Bjerkreim
Encyclopedia
Bjerkreim is a municipality
in the Rogaland
county
, Norway
. The parish of Birkrem was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt
).
Nature has been generous in giving Bjerkreim many idyllic places, making Bjerkreim a good place to live by living in a countryside environment, but still relatively close to a major city, Stavanger
. The two and a half thousand inhabitants in Bjerkreim have a total area of 585 km² at their disposal. It includes one of the most important salmon
rivers in Norway, Bjerkreimselva. The most important livelihoods are agriculture
and small-scale industries.
) is named after the old Bjerkreim farm (Old Norse
: Bjarkarheimr), since the first church was built there. The first element is the genitive case
of bjørk which means "birch
" and the last element is heimr which means "homestead" or "farm". Before 1889, the name was written "Birkrem".
is from modern times. They were granted on 11 July 1986. The arms are canting
, showing a birch
branch, since the name of the municipality is derived from the word for birch, bjørk.
(See also coat-of-arms of Birkenes
and Lavangen
)
, Byrkjelandsvatnet
and Hofreistæ
.
, mayor from 1979 to 1993 and later a member of the national parliament.
The municipality has 2 primary schools and 2 kindergartens.
highway which passes through the municipality.
The municipality lies in the southwestern part
of the country. The distance to the nearest airport, Stavanger airport in Sola
, is approximately 40 minutes by car.
Municipalities of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...
in the Rogaland
Rogaland
is a county in Western Norway, bordering Hordaland, Telemark, Aust-Agder and Vest-Agder. It is the center of the Norwegian petroleum industry, and as a result of this, Rogaland has the lowest unemployment rate of any county in Norway, 1.1%...
county
Counties of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 430 municipalities...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. The parish of Birkrem was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt
Formannskapsdistrikt
Formannskapsdistrikt was the name for a Norwegian local self-government districts put into force in 1838. This system of municipality was created in a bill approved by the Storting and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January 1837...
).
Nature has been generous in giving Bjerkreim many idyllic places, making Bjerkreim a good place to live by living in a countryside environment, but still relatively close to a major city, Stavanger
Stavanger
Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...
. The two and a half thousand inhabitants in Bjerkreim have a total area of 585 km² at their disposal. It includes one of the most important salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
rivers in Norway, Bjerkreimselva. The most important livelihoods are agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and small-scale industries.
Name
The municipality (originally the parishParish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
) is named after the old Bjerkreim farm (Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
: Bjarkarheimr), since the first church was built there. The first element is the genitive case
Genitive case
In grammar, genitive is the grammatical case that marks a noun as modifying another noun...
of bjørk which means "birch
Birch
Birch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
" and the last element is heimr which means "homestead" or "farm". Before 1889, the name was written "Birkrem".
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-armsCoat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
is from modern times. They were granted on 11 July 1986. The arms are canting
Canting arms
Canting arms are heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name in a visual pun or rebus. The term cant came into the English language from Anglo-Norman cant, meaning song or singing, from Latin cantāre, and English cognates include canticle, chant, accent, incantation and recant.Canting arms –...
, showing a birch
Birch
Birch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
branch, since the name of the municipality is derived from the word for birch, bjørk.
(See also coat-of-arms of Birkenes
Birkenes
Birkenes is a municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The village of Birkeland is the administrative center and about half of the municipality's residents live there...
and Lavangen
Lavangen
Lavangen is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tennevoll. The municipality is situated around the area of the river Spansdalelva og Lavangen fjord...
)
Geography
Lakes in the region include AustrumdalsvatnetAustrumdalsvatnet
Austrumdalsvatnet is a lake in the municipality of Bjerkreim in Rogaland county, Norway....
, Byrkjelandsvatnet
Byrkjelandsvatnet
Byrkjelandsvatnet is a lake in the municipality of Bjerkreim in Rogaland county, Norway....
and Hofreistæ
Hofreistæ
Hofreistæ is a lake in the municipality of Bjerkreim in Rogaland county, Norway....
.
Government
Bjerkreim local council is the authority's highest political committee and has 17 representatives. The executive committee has 5 members, who also make up the authority's planning and economical committee. The mayor leads both the local council and the executive committee. In addition there are 2 different sector committees. A notable local politician is Olaf GjedremOlaf Gjedrem
Olaf Gjedrem is a Norwegian politician for the Christian Democratic Party.He served as a deputy representative to the Norwegian Parliament from Rogaland during the terms 1993–1997, 1997–2001, 2001–2005 and 2005–2009...
, mayor from 1979 to 1993 and later a member of the national parliament.
The municipality has 2 primary schools and 2 kindergartens.
Transportation
The main means of transportation is via the E39European route E39
E 39 is the designation of a 1330 km long north-south road in Norway and Denmark, running from Klett just south of Trondheim to Aalborg, via Orkanger, Vinjeøra, Halsa ... Straumsnes, Krifast, Batnfjordsøra, Molde ... Vestnes, Skodje, Ålesund ... Volda ... Nordfjordeid ... Sandane, Førde,...
highway which passes through the municipality.
The municipality lies in the southwestern part
Vestlandet
Western Norway is the region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the counties Rogaland, Hordaland, Sogn og Fjordane, and Møre og Romsdal and the region has a population of approximately 1.3 million people. The largest city is Bergen, second largest is Stavanger...
of the country. The distance to the nearest airport, Stavanger airport in Sola
Sola
Sola is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is part of the region of Jæren. The old municipality of Håland was divided into Sola and Madla in 1930....
, is approximately 40 minutes by car.
External links
- Municipal fact sheet from Statistics NorwayStatistics NorwayStatistics Norway is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876.Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every year on its web site. All releases are published both in Norwegian and English...
- The River Bjerkreim (Bjerkreimselva)
- Visit the South region of Rogaland (Reisemaal Soer Vest)