The 69-square-kilometre (27 sq mi) municipality is the 342nd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Sola is the 41st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 28,315. The municipality's population density is 411.4 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,066/sq mi) and its population has increased by 15.2f% over the previous 10-year period.[4][5]
Map of the Sola area
In the western part of Sola, there are 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) of long, sandy beaches facing the North Sea. With usually ample supplies of wind and waves, the sandy beaches are a popular place for windsurfing.
The municipality of Sola was established in 1930 when the old municipality of Håland was split into Sola (south of the Hafrsfjorden) and Madla (north of the Hafrsfjorden). Initially, Sola had 3,372 residents.[6] On 1 January 2017, a small 350-decare (86-acre) area on the southwestern edge of the village of Solakrossen was transferred from Sandnes municipality to Sola.[7]
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Sola farm (Old Norse: Sóli) since the first Sola Church was built there. The meaning of the name is uncertain. One possibility is that it comes from the word sól which means "sun". Historically, the name was also spelled Sole.[8]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 12 February 1982. The official blazon is "Azure, two bars double embowedargent" (Norwegian: I blått to sølv bjelker dannet ved et omvendt dobbelt buesnitt). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a set of two curved bars that look like waves. The charge has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The blue color symbolizes the sea and the white/silver color symbolizes the whitecaps of the waves washing up to the long, shallow, sandy beaches along the ocean in the municipality. The arms were designed by the painter Roald Kyllingstad. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[9][10][11]
The municipality of Sola lies on the west side of the Stavanger Peninsula, south of the Hafrsfjorden. The municipality sits just about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the centres of the cities of Stavanger and Sandnes. The island of Rott lies just off the western coast of Sola. The Fladholmen Lighthouse lies just off shore of the village of Tananger in northern Sola.[12]
The stone crosses at Tjora date from about the year 1150. In early Christian times, these stone crosses were used as gathering points for religious ceremonies before churches were built. Sola Church Ruins (Sola ruinkirke) is the ruins of a Romanesque stone church dating from about the year 1120. The stone church probably replaced an older wooden church in the area. This wooden church was possibly the one that Erling Skjalgsson had built when he converted to Christianity at the end of the 10th century. Sola Church overlooked the Hafrsfjord and was in use until 1842.The artist Johan Bennetter (1822–1904) used the church as a studio and lived there with his family. During World War II, most of the church was demolished. It was later reconstructed, and the restoration was finished in 1995.[13][14]
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Sola is made up of 41 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
Camilla Herrem (born 1986 in Sola), a handball player with 262 caps with Norway women and three Olympic team medals (Gold in London 2012, Bronze in Rio 2016, and in Tokyo 2020)
+15.2%
