Sirdal is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the northwestern part of the traditional district of Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tonstad. Other villages in the municipality include Bjørnestad, Haughom, Kvæven, Lunde, and Tjørhom.
The municipality is the 52nd largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Sirdal Municipality is the 288th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of . The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 4.3% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
The old parish of Sirdal was first established as a municipality in 1849 when the large Bakke Municipality was divided into two: the northern part (population: 1,804) became the new Sirdal Municipality and the southern part (population: 2,597) remained as a smaller Sirdal Municipality.
On 1 January 1903, a small area of eastern Sirdal Municipality (population: 63) was transferred to the neighboring Fjotland Municipality. On 1 January 1905, Sirdal Municipality was dissolved and its territories were divided into two new municipalities: the southern part (population: 828) became the new Tonstad Municipality and the northern part (population: 753) became the new Øvre Sirdal Municipality.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1960, Sirdal Municipality was re-created when the following areas were merged together: all of Tonstad Municipality (population: 651) all of Øvre Sirdal Municipality (population: 549) the Øksendal area of Bakke Municipality (population: 226)
On 1 January 1987, the Virak and Espetveit areas of northern Flekkefjord Municipality (population: 41) were transferred to Sirdal Municipality.
Historically, this municipality was part of the old Vest-Agder county. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became a part of the newly-formed Agder county (after Aust-Agder and Vest-Agder counties were merged).
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Sirdalen valley () since the valley runs through the municipality. The first element is the genitive case of the river name Síra (now the Sira river). The river name has an unknown meaning, but it could be something like "strong stream". The last element is which means "valley" or "dale".
Coat of arms The coat of arms was granted on 17 January 1986. The official blazon is "Vert, three ptarmigans volant argent" (). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is a willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus). The ptarmigan 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 green color in the field and the ptarmigans were chosen as a symbol for the hills and moorland which make up the largest part of the municipality. The willow ptarmigan is a typical bird for the area. The arms were designed by Stein Davidsen. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.
Churches The Church of Norway has one parish () within Sirdal Municipality. It is part of the Lister og Mandal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.
Churches in Sirdal MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtSirdalHaughom ChapelHaughom1930Kvævemoen ChapelKvæven1962Lunde ChurchLunde1873Tonstad ChurchTonstad1852
Geography Sirdal Municipality is the largest municipality by area in Agder, and it includes the westernmost valley in Agder county. Bykle Municipality is located to the north; Valle Municipality is located to the northeast; Bygland Municipality and Kvinesdal Municipality are located to the east; Flekkefjord Municipality is located to the south; Lund Municipality and Eigersund Municipality are located to the southwest (both in Rogaland county); Bjerkreim Municipality and Gjesdal Municipality are located to the west (both in Rogaland county); and Sandnes Municipality (also in Rogaland county) is located to the northwest.
Lakes in the municipality include Gravatn, Kulivatnet, Kvifjorden, Øyarvatnet, Rosskreppfjorden, Sirdalsvatnet, and Valevatn. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Urdalsknuten, at the northern end of the municipality.
In 1990, the mountain road opened between the Sirdalen valley and the Setesdal valley over the Suleskard mountain pass. It connected Sirdal Municipality to the village of Brokke in the neighboring Valle Municipality to the east. It shortened the distance from Oslo to Stavanger by in the summer, and the road passes through barren, glacier-scoured highland. As it passes by the Rosskreppfjorden, it ascends to over above sea level.
Climate
Government Sirdal 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 Dalane District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council () of Sirdal Municipality is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
Mayors The mayor () of Sirdal Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1849–1850: Ommund Carlsen Fintland 1850–1859: Carl Asbjørnsen Liland 1859–1861: Evert Olsen Tonstad 1861–1863: Carl Asbjørnsen Liland 1863–1865: Peder Torjesen Ousdal 1866–1868: Rev. Hans Petter Blix Rynning 1869–1871: Peder Torjesen Ousdal 1871–1873: Torkel Ommundsen Fintland 1873–1875: Rev. Hans Petter Blix Rynning 1875–1877: Carl Asbjørnsen Liland 1877–1879: Torkel Ommundsen Fintland 1879–1881: Ole Evertsen Tonstad 1881–1890: Sigbjørn Ommundsen Bjunes 1891–1892: Carl Ommundsen Fintland 1893–1894: Rev. Bernt Andreas Lindeland 1895–1897: Sigbjørn Ommundsen Bjunes 1897–1898: Rev. Bernt Andreas Lindeland 1899–1901: Peder Iversen Ousdal 1902–1904: Carl Ommundsen Fintland (1905–1959: Municipality dissolved) 1960–1963: Erik Kvæven 1964–1995: Sven Tjørhom (Sp) 1995–2003: Torjus Kvæven (Sp) 2003–2011: Thor Jørgen Tjørhom (Sp) 2011–2015: Jonny Liland (Ap) 2015–2019: Thor Jørgen Tjørhom (Sp) 2019–present: Jonny Liland (Ap)
Economy
The main source of income for Sirdal Municipality is the Sira-Kvina Power Company which gets its power from the big Sira and Kvina rivers. The waterfalls on the river Sira are utilized in four power stations owned by Sira-Kvina power company. The company also owns three power stations in the Kvina river system, hence the company's name. Total annual production is , total installation is . The largest power station, Tonstad Hydroelectric Power Station, was inaugurated in 1968, with two units, each producing . The power station has now 4 units, each 160 MW, and one unit at , giving a total output of . Total annual production in this station is approximately , which makes Tonstad the largest power station in Norway in terms of production. Sira-Kvina power company applied in 2007 for concession to expand the power station with two new units (reversible turbines), each containing , and the concession is pending.
The number of wind turbines is 51; in 2024, a political process for more wind turbines, was ended by a municipal council vote.
Tourism is also an important source of income for the Sirdal economy, taking advantage of the extensive mountains, mountainous plateaus, lakes, and great views. There are multiple alpine resorts and hotels in the valley, as well as cottages and camping spots. Winter activities include six ski resorts for winter enjoyment. Downhill ski areas include Tjørhomfjellet, Bjørnestad Ski Centre, Ålsheia Ski Centre, Fidjeland Ski Centre, and Ådneram Ski lift. Cross-country skiers can enjoy dozens of trails over spectacular terrain. Summer activities include hiking, horseback riding, and river rafting.
History From the oldest times the Sirdalen valley was divided by the river Sira with Rogaland county controlling the west side and Agder county controlling the east side. The two sides of the valley, however, was established as one single parish in Christian times, even though it crossed county lines, something that was not very common in Norway.
In 1837, it was decided that every parish should be a municipality, but no municipality should belong to more than one county (see formannskapsdistrikt law). Sirdal parish was therefore first divided in two municipalities. This was a bad decision because they had very few inhabitants separately. A new solution was found in 1839 when the two municipalities were re-joined, and the county border was moved so that all of Sirdalen was in Vest-Agder county.
At Kvæven, in northern Sirdal one finds the Sirdal Mountain Museum. This museum has a collection of old Sirdal buildings. Former lifestyles are visible in the farmhouse, a schoolhouse, stable, blacksmith's shop, barn, and mountain farm cottage as well as original equipment.
Notable people Berit Kvæven (born 1942 in Øvre Sirdal), a sivilingeniør and politician Gunnar Tjomlid (born 1974), a skeptic, secular humanist, blogger, and author who was brought up in Sirdal Linda Grubben (born 1979), a World Cup biathlete Arild Haugen (born 1985 in Sirdal), a boxer and former strongman
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities Väike-Maarja Parish, Estonia (since 1994)
References
External links Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway Map of Sirdal Sirdal Mountain Museum Sirdal Mountain Museum, Official Website SirdalsNett - All you need to know about Sirdal Sirdalsferie - Information for tourists Sirdal kommune To & From Sirdal Transport Map