Gjesdal
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| Gjesdal kommune | |||
| — Municipality — | |||
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| Country | Norway | ||
| County | Rogaland | ||
| Municipality ID | NO-1122 | ||
| Administrative centre | Ålgård | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor (2007) | Olaug V. Bollestad (KrF) | ||
| Area (Nr. 179 in Norway) | |||
| - Total | 618 km² (238.6 sq mi) | ||
| - Land | 558 km² (215.4 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2004) | |||
| - Total | 9,248 | ||
| - Density | 17/km² (44/sq mi) | ||
| - Change (10 years) | 15.6 % | ||
| - Rank in Norway | 110 | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Official language form | Neutral | ||
| Demonym | Gjesdalbu[1] | ||
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| Website: www.gjesdal.kommune.no | |||
Gjesdal is a municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.
Gjesdal was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Some parts of Forsand and Høle were transferred to Gjesdal January 1, 1965.
In the north west the municipality borders Sandnes, to the north Forsand, to the east Sirdal, to the south Bjerkreim, and to the west Time.
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[edit] The name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the farm Gjesdal (Norse Gesdalir), since the first church was built there. The first element is probably an old rivername, the last element is the plural form of dalr m 'valley, dale'.
Until 1889 the name was written "Gjæsdal", in the period 1889-1917 "Gjesdal", in the period 1918-1964 "Gjestal", from 1965 on (again) "Gjesdal".
[edit] Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1985). It shows the head of a ram.
[edit] Geography
The waterfall Månafossen, the largest waterfall of the county, is located in the Frafjord valley.
[edit] Famous residents
Finn E. Kydland, winner of Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel in 2004, and footballer Dagny Mellgren come from Ålgård in Gjesdal.
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