Stord is a municipality in Vestlandcounty, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. Stord is sometimes called "Norway in miniature" since it has such a variety of landscapes: coastline, fjords, forests, agricultural land, and mountain areas. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Leirvik, which is also the largest town in the municipality and the whole region of Sunnhordland. Leirvik was declared a town in 1997. Other population centres in the municipality include the large village of Sagvåg and the smaller villages of Litlabø and Grov.[4]
The 144-square-kilometre (56 sq mi) municipality is the 316th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Stord is the 69th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 19,098. The municipality's population density is 138.9 inhabitants per square kilometre (360/sq mi) and its population has increased by 5.2% over the previous 10-year period.[5][6]
General information
The parish of Stordøen was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1863, the northern district of the municipality (population: 2,313) was separated to become the new municipality of Fitjar. On 15 May 1868, the southern district of Stordøen located on the mainland (population: 900) was separated to form the new municipality of Valestrand. On 1 January 1898, the southern part of the island of Huglo (population: 117) was transferred from the neighboring municipality of Fjelberg to Stord. On 1 January 1970, the small uninhabited part of the island of Stord along the Valvatnavågen that belonged to Bømlo was transferred to Stord municipality.[4][7]
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the large island of Stord (Old Norse: Storð). The meaning of the name is uncertain, but it may come from the word storð which means "ground" or "earth" (this is an old word that is still used in Icelandic literature). Before 1889, the name was spelled "Stordøen".[8]
Coat of arms
Arms from 1955 until 1987.Current arms since 1987.
The first coat of arms was adopted on 3 December 1955, but since it did not meet the government regulations, it was not formally approved by the King in council. The blazon is "Azure, a chevron and fire pit argent with flames Or (heraldry)". This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a chevron and a fire pit. The chevron and fire pit 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 flame on the fire pit has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. Due to the fact that it uses two metals for tinctures, it was not approved since it violated heraldic principles. The chevron in the arms is derived from the arms of the Smør family, who used a chevron in their arms. The family was an important noble family in the 14th and 15th century who originated from this area. The flame symbolises the old industries in the village. The arms were designed by Magnus Hardeland. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[9][10]
A new coat of arms was designed during the 1980s in order to meet the national heraldry requirements. It was granted on 19 June 1987. The official blazon is "Gules, a holly branch Or" (Norwegian: På raud grunn ein gul kristtorn-kvist). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a holly branch with seven leaves and seven berries. The charge has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The holly was chosen since it is a common tree in the municipality. The arms were designed by Truls Nygaard after an original idea by Harry Herstad. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[9][10][11]
View of the Storddøra, a sculpture located in the Leirvik harbourCampus Stord
Stord is located on the southern half of the island of Stord (the northern part is part of Fitjar Municipality). The municipality also includes the islands of Huglo, Nautøya, and Føyno. The Hardangerfjorden runs along the southern border of the island municipality, separating it from the municipalities of Kvinnherad, Vindafjord, and Sveio. The Langenuen strait runs along the eastern side, separating it from Tysnes municipality. The Stokksundet and Digernessundet straits runs along the western border, separating it from the municipality of Bømlo. The mountain Mehammarsåto is the highest point in the municipality.
History
The battle of Stord was fought on or by this island between the Norwegian king Hakon Haraldsson and the Danish king Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson, supported by Hakon's brother's sons led by Harald "Greycloak" Eiriksson.
Population
Historical population
Year
Pop.
±% p.a.
1855
4,690
—
1865
2,634
−5.61%
1875
2,031
−2.57%
1891
2,261
+0.67%
1900
2,396
+0.65%
1910
3,150
+2.77%
Year
Pop.
±% p.a.
1920
3,972
+2.35%
1930
4,057
+0.21%
1946
5,030
+1.35%
1951
5,583
+2.11%
1960
7,470
+3.29%
1970
10,150
+3.11%
Year
Pop.
±% p.a.
1980
12,859
+2.39%
1990
14,483
+1.20%
2000
16,144
+1.09%
2010
17,565
+0.85%
2020
18,759
+0.66%
2023
19,098
+0.60%
Note: The municipal borders were changed in 1863, 1868, and 1898, causing a significant change in the population. Source: Statistics Norway[5][12] and Norwegian Historical Data Centre[13]
Economy
The 3 largest private employers in Stord municipality are: Aker Solutions, Wärtsilä Norway AS and Leirvik AS. Together these three companies employ more than 3000 people.
Aker Solutions, situated south of Leirvik on the peninsula of Eldøyane, is the largest yard in Norway. Aker Solutions has built the biggest oil production platforms in the world, Gullfaks C and Troll.
Stord Hospital is a local hospital for the municipalities in Sunnhordland, with a total of around 50,000 inhabitants. The hospital has specialist health services in medicine, surgery, X-ray, and gynecology. Stord District Psychiatric Center (DPS) is close by and has specialist health services within mental health care for adults and children. Stord ambulance station has premises in the same area and Sunnhordland inter-municipal emergency room is co-located with the hospital.[16]
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Stord is made up of 35 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
Jan Kåre Hysta, 2017Magne Rommetveit (politician), 2012
Lars Eskeland (1867–1942), a Norwegian educator, writer, and proponent of Nynorsk
Olaf Lange (1875–1965), a Norwegian painter who visualised the complexity of the modern urban life with symbolistic paintings who lived in Stord around 1950
Olaf Kullmann (1892–1942), a Norwegian naval officer and then peace activist
Ragnar Rommetveit (1924–2017), a Norwegian psychologist and academic
Ivar Eskeland (1927–2005), a Norwegian philologist, publisher, translator, biographer, literary critic, newspaper editor, theatre worker, and radio personality
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