Varhaug

Varhaug
Village
View of the village church and graveyard
Varhaug Show map of Rogaland Varhaug Show map of Norway Location in Rogaland county
Coordinates: 58°37′05″N 05°39′25″E / 58.61806°N 5.65694°E / 58.61806; 5.65694Coordinates: 58°37′05″N 05°39′25″E / 58.61806°N 5.65694°E / 58.61806; 5.65694
Country	Norway
Region	Western Norway
County	Rogaland
District	Jæren
Municipality	Hå
Area
• Total	1.57 km2 (0.61 sq mi)
Elevation	44 m (144 ft)
Population (2015)
• Total	3,114
• Density	1,983/km2 (5,140/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+01:00)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+02:00)
Post Code	4360 Varhaug

Varhaug is the administrative centre of Hå municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located in the district of Jæren and it is the second largest village in Hå municipality after Nærbø. It was also the administrative centre for the former municipality of Varhaug from 1894 until its dissolution in 1964.

The village was founded in the late 19th century and expanded during the 20th century around the local railway station: Varhaug Station. Varhaug lies approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the North Sea coastline. The village of Varhaug lies between the two neighbouring villages of Nærbø and Vigrestad, and the people live in a "love-hate relationship" with these villages. There are no one that are more important to beat in a football match.

The official demonym for a person coming from the village is Varhaugsbu. An unofficial but friendly nickname for people from Varhaug is Trausk (pl: Trausker). Trausk is a word from Jæren, meaning Frog or Toad. The nickname is decades old, and all local villages had one, though Varhaug's nickname is one of the few still somewhat in use. Other words describing a person from Varhaug can be Håbu or Jærbu.

With an elevation between 40 to 60 metres (130 to 200 ft), Varhaug is the highest elevated village in the municipality.

The future development of Varhaug is uncertain. Agricultural land protection is a hot topic in the local newspapers since the farm land is so important to the nations food supply. The future policy of the Norwegian Government will decide how much the villages of Jæren are allowed to expand in the future. Maybe high-rise buildings are the answer, maybe Norway decides to rely more on foreign food production or perhaps there will be new villages established east of the prime agricultural land.

Before Varhaug Station was opened in 1878 as a part of the Jæren Line, there was basically only farms in the area. When the train station was built, a lot of services were located near the station, and people started settling down around the station.