a mix of the arms of the two municipalities which were merged. The swirling design is taken from the old coat of arms of Ølen and the colours (red and silver/white) are from the old arms of Vindafjord. The official blazon is "Gyronny embowed argent and gules" (Åttedelt av kvitt og raudt ved virvelsnitt). This means the arms are a whirl design that divides the shield into 8 curved sections. The field (background) alternates colors, with half having a tincture of green and the other half have a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The design was chosen to symbolise the way that several major roads come together in the municipality, making it an important centre of trade. The arms were designed by Vigdis Viland. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway has eight parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Vindafjord. It is part of the Haugaland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger.

Government
Vindafjord Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Haugaland og Sunnhordland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Vindafjord is made up of 25 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Vindafjord (incomplete list):
 * 1975–1987: Trygve Mikal Viga (Sp)
 * 2005–2011: Arne Bergsvåg (Sp)
 * 2011–present: Ole Johan Vierdal (Sp)

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.



Notable people

 * Knud Baade (1808 in Skjold - 1879), a Norwegian painter of portraits and landscapes, particularly moonlight paintings
 * Jens Hundseid (1883 in Vikedal – 1965), a Norwegian politician who was Prime Minister of Norway from 1932 to 1933;
 * Ragnvald Eikeland (1921 – 1960, Øvre Vats), art painter
 * Thormod Næs (1930 in Skjold – 1997), a sport shooter who competed at the 1964 Summer Olympics
 * Per Øyvind Heradstveit (1932 in Skjold – 2004), a Norwegian TV journalist and non-fiction writer
 * Agnes Ravatn (born 1983 in Ølen), a Norwegian novelist, columnist, and journalist