Hå

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Municipality in Rogaland, Norway

title: "Hå" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["hå", "municipalities-of-rogaland", "jæren", "1838-establishments-in-norway", "1894-disestablishments-in-norway", "1964-establishments-in-norway"] description: "Municipality in Rogaland, Norway" topic_path: "geography/norway" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hå" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Municipality in Rogaland, Norway ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox kommune"]

Field	Value
name	Hå
former_name	Haa herred
image_skyline	Brusandstrand.JPG
image_caption	View of the Brusandstrand beach in Hå
idnumber	1119
county	Rogaland
district	Jæren
capital	Varhaug
established	1 Jan 1838
preceded	none
disestablished	1 Jan 1894
succeeded	Nærbø and Varhaug municipalities
established2	1 Jan 1964
preceded2	Nærbø, Varhaug, and Ogna municipalities
demonym	Håbu
language	Neutral
coatofarms	Hå komm.svg
webpage	www.ha.kommune.no
mayor	Andreas Bjorland
mayor_party	KrF
mayor_as_of	2023
area_rank	281
area_total_km2	258.00
area_land_km2	247.84
area_water_km2	10.16
area_water_percent	3.9
population_as_of	2023
population_rank	67
population_total	19649
population_density_km2	79.3
population_increase	11.4
coordinates
utm_zone	32V
::

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 258 km2 municipality is the 281st largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Hå is the 67th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 19,649. The municipality's population density is 79.3 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 11.4% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Jærmal.jpg" caption="View of the Hå landscape"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Ogna_sandstrand.jpg" caption="Sandy beaches at Ogna, in the southern part of the municipality."] ::

The parish of Haa was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1894, the municipality of Haa was dissolved and divided into two new municipalities: Nærbø (population: 1,806) and Varhaug (population: 1,801). 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 (population: 3,926), Varhaug (population: 3,454), and Ogna (population: 1,470). In local politics, the divisions between the three previous municipalities remain very visible.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Hå farm ( or Háir) where the local church priest's parsonage was located. 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. The meaning of the original name is uncertain. It is possible that it comes from the plural dative case of the word which means "aftergrass" (the grass that grows after the first crop has been cut down). Ti may also come from the word which means "rowlock" (possibly referring to the shape of the headland on which the farm is located). On 21 December 1917, a royal resolution enacted the 1917 Norwegian language reforms. Prior to this change, the name was spelled Haa with the digraph "aa", and after this reform, the name was spelled Hå, using the letter å instead.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 5 July 1991. The official blazon is "Sable, a winch stand argent." (). This means the arms have a black field (background) and the charge is a winch stand. The winch stand has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. 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. A winch of this type (called a "steinbukk") is used locally for the removal of large stones from the soil for agricultural purposes. It's three legs also represent the three previous municipalities of Nærbø, Varhaug, and Ogna that were merged to creat Hå in 1964. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway has three parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Hå. It is part of the Jæren prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger.

::data[format=table title="style="font-size:medium"|'''''Churches in Hå'''''"]

Parish (sokn)	Church name	Location of the church	Year built
Nærbø	Nærbø Church	Nærbø	2005
Old Nærbø Church	Nærbø	1834
Ogna	Ogna Church	Ogna	1250
Varhaug	Varhaug Church	Varhaug	1904
::

Government

Hå Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Sør-Rogaland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Hå is made up of 33 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party. |name = Hå |start = 2023 |end = 2027 |reference = |collapsed = |Total = 33 |Arbeiderpartiet = 2 |Fremskrittspartiet = 6 |Høyre = 7 |INP = 1 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 8 |Konservativt = 1 |Senterpartiet = 3 |Sosialistisk_Venstreparti = 1 |otherparty = Hå List |otherparty_no = Hå-lista |otherparty_number = 4 |}} |name = Hå |start = 2019 |end = 2023 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 33 |Arbeiderpartiet = 3 |Fremskrittspartiet = 3 |Høyre = 5 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 7 |Senterpartiet = 5 |Sosialistisk_Venstreparti = 1 |otherparty = Hå List |otherparty_no = Hå-lista |otherparty_number = 9 |}} |name = Hå |start = 2015 |end = 2019 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 33 |Arbeiderpartiet = 3 |Fremskrittspartiet = 3 |Høyre = 6 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 7 |Senterpartiet = 3 |otherparty = Nærbø List |otherparty_no = Nærbølista |otherparty_number = 10 |otherparty1 = Common list for southern Hå

|otherparty_no1 = Samlingsliste for søre Hå |otherparty_number1 = 1 |}} |name = Hå |start = 2011 |end = 2015 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 33 |Arbeiderpartiet = 3 |Fremskrittspartiet = 3 |Høyre = 7 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 6 |Senterpartiet = 3 |otherparty = Nærbø List |otherparty_no = Nærbølista |otherparty_number = 11 |}} |name = Hå |start = 2007 |end = 2011 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 33 |Arbeiderpartiet = 2 |Sosialistisk_Venstreparti = 1 |Senterpartiet = 4 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 7 |Høyre = 3 |Fremskrittspartiet = 4 |otherparty = Nærbø List |otherparty_no = Nærbølista |otherparty_number = 12 |}} |name = Hå |start = 2003 |end = 2007 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 33 |Arbeiderpartiet = 3 |Fremskrittspartiet = 5 |Høyre = 4 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 7 |Senterpartiet = 6 |Sosialistisk_Venstreparti = 2 |otherparty = Nærbø List |otherparty_no = Nærbølista |otherparty_number = 6 |}} |name = Hå |start = 1999 |end = 2003 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 37 |Arbeiderpartiet = 3 |Fremskrittspartiet = 5 |Høyre = 6 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 8 |Senterpartiet = 7 |Sosialistisk_Venstreparti = 2 |otherparty = Nærbø List |otherparty_no = Nærbølista |otherparty_number = 6 |}} |name = Hå |start = 1995 |end = 1999 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 37 |Arbeiderpartiet = 3 |Fremskrittspartiet = 2 |Høyre = 4 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 9 |Senterpartiet = 10 |Sosialistisk_Venstreparti = 1 |otherparty = Nærbø List |otherparty_no = Nærbølisten |otherparty_number = 8 |}} |name = Hå |start = 1991 |end = 1995 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 37 |Arbeiderpartiet = 3 |Fremskrittspartiet = 1 |Høyre = 3 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 8 |Senterpartiet = 7 |Sosialistisk_Venstreparti = 2 |otherparty = Nærbø List |otherparty_no = Nærbølisten |otherparty_number = 9 |otherparty1 = Varhaug local list |otherparty_no1 = Varhaug bygdeliste |otherparty_number1 = 2 |otherparty2 = Vigrestad local list |otherparty_no2 = Vigrestad bygdeliste |otherparty_number2 = 1 |otherparty3 = Ogna local list |otherparty_no3 = Ogna bygdeliste |otherparty_number3 = 1 |}} |name = Hå |start = 1987 |end = 1991 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 37 |Arbeiderpartiet = 3 |Fremskrittspartiet = 1 |Høyre = 2 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 7 |Senterpartiet = 3 |Sosialistisk_Venstreparti = 1 |DLF/V = 1 |otherparty = Nærbø List |otherparty_no = Nærbølisten |otherparty_number = 10 |otherparty1 = Varhaug local list |otherparty_no1 = Varhaug bygdeliste |otherparty_number1 = 4 |otherparty2 = Vigrestad local list |otherparty_no2 = Vigrestad bygdeliste |otherparty_number2 = 2 |otherparty3 = Ogna local list |otherparty_no3 = Ogna bygdeliste |otherparty_number3 = 2 |otherparty4 = Nærbø Non-partisan Common List |otherparty_no4 = Nærbø Upolitiske Samlingsliste |otherparty_number4 = 1 |}} |name = Hå |start = 1983 |end = 1987 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 37 |Arbeiderpartiet = 3 |DLF = 1 |Høyre = 2 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 6 |Sosialistisk_Venstreparti = 1 |otherparty = Nærbø List |otherparty_no = Nærbølisten |otherparty_number = 10 |otherparty1 = Varhaug local list |otherparty_no1 = Varhaug bygdeliste |otherparty_number1 = 7 |otherparty2 = Vigrestad local list |otherparty_no2 = Vigrestad bygdeliste |otherparty_number2 = 4 |otherparty3 = Ogna local list |otherparty_no3 = Ogna bygdeliste |otherparty_number3 = 3 |}} |name = Hå |start = 1979 |end = 1983 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 37 |Arbeiderpartiet = 3 |Høyre = 5 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 7 |otherparty = Nærbø List |otherparty_no = Nærbølisten |otherparty_number = 11 |otherparty1 = Varhaug local list |otherparty_no1 = Varhaug bygdeliste |otherparty_number1 = 5 |otherparty2 = Vigrestad local list |otherparty_no2 = Vigrestad bygdeliste |otherparty_number2 = 3 |otherparty3 = Ogna local list |otherparty_no3 = Ogna bygdeliste |otherparty_number3 = 3 |}} |name = Hå |start = 1975 |end = 1979 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 37 |Arbeiderpartiet = 1 |Høyre = 1 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 5 |otherparty = Nærbø List |otherparty_no = Nærbølisten |otherparty_number = 14 |otherparty1 = Varhaug local list |otherparty_no1 = Varhaug bygdeliste |otherparty_number1 = 8 |otherparty2 = Vigrestad local list |otherparty_no2 = Vigrestad bygdeliste |otherparty_number2 = 5 |otherparty3 = Ogna local list |otherparty_no3 = Ogna bygdeliste |otherparty_number3 = 3 |}} |name = Hå |start = 1971 |end = 1975 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 37 |Arbeiderpartiet = 5 |Høyre = 1 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 7 |Senterpartiet = 9 |Venstre = 2 |Local_Lists = 13 |}} |name = Hå |start = 1967 |end = 1971 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 37 |Arbeiderpartiet = 3 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 4 |Venstre = 4 |Local_Lists = 26 |}} |name = Hå |start = 1963 |end = 1967 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 37 |Arbeiderpartiet = 4 |Local_Lists = 33 |}}

Mayors

The mayors () of Hå (incomplete list - missing 1838-1894):

1964-1967: Erik Årsland (LL)
1968-1969: Erik P. Skretting (LL)
1970-1975: Kjell Lund (LL)
1976-1979: Kåre Sandve (KrF)
1980-1983: Gabriel S. Rimestad (LL)
1984-1985: Mindor Jelsa (LL)
1986-1987: Rasmus Pollestad (KrF)
1988-1989: Kjell Lund (Ap)
1990-1991: Eldar Odland (LL)
1992-1993: Ingvar Gausland (LL)
1994-1995: Tobias Skretting (Sp)
1995-1999: Eldar Odland (Sp)
1999-2003: Gunnar Siqveland (H)
2003-2011: Terje Mjåtveit (LL)
2011-2015: Mons Skrettingland (H)
2015-2023: Jonas Skrettingland (KrF)
2023-present: Andreas Bjorland (KrF)

Population

|align = none |direction = horizontal |percentages = pagr |footnote = Note: The municipality was dissolved in 1894 and it was recreated in 1964. |source = Statistics Norway and Norwegian Historical Data Centre |1855|2859 |1865|3004 |1875|3218 |1891|3409 |1894|3607 |1964|8850 |1970|9978 |1980|12290 |1990|13034 |2000|13921 |2010|16342 |2020|18991 |2023|19649

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 (located to the south and east). 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

::data[format=table title="List of the largest villages in Hå{{Cite web |last=Statistisk sentralbyrå |author-link=Statistics Norway |date=1 January 2015 |title=Urban settlements. Population and area, by municipality. |url=https://www.ssb.no/248689/urban-settlements.population-and-area-by-municipality.1-january-2015}}"]

Name	Population	Area (km2)	Population density per km2
Brusand	428	0.2	2,140
Hæen	588	0.43	1,367
Nærbø	6,995	3.28	2,133
Ogna	360	0.31	1,161
Sirevåg	627	0.7	896
Varhaug	3,114	1.57	1,983
Vigrestad	2,116	1.18	1,793
::

Climate

Hå has a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb), also known as marine west coast climate. The average date for the last overnight freeze (low below 0 °C) in spring is 16 April and average date for first freeze in autumn is 10 November giving a frost-free season of 207 days (1981-2010 average).

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.

Notable people

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/OB.00475_Jacob_Rasch.jpg" caption="Jacob Rasch"] ::

Jacob Rasch (1669 in Ogna – 1737), the rector of Christiania Cathedral School from 1706 to 1737
Sven Aarrestad (1850 in Varhaug – 1942), a writer, politician, and leader in the Norwegian temperance movement
Tor Obrestad (1938 in Hå – 2020), a Norwegian novelist, poet, and documentary writer
Gunnar Torvund (1948 in Nærbø – 2019), a sculptor
Kjell Arild Pollestad (born 1949 in Hå), an author, theologian, philologist, and Dominican priest
Magnus Matningsdal (born 1951 in Hå), a judge and a Supreme Court Justice from 1997
Helge Torvund (born 1951 in Hå), a psychologist, poet, literary critic, and children's writer
Geir Pollestad (born 1978 in Høyland), a politician and government minister
Vidar Nisja (born 1986 in Vigrestad), a football midfielder with 324 club caps

References

Statistisk sentralbyrå. "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)".
Statistisk sentralbyrå. "09280: Area of land and fresh water (km²) (M)".
Jukvam, Dag. (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen". [[Statistics Norway.
Rygh, Oluf. (1915). "Norske gaardnavne: Stavanger amt". W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri.
(1917). "Norsk Lovtidende. 2den Afdeling. 1917. Samling af Love, Resolutioner m.m". Grøndahl og Søns Boktrykkeri.
(1918). "Den Nye rettskrivning : regler og ordlister". Den Mallingske Boktrykkeri.
"Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World.
"Hå, Rogaland (Norway)".
(1991-07-04). "Godkjenning av våpen og flagg". Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet.
(2022-09-20). "kommunestyre". [[Kunnskapsforlaget]].
"Kommunestyrevalg 2023 - Rogaland". [[Valgdirektoratet]].
"Kommunestyrevalg 2019 – Rogaland". [[Valgdirektoratet]].
"Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)". Statistics Norway.
"Kommunestyrevalg 2011 – Rogaland". [[Valgdirektoratet]].
(1996). "Kommunestyrevalget 1995". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(1993). "Kommunestyrevalget 1991". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(1988). "Kommunestyrevalget 1987". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(1984). "Kommunestyrevalget 1983". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(1979). "Kommunestyrevalget 1979". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(1977). "Kommunevalgene 1975". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(1973). "Kommunevalgene 1972". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(1967). "Kommunevalgene 1967". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(1964). "Kommunevalgene 1963". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(2019-11-07). "Liste over ordførarar i Hå".
(2023-10-23). "Ordførar Andreas Bjorland".
Statistisk sentralbyrå. "Folketelling 1960".
Universitetet i Tromsø – Norges arktiske universitet. "Censuses in the Norwegian Historical Data Archive (NHDC)".
Store norske leksikon. "Hå".
Statistisk sentralbyrå. (1 January 2015). "Urban settlements. Population and area, by municipality.".
(4 May 2012). "Siste frostnatt om våren".
(25 September 2013). "Første frostnatt".
"eKlima Web Portal".
"NOAA WMO normals Norway 1991-2020".

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