Hå

Hå is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is the southernmost municipality in the traditional district of Jæren. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Varhaug. Other villages in Hå include Brusand, Hæen, Nærbø, Obrestad, Ogna, Sirevåg, and Vigrestad.

Hå kommune
Municipality
View of the Brusandstrand beach in Hå
Coat of arms
Rogaland within
Norway
Hå within Rogaland
Coordinates: 58°36′23″N 05°43′29″E
CountryNorway
CountyRogaland
DistrictJæren
Established1838-1894
Re-established1 Jan 1964
Administrative centreVarhaug
Government
 • Mayor (2015)Jonas Skrettingland (KrF)
Area
 • Total257.99 km2 (99.61 sq mi)
 • Land247.78 km2 (95.67 sq mi)
 • Water10.21 km2 (3.94 sq mi)  4%
Area rank281 in Norway
Population
 (2020)
 • Total18,991
 • Rank66 in Norway
 • Density76.6/km2 (198/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
16.2%
Demonym(s)Håbu[1]
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-1119
Official language formNeutral[2]
Websiteha.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

The 258-square-kilometre (100 sq mi) municipality is the 281st largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Hå is the 66th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 18,991. The municipality's population density is 76.6 inhabitants per square kilometre (198/sq mi) and its population has increased by 16.2% over the previous 10-year period.[3][4]

General information
View of the Hå landscape

The parish of Haa was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1894, the municipality of Haa was dissolved and divided into two new municipalities: Nærbø (population: 1,806) and Varhaug (population: 1,801). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the municipality of Hå was recreated by merging of the neighboring municipalities of Nærbø (population: 3,926), Varhaug (population: 3,454), and Ogna (population: 1,470).[5] In local politics, the divisions between the three previous municipalities are very visible.

Name

The municipality is named after the old Hå farm (Old Norse: Háar) where the local church priest's parsonage was located. The meaning of the name is unknown. The river running past this farm is similarly named the Hååna, meaning the "Hå river". It is not known if the river is named after the farm or vice versa.[6]

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 5 July 1991. The arms are black with a silver/white winch in the centre. It is a special type of winch that has historically been used in this area to remove stones from the many farm fields. The arms were chosen to symbolize the hard living on the rocky soils of the municipality.[7]

Churches

The Church of Norway has three parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Hå. It is part of the Jæren prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger.

Churches in Hå
Parish (sokn)Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
NærbøNærbø ChurchNærbø2005
Old Nærbø ChurchNærbø1834
OgnaOgna ChurchOgna1250
VarhaugVarhaug ChurchVarhaug1904

Government
Historical population
YearPop.±%
197110,607—    
198112,327+16.2%
199113,022+5.6%
200114,017+7.6%
201116,822+20.0%
201618,591+10.5%
Source: Statistics Norway.[8]

All municipalities in Norway, including Hå, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor.[9] The municipality falls under the Jæren District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Hå is made up of 33 representatives that are elected to four year terms. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows:

Hå Kommunestyre 2015–2019 [10]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)3
 Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)3
 Conservative Party (Høyre)6
 Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)7
 Centre Party (Senterpartiet)3
 Local List(s) (Lokale lister)11
Total number of members:33

Geography
Sandy beaches at Ogna, in the southern part of the municipality.

Hå municipality is located on the southwestern shore of Norway, along the North Sea. The municipality is located mostly in the very flat, coastal Jæren district. The southeastern part of the municipality begins to get a little hilly and rocky and it marks the border of the Dalane district (located to the south and east). Much of the land in Hå is used for agriculture because of its flat landscape. The river Hååna runs through the municipality. The shoreline of the municipality is marked by the Kvassheim Lighthouse and Obrestad Lighthouse.[11]

Settlements
List of the largest villages in Hå[12]
NamePopulationArea (km2)Population density per km2
Brusand4280.22,140
Hæen5880.431,367
Nærbø6,9953.282,133
Ogna3600.311,161
Sirevåg6270.7896
Varhaug3,1141.571,983
Vigrestad2,1161.181,793

Weather
Climate data for Obrestad Lighthouse, Hå
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 3.1
(37.6)		 2.9
(37.2)		 4.5
(40.1)		 7.1
(44.8)		 11.3
(52.3)		 13.8
(56.8)		 15.1
(59.2)		 15.9
(60.6)		 13.8
(56.8)		 11.1
(52.0)		 7.4
(45.3)		 4.8
(40.6)		 9.2
(48.6)
Daily mean °C (°F) 1.1
(34.0)		 0.7
(33.3)		 2.3
(36.1)		 4.5
(40.1)		 8.4
(47.1)		 11.3
(52.3)		 12.8
(55.0)		 13.5
(56.3)		 11.6
(52.9)		 9.0
(48.2)		 5.1
(41.2)		 2.7
(36.9)		 6.9
(44.4)
Average low °C (°F) −1.4
(29.5)		 −1.8
(28.8)		 −0.2
(31.6)		 1.8
(35.2)		 5.8
(42.4)		 8.8
(47.8)		 10.6
(51.1)		 10.9
(51.6)		 9.1
(48.4)		 6.5
(43.7)		 2.6
(36.7)		 0.0
(32.0)		 4.4
(39.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 114
(4.5)		 77
(3.0)		 88
(3.5)		 64
(2.5)		 77
(3.0)		 77
(3.0)		 97
(3.8)		 117
(4.6)		 156
(6.1)		 160
(6.3)		 156
(6.1)		 126
(5.0)		 1,309
(51.5)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) 15.0 11.2 13.3 11.2 11.5 10.7 11.4 13.9 16.6 17.5 18.3 16.6 167.2
Source: Norwegian Meteorological Institute[13]

Transportation

The Sørlandet Line runs through the municipality, making several stops. The stations in Hå include Brusand Station, Nærbø Station, Ogna Station, Sirevåg Station, Varhaug Station, and Vigrestad Station.

References
  1. "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
  2. "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
  3. Statistisk sentralbyrå (2020). "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian).
  4. Statistisk sentralbyrå (2020). "09280: Area of land and fresh water (km²) (M)" (in Norwegian).
  5. Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå.
  6. Rygh, Oluf (1915). Norske gaardnavne: Stavanger amt (in Norwegian) (10 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 104.
  7. "Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  8. Projected population - Statistics Norway
  9. Hansen, Tore, ed. (12 May 2016). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  10. "Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway.
  11. Store norske leksikon. "Hå" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  12. Statistisk sentralbyrå (1 January 2015). "Urban settlements. Population and area, by municipality".
  13. "eKlima Web Portal". Norwegian Meteorological Institute. Archived from the original on 14 June 2004.

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