Forsand

Forsand Municipality
Forsand kommune
Fossan herred  (historic name)
Lysebotn, located at the head of the Lysefjorden
Lysebotn, located at the head of the Lysefjorden
Rogaland within Norway
Rogaland within Norway
Forsand within Rogaland
Forsand within Rogaland
Coordinates: 59°00′49″N 06°25′28″E / 59.01361°N 6.42444°E / 59.01361; 6.42444
CountryNorway
CountyRogaland
DistrictRyfylke
Established1 Jan 1871
 • Preceded byHøgsfjord Municipality
Disestablished1 Jan 2020
 • Succeeded bySandnes and Strand municipalities
Administrative centreForsand
Government
 • Mayor (2015-2019)Bjarte Sveinsvoll Dagestad (H)
Area
 (upon dissolution)
 • Total
780.06 km2 (301.18 sq mi)
 • Land698.83 km2 (269.82 sq mi)
 • Water81.23 km2 (31.36 sq mi)
 • Rank#141 in Norway
Population
 (2017)
 • Total
1,245
 • Rank#376 in Norway
 • Density1.8/km2 (5/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
Increase +12.9%
DemonymForsandbu[1]
Official language
 • Norwegian formNynorsk
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-1129[3]
WebsiteOfficial website

Forsand is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The 780-square-kilometre (300 sq mi) municipality existed from 1871 until 2020 when it was merged into Sandnes municipality. It was located in the traditional district of Ryfylke. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Forsand. Other villages in the municipality included Lysebotn, Øvre Espedal, Oanes, Kolabygda, and Fløyrli.

Forsand municipality surrounded the famous Lysefjorden and it was located on the east side of the Høgsfjorden. In 1999, evidence of a population here dating back to around 7500 BC was located.

Prior to its dissolution in 2020, it was one of the largest municipalities within the county of Rogaland in terms of area, and one of the smallest in terms of population. The 780-square-kilometre (300 sq mi) municipality was the 141st largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Forsand was the 376th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,245. The municipality's population density was 1.8 inhabitants per square kilometre (4.7/sq mi) and its population has increased by 12.9% over the last decade.[4]

  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 (2017). "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 4 November 2017.