Rogaland County Rogaland fylke
County
Flag Coat of arms
Rogaland within Norway
Coordinates: 59°N 06°E / 59°N 6°E / 59; 6
Country	Norway
County	Rogaland
District	Western Norway
Established	1662
Administrative centre	Stavanger
Government
• Body	Rogaland County Municipality
• Governor (2021)	Bent Høie (H)
• County mayor    (2019)	Marianne Chesak (Ap)
Area
• Total	9,377.31 km2 (3,620.60 sq mi)
• Land	8,575.70 km2 (3,311.10 sq mi)
• Water	801.61 km2 (309.50 sq mi)  8.5%
• Rank	#10 in Norway
Population  (2021)
• Total	482,645
• Rank	#4 in Norway
• Density	56.3/km2 (146/sq mi)
• Change (10 years)	+10.7%
Demonym	Rogalending[1]
Official language [2]
• Norwegian form	Neutral
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	NO-11[3]
Income (per capita)	155,000 kr (2008)
GDP (per capita)	267,000 kr (2008)
GDP national rank	#4 in Norway (6.63% of country)
Website	Official website
Data from Statistics Norway

Rogaland ([ˈrûːɡɑlɑn] ^ⓘ) is a county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. In 2020, it had a population of 479,892. The administrative centre of the county is the city of Stavanger, which is one of the largest cities in Norway.

Rogaland is the centre of the Norwegian petroleum industry. In 2016, Rogaland had an unemployment rate of 4.9%, one of the highest in Norway.^[4] In 2015, Rogaland had a fertility rate of 1.78 children per woman, which is the highest in the country.^[5] The Diocese of Stavanger for the Church of Norway includes all of Rogaland county.

Etymology

Rogaland is the region's Old Norse name, which was revived in modern times. During Denmark's rule of Norway until the year 1814, the county was named Stavanger amt, after the large city of Stavanger. The first element is the plural genitive case of rygir which is probably referring to the name of an old Germanic tribe (see Rugians). The last element is land which means "land" or "region". In Old Norse times, the region was called Rygjafylki.^[6]

Coat of arms

The coat of arms is modern; it was granted on 11 January 1974. The arms are blue with a white or silver pointed cross in the centre. The cross is based on the old stone cross in Sola, the oldest national monument in Norway. It was erected in memory of Erling Skjalgsson after his death in 1028. This type of cross was very common in medieval Norway.^[7]

Geography

Rogaland is mainly a coastal region with fjords, beaches, and islands, the principal island being Karmøy. The vast Boknafjorden is the largest bay, with many fjords branching off from it.

Stavanger/Sandnes, the third-largest urban area of Norway, is in central Rogaland and it includes the large city of Stavanger and the neighboring municipalities of Sandnes, Randaberg, and Sola. Together, this conurbation is ranked above the city Trondheim in population rankings in Norway.

There are many cities/towns in Rogaland other than Stavanger and Sandnes. They include Haugesund, Egersund, Sauda, Jørpeland, Bryne, Kopervik, Åkrehamn, and Skudeneshavn.

Karmøy has large deposits of copper (some from the Visnes mine was used in the construction of the Statue of Liberty).^[8] Sokndal has large deposits of ilmenite. Rogaland is the most important region for oil and gas exploration in Norway, and the Jæren district in Rogaland is one of the country's most important agricultural districts.

History

There are remains in Rogaland from the earliest times, such as the excavations in a cave at Viste in Randaberg (Svarthola). These include the find of a skeleton of a boy from the Stone Age. Various archeological finds stem from the following times, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. Many crosses in Irish style have been found. Rogaland was called Rygjafylke in the Viking Age. Before Harald Fairhair and the Battle of Hafrsfjord, it was a petty kingdom. The Rugians were a tribe possibly connected with Rogaland.

Culture and tourism

A series of festivals and congresses of international fame and profile are arranged, such as The Chamber Music Festival, The Maijazz Festival, The Gladmat (lit. happy food) Festival, and The ONS event, which has been held in Stavanger every second year since 1974. The ONS is a major international conference and exhibition with focus on oil and gas, and other topics from the petroleum industry. The Concert Hall and Music Complex at Bjergsted and the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra provide important inspiration in the Norwegian musical environment. Another annual event in Stavanger is The World Tour Beach Volleyball. During this tournament, the downtown is converted into a beach volleyball arena.

Rogaland is home to many natural wonders, like Prekestolen, Kjerag and Gloppedalsura. In Stavanger, there is an archeological museum with many artifacts from early history in Rogaland. An Iron Age farm at Ullandhaug in Stavanger is reconstructed on the original farm site dating back to 350–500 AD. The Viking Farm is a museum at Karmøy.

Government

A county (fylke) is the chief local administrative area in Norway. The whole country is divided into 11 counties. A county is also an election area, with popular votes taking place every 4 years. In Rogaland, the government of the county is the Rogaland County Municipality. It includes 47 members who are elected to form a county council (Fylkesting). Heading the Fylkesting is the county mayor (fylkesordførar). Since 2020, the Rogaland County Municipality has been led by Marianne Chesak, the county mayor.

The county also has a County Governor (fylkesmann) who is the representative of the King and Government of Norway. Bent Høie is the incumbent governor, in office since 1 November 2021.

The municipalities in Rogaland are divided among several district courts (tingrett): Dalane District Court, Haugaland District Court, Jæren District Court, and Stavanger District Court. All of these courts are subordinate to the Gulating Court of Appeal district based in Bergen.

Subdivisions

Municipalities

Rogaland County has a total of 23 municipalities:^[9][10]

Municipal Number	Name	Adm. Centre	Location in the county	Established	Includes (former municipalities)
1101	Eigersund	Egersund		1 Jan 1965	1101 Egersund 1113 Heskestad (part) 1115 Helleland
1103	Stavanger	Stavanger		1 Jan 1838	1124 Håland (part) 1125 Madla 1126 Hetland (part) 1132 Fister (part) 1133 Hjelmeland og Fister (part) 1140 Sjernarøy 1141 Finnøy 1142 Rennesøy
1106	Haugesund	Haugesund		1 Jan 1855	1152 Torvastad (part) 1153 Skåre
1108	Sandnes	Sandnes		1 Jan 1838	1123 Høyland 1126 Hetland (part) 1128 Høle (part) 1129 Forsand (part)
1111	Sokndal	Hauge		1 Jan 1838	1107 Sogndal
1112	Lund	Moi		1 Jan 1838	1113 Heskestad (part)
1114	Bjerkreim	Vikeså		1 Jan 1838
1119	Hå	Varhaug		1 Jan 1964	1117 Ogna 1118 Varhaug 1119 Nærbø
1120	Klepp	Kleppe		1 Jan 1838
1121	Time	Bryne		1 Jan 1838
1122	Gjesdal	Ålgård		1 Jan 1838	1128 Høle (part)
1124	Sola	Solakrossen		1 Jan 1930	1124 Håland (part)
1127	Randaberg	Randaberg		1 July 1922
1130	Strand	Jørpeland		1 Jan 1838	1129 Forsand (part)
1133	Hjelmeland	Hjelmelandsvågen		1 July 1884	1131 Årdal 1132 Fister (part) 1133 Hjelmeland og Fister (part)
1134	Suldal	Sand		1 Jan 1838	1136 Sand 1137 Erfjord 1138 Jelsa 1156 Imsland (part)
1135	Sauda	Sauda		1 Jan 1842
1144	Kvitsøy	Ydstebøhamn		1 Jan 1923
1145	Bokn	Føresvik		1 Jan 1849
1146	Tysvær	Aksdal		1 Jan 1849	1139 Nedstrand 1147 Avaldsnes (part) 1154 Skjold (part)
1149	Karmøy	Kopervik		1 Jan 1965	1104 Skudeneshavn 1105 Kopervik 1147 Avaldsnes (part) 1148 Stangaland 1149 Åkra 1150 Skudenes 1152 Torvastad (part)
1151	Utsira	Utsira		1 July 1924
1160	Vindafjord	Ølensjøen		1 Jan 1965	1154 Skjold (part) 1155 Vats 1156 Imsland (part) 1157 Vikedal 1158 Sandeid 1159 Ølen

Education

• Øksnevad Secondary School

Demographics

Total population:^[13][14]

In popular culture

Rogaland is a playable region within Norway in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, called Rygjafylke in the game. It is also the homeland of the game’s main character, Eivor Varinsdottir.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rogaland.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Rogaland.

• Official county website
• Region Stavanger Official tourism site for the Stavanger region