Stad, Norway

Coordinates: 61°54′41″N 6°02′14″E / 61.91139°N 6.03722°E / 61.91139; 6.03722
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Stad Municipality
Stad kommune
View of the Selje area and the Stad peninsula
View of the Selje area and the Stad peninsula
Coat of arms of Stad Municipality
Vestland within Norway
Vestland within Norway
Stad within Vestland
Stad within Vestland
Coordinates: 61°54′41″N 6°02′14″E / 61.91139°N 6.03722°E / 61.91139; 6.03722
CountryNorway
CountyVestland
DistrictNordfjord
Established1 Jan 2020
 • Preceded bySelje, Eid, Vågsøy
Administrative centreNordfjordeid
Government
 • Mayor (2023)Sigurd Reksnes (Sp)
Area
 • Total752.77 km2 (290.65 sq mi)
 • Land694.53 km2 (268.16 sq mi)
 • Water58.25 km2 (22.49 sq mi)  7.7%
 • Rank#152 in Norway
Population
 (2023)
 • Total9,543
 • Rank#119 in Norway
 • Density13.7/km2 (35/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
Increase +9.6%
DemonymStadværing[1]
Official language
 • Norwegian formNynorsk
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-4649[3]
WebsiteOfficial website

Stad is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The municipality includes much of the northern shore of the Nordfjorden as well as the Stad peninsula.[4] The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Nordfjordeid. Other villages in the municipality include Selje, Barmen, Ervik, Flatraket, Hoddevik, Hoddevika, Håvik, Leikanger, Mogrenda, Stårheim, Haugen, Kjølsdalen, Heggjabygda, and Lote.

The 753-square-kilometre (291 sq mi) municipality is the 152nd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Stad is the 119th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 9,543. The municipality's population density is 13.7 inhabitants per square kilometre (35/sq mi) and its population has increased by 9.6% over the previous 10-year period.[5][6]

The Stad Ship Tunnel is a planned canal and tunnel to bypass the Stad peninsula in Stad Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. When built it will be the first full-size ship tunnel in the world and will allow boats to avoid traveling around the Stad peninsula—a particularly dangerous sea route.

General information[edit]

The municipality of Stad was established on 1 January 2020 when Selje Municipality, Eid Municipality, and the Bryggja area of Vågsøy Municipality were merged to form one large municipality.[4]

Name[edit]

The municipality is named after the Stad peninsula (Old Norse: Staðr) which is located in the western part of the municipality. The name is identical to the word staðr which means "stop", "halt", or "hesitation". The name possibly was used for the peninsula because of the rough waters around it which often caused seafarers here to wait for better weather.[7]

Coat of arms[edit]

The coat of arms was granted on 15 May 2019 for use starting on 1 January 2020 when the municipality was established. The blazon is "Azure, " (Norwegian: NORSKE_BLAZON). This means the arms have a teal-colored field (background) and the charge is a two-part design with St. Sunniva on the left and a fjord horse on the right. 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 arms are an informal impalement of the old arms of the two municipalities of Selje and Eid which were merged in 2020 to form Stad.[8] These two figures were chosen because the region is well known for its own race of horses, called the Fjording, that are very common and popular in the area. The Fjording is characterised by its white and black mane.[9] The woman is a depiction of Saint Sunniva, the royal Irish missionary who died as a martyr on the island of Selja while trying to convert the locals to Christianity. Later, the Selje Abbey was built on the spot where she died. She was later named the patron saint of the Norwegian Diocese of Bjørgvin and all of Western Norway.[10] The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[11]

Churches[edit]

The Church of Norway has six parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Stad. It is part of the Nordfjord prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Churches in Stad
Parish (sokn) Church name Location of the church Year built
Eid Eid Church Nordfjordeid 1849
Heggjabygda Church Heggjabygda 1936
Ervik Ervik Church Ervik 1970
Kjølsdalen Kjølsdalen Church Kjølsdalen 1940
Leikanger Leikanger Church Leikanger 1866
Selje Selje Church Selje 1866
Stårheim Stårheim Church Stårheim 1864

Geography[edit]

The village of Årvik on the Stad peninsula
The village of Drage on the Stad peninsula
Hundvikfjord seen from Anda
Isefjord, between Eid and Bremanger

Stad Municipality is located in the northwesternmost part of Vestland county, in the Nordfjord region. It includes the Stad peninsula and the islands of Barmøya, Venøya, and Selja. The Sildagapet bay, the North Sea, and the Vanylvsfjorden lie on the western sides of the municipality. The Nordfjorden runs along the south side of the municipality. Hornindalsvatnet, the deepest lake in Europe, is partially located in the municipality.

Stad Municipality is bordered to the southwest by Kinn Municipality, to the north by Vanylven Municipality, Sande Municipality, and Volda Municipality (in Møre og Romsdal county). The municipalities of Bremanger and Gloppen lie to the south, across the fjord. Stryn Municipality lies to the east.

Government[edit]

Stad 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.[12] The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Sogn og Fjordane District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council[edit]

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Stad is made up of 31 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Stad kommunestyre 2023–2027 [13]  
Party name (in Nynorsk) Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) 5
  Progress Party (Framstegspartiet) 4
  Green Party (Miljøpartiet Dei Grøne) 1
  Conservative Party (Høgre) 3
  Industry and Business Party (Industri‑ og Næringspartiet) 2
  Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) 2
  Centre Party (Senterpartiet) 10
  Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti) 1
  Liberal Party (Venstre) 3
Total number of members:31
Stad kommunestyre 2020–2023 [14]  
Party name (in Nynorsk) Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeidarpartiet) 4
  Progress Party (Framstegspartiet) 3
  Conservative Party (Høgre) 2
  Christian Democratic Party (Kristeleg Folkeparti) 2
  Centre Party (Senterpartiet) 9
  Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti) 2
  Liberal Party (Venstre) 11
Total number of members:33

Mayors[edit]

The mayors (Nynorsk: ordførar) of Stad:

Notable people[edit]

Sophus Lie, 1896

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
  2. ^ "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
  3. ^ Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (26 January 2023). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget.
  4. ^ a b Paus, Mari, ed. (20 September 2019). "Stad - kommune". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  5. ^ Statistisk sentralbyrå. "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian).
  6. ^ Statistisk sentralbyrå. "09280: Area of land and fresh water (km²) (M)" (in Norwegian).
  7. ^ Askheim, Svein, ed. (20 September 2019). "Stad". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  8. ^ "Kommunevåpen for Stad kommune klart!" (in Norwegian). Stad kommune. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  9. ^ "Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  10. ^ "Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  11. ^ "Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  12. ^ Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (20 September 2022). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  13. ^ "Kommunestyrevalg 2023 - Vestland". Valgdirektoratet. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  14. ^ "Kommunestyrevalg 2019 - Vestland". Valgdirektoratet. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  15. ^ "Gunnar Silden". Venstre.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  16. ^ Gloppestad, Aadne (12 September 2023). "Reksnes blir ny ordførar i Stad, Kjøllesdal held fram i Stryn". Firda Tidend (in Norwegian). Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  17. ^ "Lie, Marius Sophus" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 590.
  18. ^ Sølve Skagen at IMDb. Retrieved 20 November 2020.