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.
The 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 and its population has increased by 16.2% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The parish of Haa was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. In 1894, the municipality of Haa was dissolved and divided into two new municipalities: Nærbø and Varhaug. 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, Varhaug, and Ogna. In local politics, the divisions between the three previous municipalities are very visible.

Name

The municipality is named after the old Hå farm 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.

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.

Churches

The Church of Norway has three parishes within the municipality of Hå. It is part of the Jæren prosti in the Diocese of Stavanger.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
NærbøNærbø ChurchNærbø2005
NærbøOld Nærbø ChurchNærbø1834
OgnaOgna ChurchOgna1250
VarhaugVarhaug ChurchVarhaug1904

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Hå, are responsible for primary education, 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. The municipality falls under the Jæren District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

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

Geography

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. 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.

Settlements

Weather

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.