Sandnes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sandnes kommune | |||
| — Municipality — | |||
|
|||
 |
|||
| Coordinates: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Norway | ||
| County | Rogaland | ||
| District | Jæren | ||
| Municipality ID | NO-1102 | ||
| Administrative centre | Sandnes | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor (2007) | Norunn Østråt Koksvik(H) | ||
| Area (Nr. 273 in Norway) | |||
| - Total | 302.9 km² (117 sq mi) | ||
| - Land | 286 km² (110.4 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2008) | |||
| - Total | 62 037 | ||
| - Density | 212/km² (549.1/sq mi) | ||
| - Change (10 years) | 18.3 % | ||
| - Rank in Norway | 8 | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Official language form | Neutral | ||
|
|
|||
| Website: www.sandnes.kommune.no | |||
Sandnes is a town and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.
Sandnes was separated from Høyland as a town, and municipality of its own, in 1860. The rural municipalities of Høyland and Høle (and a part of Hetland) were merged with Sandnes January 1, 1965.
Contents |
[edit] Geography
The town of Sandnes is located about 15 km south of Stavanger, and these two cities have expanded so as to form a conurbation. The municipality of Sola is located to the west, Klepp and Time to the south, and Gjesdal and Forsand to the east. The fjord Gandsfjorden is situated north-south and ends in the centre of Sandnes. The international airport of Stavanger is situated in Sola.
Sandnes's districts are Lura, Trones, Stangeland, Soma, Malheim, Sandved, Ganddal, Figgjo, Austrått, Sviland, Hana (includes Aspervika and Dale), Høle, Riska.
The landscape of the Stavanger and Sandnes region is quite flat. On the long west coast there are several beaches and further inland the land is raised to form low plains with some small peaks rising up to 400-500 meters above sea level. From Stavanger and Sandnes it is approximately one hour by car to alpine and skiing resorts. In Sandnes there are some easily accessible small mountain peaks, such as dalsnuten and Dale, with a view over the Sandnes/Stavanger area. The renowned Lysefjord is also easily accessible by car or boat.
[edit] Economy
Sandnes hosts a large array of retail shops of most kinds and is used by the neighbouring municipalities appreciating the service and wide range of selections. Sandnes is known as Norway's bicycle city, mainly due to the fact that the bicycle manufacturer Øglænd DBS was situated here for decades. The town offers a variety of routes for everyday riders and tourists. Since 1996 a public bicycle rental programme has been in operation in the town.
The town also holds a vibrant industry mainly in the Ganddal area in the south and the Lura and Forus area in the north towards the Stavanger boundary. There is a significant activity towards the oil exploration in the North Sea and also some IT related companies. In this suburban region between Stavanger and Sandnes malls and department stores have also been established. Among these malls is one of Norway's biggest malls, Kvadrat meaning "square" (although it is not square shaped anymore as it's expanded several times since it opened in 1984). On the outskirts of the town the internationally renowned, professional china manufacturer Figgjo is situated.
Around 30% are employed in Stavanger (Q4 2004)
Sandnes was formerly known as the pottery town of Norway - due to the important ceramics industry based on the extensive occurrence of clay in the surroundings.
[edit] Culture
The primary football team (Sandnes Ulf) is currently competing in the second highest division of Norwegian professional football, Adeccoligaen.
Sandnes is the only town in Norway which is a member of the World Health Organisation’s network of Healthy Cities.
Sandnes is the birthplace of professional poker player Annette Obrestad who became the youngest ever winner of a WSOP bracelet when winning the Betfair World Series of Poker Europe title in September 2007 at the age of 18.
Sandnes and it´s neighbor city Stavanger has been chosen along with Liverpool, United Kingdom to be a European Capital of Culture for 2008.
[edit] Origin of the name
The town is named after the old farm Sandnes[citation needed] (Norse Sandnes), since it is built on its ground. The first element is sandr m 'sand, sandy beach', the last element is nes n 'headland'.
[edit] Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from 1972. It shows a ocarina (the ocarinas made in Sandnes, sandnesgauker, are well known in Norway).
[edit] External links
- Municipality website in Norwegian and English
- City map
- The official tourism site of the Stavanger region
http://www.sandnes.info Website about the city of Sandnes-Norway
|
|||||
|
||||||||
