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Strand, Norway

Strand kommune
Municipality
View of the town of Jørpeland
View of the town of Jørpeland
Coat of arms of Strand kommune
Coat of arms
Official logo of Strand kommune
Rogaland within
Norway
Strand within Rogaland
Strand within Rogaland
Coordinates: 59°03′48″N 06°01′40″E / 59.06333°N 6.02778°E / 59.06333; 6.02778Coordinates: 59°03′48″N 06°01′40″E / 59.06333°N 6.02778°E / 59.06333; 6.02778
Country Norway
County Rogaland
District Ryfylke
Administrative centre Jørpeland
Government
 • Mayor (2015) Irene Heng Lauvsnes (H)
Area
 • Total 218.13 km2 (84.22 sq mi)
 • Land 195.26 km2 (75.39 sq mi)
 • Water 22.87 km2 (8.83 sq mi)
Area rank 322 in Norway
Population (2015)
 • Total 12,395
 • Rank 93 in Norway
 • Density 63.5/km2 (164/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years) 18.7% %
Demonym(s) Strandbu
Strandabu
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code NO-1130
Official language form Neutral
Website www.strand.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Strand is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Ryfylke. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Jørpeland. The 218-square-kilometre (84 sq mi) municipality lies across the fjord from the city of Stavanger. The new Ryfast tunnel system is under construction, which will connect Stavanger and Strand by a very long undersea tunnel.

The villages of Sørskår and Fiskå are located in northern Strand, on the southern shore of the Årdalsfjorden. This area of Strand produces fruit, vegetables, and dairy products. The Fiskå Mølle (Fiskå Mill) is located in Fiskå. The larger village of Tau is located on the western coast of Strand. It is a transportation hub with ferry connections to the city of Stavanger and bus services to nearby Hjelmelandsvågen and deeper into the Ryfylke district. About 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) southeast of Tau is the municipal center of Jørpeland. This town is the largest settlement in Strand with about 7,000 people.

The cross-country and marathon mountain biker Gunn-Rita Dahle comes from Bjørheimsbygd. She has won a gold medal in the Summer Olympics 2004, in Athens. Holtaheia was the mountain behind Holta farm where 34 school boys, 2 teachers and 3 crew died, when the Cunard Viking flight 'Papa Mike' crashed into the mountain, en route to Stavanger.

The parish of Strand was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). In 1865, the large district of Høgsfjord (population: 3,203) was separated from Strand to form a new municipality, leaving a much smaller Strand municipality. This left Strand with 2,228 residents. On 1 January 1965, the Sørskår-Sundgardene area (population: 121) was transferred from the neighboring municipality of Årdal to Strand.


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Wikipedia

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