Sokndal

For places with similar names, see Sogndal (disambiguation).

Sokndal is the southernmost municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Dalane. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hauge. Other villages in Sokndal include Li, Rekefjord, Sogndalsstranda, and Åna-Sira.

Sokndal Municipality Sokndal kommune
Municipality
Sogndal herred  (historic name) Soggendal herred  (historic name)
View of Sogndalsstranda
Flag Coat of arms
Rogaland within Norway
Sokndal within Rogaland
Coordinates: 58°21′54″N 06°18′37″E
Country	Norway
County	Rogaland
District	Dalane
Established	1 Jan 1838
• Created as	Formannskapsdistrikt
Administrative centre	Hauge i Dalene
Government
• Mayor (2023)	Bjørn-Inge Mydland (Sp)
Area
• Total	294.98 km2 (113.89 sq mi)
• Land	267.17 km2 (103.15 sq mi)
• Water	27.81 km2 (10.74 sq mi)  9.4%
• Rank	#267 in Norway
Population  (2023)
• Total	3,324
• Rank	#219 in Norway
• Density	12.4/km2 (32/sq mi)
• Change (10 years)	+1.2%
Demonym	Sokndøl[1]
Official language [2]
• Norwegian form	Neutral
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	NO-1111[3]
Website	Official website
Data from Statistics Norway

Sogndalsstranda is a picturesque, old fishing village, which may have inspired the municipality in becoming Norway's first member of Cittaslow. The Jøssingfjorden, known for the Altmark Incident, is also located in Sokndal.

The 295-square-kilometre (114 sq mi) municipality is the 267th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Sokndal is the 219th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 3,324. The municipality's population density is 12.4 inhabitants per square kilometre (32/sq mi) and its population has increased by 1.2% over the previous 10-year period.^[4][5]

General information

Village of Åna-Sira

Village of Sogndalsstranda

Landscape in Sokndal

The parish of Soggendal (later Sokndal) was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1845, the small lading place of Sogndal (population: 348) was separated from Sokndal as a municipality of its own. This left Sokndal with 2,819 residents. On 12 December 1868, a small part of Sokndal (population: 41) was transferred to neighboring Eigersund municipality. On 1 July 1944, the small lading place of Sogndal (population: 311) was reincorporated into Sokndal. In 1947, a small area in Sokndal (population: 7) was transferred to Eigersund. On 1 January 1967, the Tjørn farm (population: 10) was transferred from Eigersund to Sokndal.^[6]

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Soknedalen valley (Old Norse: Sóknardalr) since the first Sokndal Church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of the river name Sókn (now Sokno). That river name is derived from the verb sœkja which means "to seek" or "to strive for". The last element is dalr which means "valley" or "dale". Thus, the meaning is "the valley with the river which seeks (finds/forces) its way".^[7] Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Soggendal or Sogndal. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Sokndal.^[8]

See also: Name of Sogndal municipality

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 8 July 1988. The official blazon is "Or, three pickaxes bendwise sable" (Norwegian: I gull tre svarte hakker, 2-1). This means the arms have a field (background) 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 charge is a set of three pickaxes with two over one. This design was chosen to symbolize the importance of mining and agriculture in the municipality. The arms were designed by John Digernes from Haugesund. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.^[9][10][11]

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Sokndal. It is part of the Dalane prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger.

Churches in Sokndal

Parish (sokn)	Church name	Location of the church	Year built
Sokndal	Sokndal Church	Hauge	1803
	Åna-Sira Church	Åna-Sira	1888

Geography

The municipality is the southernmost in Rogaland county. The North Sea lies to the south and west, the river Sira and the Åna fjord lie to the southeast (separating it from Flekkefjord in Agder county), the municipality of Lund lies to the east and north, and the municipality of Eigersund lies to the northwest. The lakes Grøsfjellvatnet and Eiavatnet both lie on the northern border of the municipality. The coastline of Sokndal is fairly smooth, although there are two larger fjords which cut into the municipality: the Rekefjorden and Jøssingfjorden. The Lille Presteskjær Lighthouse marks the entrance to the Rekefjorden. The southeastern part of the municipality is very rocky and rugged. As part of Magma Geopark, much of the landscape is characteristic and open.^[12] It is the site of the large Tellnes mine, a large producer of titanium.^[13]

Climate

Climate data for Hauge
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Daily mean °C (°F)	−0.3 (31.5)	−0.5 (31.1)	1.6 (34.9)	4.7 (40.5)	9.7 (49.5)	13.1 (55.6)	14.6 (58.3)	14.4 (57.9)	11.3 (52.3)	8.2 (46.8)	3.9 (39.0)	0.9 (33.6)	6.8 (44.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	150 (5.9)	105 (4.1)	120 (4.7)	85 (3.3)	93 (3.7)	98 (3.9)	118 (4.6)	150 (5.9)	190 (7.5)	210 (8.3)	193 (7.6)	163 (6.4)	1,675 (65.9)
Source: Norwegian Meteorological Institute[14]

Economy

Tellnes opencast Ilmenite mine

At Tellnes, just east of Hauge i Dalane, there is an ilmenite mine run by Titania AS, supplying 10% of the world production of ilmenite (a type of titanium). It's also the world's largest opencast ilmenite mine.

Government

Sokndal 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.^[15] The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Sør-Rogaland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Sokndal is made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Sokndal kommunestyre 2023–2027 ^[16]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	4
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	3
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	6
	Red Party (Rødt)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	3
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	2
Total number of members:		21

Sokndal kommunestyre 2019–2023 ^[17]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	5
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	2
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	5
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	3
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
	Sokndal List (Sokndal Listo)	3
Total number of members:		21

Sokndal kommunestyre 2015–2019 ^[18]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	7
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	2
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	3
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	6
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	1
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	2
Total number of members:		21

Sokndal kommunestyre 2011–2015 ^[19]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	6
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	4
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	4
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	4
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	1
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	2
Total number of members:		21

Sokndal kommunestyre 2007–2011 ^[18]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	7
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	6
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	3
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	1
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	2
Total number of members:		21

Sokndal kommunestyre 2003–2007 ^[18]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	6
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	6
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	3
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	2
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	1
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
Total number of members:		21

Sokndal kommunestyre 1999–2003 ^[18]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	7
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	4
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	4
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	2
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	2
Total number of members:		21

Sokndal kommunestyre 1995–1999 ^[20]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	6
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	3
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	3
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	4
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	3
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
	Retirees' and disabled people's non-party list (Pensjonister og uføretrygdedes upolitiske liste)	1
Total number of members:		21

Sokndal kommunestyre 1991–1995 ^[21]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	6
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	2
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	3
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	5
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	3
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
	Retirees' and disabled people's non-party list (Pensjonister og uføretrygdedes upolitiske liste)	1
Total number of members:		21

Sokndal kommunestyre 1987–1991 ^[22]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	7
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	2
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	5
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	5
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	1
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
Total number of members:		21

Sokndal kommunestyre 1983–1987 ^[23]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	7
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	2
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	5
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	4
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	2
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
Total number of members:		21

Sokndal kommunestyre 1979–1983 ^[24]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	6
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	5
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	6
	New People's Party (Nye Folkepartiet)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	2
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
Total number of members:		21

Sokndal kommunestyre 1975–1979 ^[25]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	4
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	3
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	6
	New People's Party (Nye Folkepartiet)	2
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	5
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	1
Total number of members:		21

Sokndal kommunestyre 1971–1975 ^[26]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	6
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	4
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	6
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	3
Total number of members:		21

Sokndal kommunestyre 1967–1971 ^[27]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	6
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	2
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	4
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	5
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	2
Total number of members:		21

Sokndal kommunestyre 1963–1967 ^[28]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	6
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	3
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	4
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	5
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	3
Total number of members:		21

Sokndal herredsstyre 1959–1963 ^[29]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	5
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	4
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	3
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	5
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	4
Total number of members:		21

Sokndal herredsstyre 1955–1959 ^[30]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	5
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	3
	Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)	4
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	5
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	4
Total number of members:		21

Sokndal herredsstyre 1951–1955 ^[31]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	4
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	3
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	7
	Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)	5
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	1
Total number of members:		20

Sokndal herredsstyre 1947–1951 ^[32]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	3
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	3
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	8
	List of workers, fishermen, and small farmholders (Arbeidere, fiskere, småbrukere liste)	1
	Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)	5
Total number of members:		20

Sokndal herredsstyre 1945–1947 ^[33]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	7
	Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)	12
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	3
Total number of members:		22

Sokndal herredsstyre 1937–1941* ^[34]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	4
	Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)	11
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	5
Total number of members:		20
Note: Due to the German occupation of Norway during World War II, no elections were held for new municipal councils until after the war ended in 1945.

Mayors

The mayors (Norwegian: ordfører) of Sokndal (incomplete list):

• 1972–1975: Claus Egil Feyling (H)
• 1999–2007: Gudmund Holmen (Ap)
• 2007–2011: Dag Sørensen (Ap)
• 2011–2019: Trond Arne Pedersen (KrF)
• 2019–2023: Jonas Andersen Sayed (KrF)
• 2023-present: Bjørn-Inge Mydland (Sp)^[35]

Notable people

• Carl Adolph Dahl (1769 at Aave in Rekefjord – 1819), a Norwegian jurist and politician
• Hans Reidar Holtermann (1895 in Sokndal - 1966), a military officer who commanded of Hegra Fortress in WWII
• Rolf Johan Lenschow (1928 in Hauge i Dalane – 2014), a Norwegian civil engineer and professor in concrete construction
• Frank Tønnesen (born 1972 in Sokndal), a Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist who goes by the stage name Tønes
• Vibeke Stene (born 1978 in Sokndal), a Norwegian gothic metal soprano and actress^[36]
• Siri Seglem (born 1983 in Sokndal), a handball player with 23 caps with Norway women

References

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. Statistisk sentralbyrå. "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian).
5. Statistisk sentralbyrå. "09280: Area of land and fresh water (km²) (M)" (in Norwegian).
6. Jukvam, Dag (1999). Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. ISBN 9788253746845.
7. Rygh, Oluf (1915). Norske gaardnavne: Stavanger amt (in Norwegian) (10 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 1.
8. "Norsk Lovtidende. 2den Afdeling. 1917. Samling af Love, Resolutioner m.m". Norsk Lovtidend (in Norwegian). Kristiania, Norge: Grøndahl og Søns Boktrykkeri: 1057–1065. 1917.
9. "Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
10. "Sokndal, Rogaland (Norway)". Flags of the World. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
11. "Godkjenning av våpen og flagg". Lovdata.no (in Norwegian). Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet. 8 July 1988. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
12. Magma UNESCO Global Geopark partners on Drifting Apart
13. Store norske leksikon. "Sokndal" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 21 July 2016.
14. "eKlima Web Portal". Norwegian Meteorological Institute. Archived from the original on 14 June 2004.
15. Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (20 September 2022). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
16. "Kommunestyrevalg 2023 - Rogaland". Valgdirektoratet. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
17. "Kommunestyrevalg 2019 – Rogaland". Valgdirektoratet. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
18. "Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway.
19. "Kommunestyrevalg 2011 – Rogaland". Valgdirektoratet. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
20. "Kommunestyrevalget 1995" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1996. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
21. "Kommunestyrevalget 1991" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1993. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
22. "Kommunestyrevalget 1987" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1988. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
23. "Kommunestyrevalget 1983" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1984. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
24. "Kommunestyrevalget 1979" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1979. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
25. "Kommunevalgene 1975" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1977. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
26. "Kommunevalgene 1972" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1973. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
27. "Kommunevalgene 1967" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1967. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
28. "Kommunevalgene 1963" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1964. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
29. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1959" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1960. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
30. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1955" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1957. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
31. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1951" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1952. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
32. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1947" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1948. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
33. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1945" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1947. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
34. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1937" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1938. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
35. "Andersen Sayed blir ikke Sokndal-ordfører". NRK (in Norwegian). 13 September 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
36. Vibeke Stene at IMDb. Retrieved 01 April 2021.

External links

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway (in Norwegian)
• Sokndal (in Norwegian)
• A presentation of Sokndal Municipality
• cittaslow.no
• Google map satellite views:
  • Hauge i Dalane, also clearly visible is the large rock quarry on both sites of the Rekefjord.
  • The Titania open pit mine (top right) and the Jøssingfjord (bottom left)